Spoiled By My Brothers: Return of The Lost Heiress-Chapter 165: Glimpses Of The Past-II

Adrian’s POV

I took Seraphina back with me without waiting for Lucien to open his damn mouth. Something in me twisted at the thought of him hovering around her. It made no sense why it would matter to me. I had never cared. I didn’t have the right to interfere in anything she did.

But still... my hand tightened around her wrist, pulling her closer. I had a sudden urge to hide my little sister so that no one could hurt her.

"Bro... Brother..." Sera’s voice trembled. "I... I missed you very much."

"What?"

Her words made me stop in my tracks. I stared at her. Her eyes were wide, flushed cheeks, shaking like she didn’t know if she was allowed to say what she just said.

Me? Did she say she missed me?

I had never even held a proper conversation with her before this. Hell... I had never been around in the country to come face to face with her. But the way she looked at me... like I was something she had been trying to reach out for a long time, but she couldn’t.

I forced myself to breathe and pulled her back to the mansion, straight to my room. I didn’t trust the others at that moment. Their stares may eat her away.

"I missed you too, Sera," I said as I sat her down on the bed, while trying to keep my voice steady.

Her head shot up, eyes glistening and full of hope. "Re... Really?"

"Of course," I murmured. "I just... didn’t know how to talk to you."

Her lips trembled. "I’m... ha... happy that... that someone here... here wants me."

Those words hit me like a slap on my face.

What kind of hell had she been living in all this time for her to say that?

"Alistair likes you too," I told her quietly, trying to comfort her broken heart. "He wanted to see you, but he couldn’t."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Are... Are you telling the truth? He... He knows me?"

"What kind of question is that?" I almost scoffed, the irritation rising at her naiveness, but I swallowed it because she flinched even at my breath. "He’s your brother. And what brother doesn’t love their sister?"

"Asher..."

The word slipped from her mouth before she could stop it. The moment she realized, she slapped her hands over her lips like she had confessed a crime.

Her whole body shook as tears filled her eyes. "I... I didn’t mean... I didn’t mean that..."

She shot up from the bed and ran to the corner of the room like she expected me to hit her or drag her back. She curled in on herself, trembling, whispering, unable to form one full sentence.

My heart ached painfully because nothing about this was normal.

She wasn’t shy. This was fear, even pure terror, which might not be the right word to describe the state she was in at the moment.

She must have been through something so horrible that she was acting this way.

"Sera..." I took a slow step toward her, unsure if getting close would calm her or make her break more. "Hey... what are you scared of?"

She pressed herself harder against the wall, shaking her head like she didn’t mean to say what slipped out of her mouth.

I didn’t understand anything. I didn’t understand why she looked at me like that, why she froze whenever I raised my hand even slightly, why she seemed scared of even breathing around me.

Why did she act like kindness was something she wasn’t allowed to believe in?

There were a lot of questions in my mind, but for now, I wanted to comfort her and console her. I wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to be scared around me. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Sera," I called her out, but she didn’t hear me.

I looked at her for a while, then went to find my cell phone, leaving her in the state she was in.

I found my phone on the table and dialed Alistair. I didn’t go into details, just told him the basics... only enough for him to understand what was going on.

He was quiet at first, too shocked to speak. And then his voice sharpened instantly.

"Connect me to her. Now!"

I didn’t waste a second.

I went back to Seraphina. She was still in the same position, squatting in the corner, her hair falling around her face, her shoulders trembling like she was freezing.

I sat beside her, but not close enough to scare her. I held out the phone gently in front of her face.

"Here," I murmured. "Alis wants to talk to you."

She blinked, her wet lashes sticking together. Her breathing hitched, and her voice finally broke through her sobs.

"You..." she whispered, her words came out shaky. "You’re... not angry... for talking... bad... bad about... bro... brother Ash... Asher?"

"Sera," I whispered, softer than I’ve ever spoken in my life, "why would I be angry at you for that?"

But she didn’t answer. Her eyes just searched my face, like she couldn’t believe I wasn’t going to hit her.

And God... it made me wonder just how many times she had been punished for opening her mouth.

"Sera, baby..." Alistair’s voice cut through the silence between us. Even through the phone speaker, he sounded softer than usual.

"I’m sorry for not coming to you sooner, but I swear once I wrap up the remaining shoots, I’m coming straight to you. I won’t let you stay alone anymore, okay?"

I kept my eyes on her the whole time, watching every tiny shift in her expression. She wasn’t trembling as hard now, but she still looked... lost. As if she didn’t know if she should believe him.

"Sera?" I whispered. But she didn’t respond to me.

She was staring straight at the screen... unblinking, like she had forgotten how to breathe.

And for a second, even Alistair went silent. I could tell he didn’t know what the hell was happening either.

Then she finally opened her mouth as her lips parted slowly, her voice so small it felt like she was scared even to let the words escape.

"You... You look..." she hiccupped, wiping her nose with the back of her shaking hand, "...so... so handsome."

We brothers just stared at her, too stunned to even speak. And for some reason, I felt a sense of jealousy in my heart.

Seraphina called him handsome... but she didn’t even look at me.

"Am I not handsome, Sera?" I asked quietly, keeping my voice soft so I wouldn’t scare my little sister, as she was already shaking enough.

"Hey..." Alistair’s voice broke the silence between us, then burst out laughing like an idiot. "Look at you," he said, pointing at me through the screen, eyes wide with fake disbelief. "You’re actually jealous because she didn’t call you handsome, aren’t you?"

"Shouldn’t I be?" I muttered, rolling my eyes. "I met her before you, and somehow you get a compliment and I don’t?"

I kept glancing between Sera and my phone, trying not to scare her.

"But..." Seraphina’s voice was so soft it shut both of us up instantly. "I... told you first... that I... missed you..."

"Whatt!!?" Alistair shouted like he was about to faint right there. His eyes went wide, mouth hanging open, like someone just stabbed his pride.

I didn’t even get the chance to blink before he cleared his throat and forced his face back into something less ridiculous.

"Well..." he dragged the word, trying to act normal again. "Then let me tell you something Adrian told you."

I opened my mouth to stop him, fearing that he might spit some nonsense again, but when I saw that little spark in Sera’s eyes, I just swallowed it back and let him talk.

"I miss you so... so much!" Alistair said, dragging the words out in the most dramatic, mushy tone ever. It was so sweet it made my stomach flip.

I swear, if someone didn’t know him, they’d think that it was her real personality.

His voice didn’t match his cold face at all, and it only made Sera’s lips twitch like she didn’t know whether to smile or hide.

"I... I want to see you..." she whispered, lowering her head like she was scared she might say something wrong.

"I’ll come to see you, don’t worry," Alistair said right away, voice steady like he had already made up his mind. "I promise I’ll find you soon... no matter where you are."

He said it half-joking, trying to make her smile. None of us knew back then that those stupid, casual words would turn into a promise he’d be ready to give his life for.

No one imagined he’d actually throw everything away just to drag her out of the hell she was trapped in... just to give her a life she deserved from the start.

We kept talking. Though Sera replied from time to time, when a sudden knock hit the door.

My body stiffened. "Yes, come in!" I called out, pushing myself up from the floor.

I handed the phone to Sera so she could keep talking, my fingers brushing hers for just a second... but her body shook once again as if something bad was about to happen to her.

"Brother," Asher entered the room with Melissa. "Why are you locked here in the room?" He asked as his eyes fell on Sera. "What the hell is she doing here?"

Asher raised his voice as he pointed toward her.