Our Love-Hate, Mutual Pain

Seraphina saved my life three times, so I gave her three chances to break my heart.

The first was our wedding day. She arrived with bruises on her neck. I acted like I didnt see them.

The second, she was photographed meeting a lounge singer. I smashed my cars headlights, slapped her until she bled, and demanded a divorce before losing myself in a club until dawn.

Seraphina heard and tore the club apart, then live-streamed a tearful apology and declared her love to the world, swearing shed be a devoted wife.

My family, fearing damage to our corporate alliance, pressured me to forgive her. I did.

But the day my mother jumped from our roof after my fathers mistress and her son tormented her, Seraphina disappeared.

When I found her, she was in a lounge, her arm linked with my fathers illegitimate son, clinking glasses with friends.

"Sera, didnt you swear off this? Isnt Asher going to kill you?" someone teased.

She scoffed. "Rowans no stranger. He was scared, I was just comforting him. Whats the problem?"

She sipped champagne, confident. "Besides, when has Asher ever stayed mad? Hell forgive me. He always does."

But youre wrong, Seraphina. Youre out of chances.

I took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The boisterous laughter in the room died instantly. Someone fumbled to cut the music.

Seeing me, Seraphina shot to her feet, a flicker of anxiety in her eyes.

"Asher, what are you doing here? Is... is everything taken care of for your mother?"

She gestured toward the boy beside her. "Rowan was just so shaken up. I know hes your brother, and youre so busy, so I thought Id bring him out to clear his head"

How noble of her.

"Seraphina," I said, my voice dangerously low. "Have you drunk yourself stupid? Have you forgotten why my mother is dead?"

Today was supposed to have been my parents twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.

Instead, his mistress and her son had shown up at our door.

They claimed they were there to offer congratulations, but it was a declaration of war, a blatant provocation.

And my father, instead of feeling an ounce of shame, told my mother to be more understanding.

Rowan was only two years younger than me.

My mother had dedicated more than two decades of her life to building a home for that man, only to discover his betrayal had been a shadow living alongside them for nearly as long.

Our housekeeper, unsettled by the tension, had secretly called me while I was out picking up the anniversary cake.

But by the time I raced back to the villa, it was too late. My mother leaped from the rooftop.

Her body landed on the hood of my car, shattering the windshield in a spiderweb of cracks, painting it crimson.

While I was drowning in grief, making arrangements for her funeral, my father was busy comforting his mistress.

And my wife my loving wife was out consoling the son of my mothers tormentor?

Suddenly, an unthinkable thought struck me.

"Seraphina, you already knew Rowan, didn't you? You knew who he was all along."

"I" She stammered, her eyes darting away, guilt written all over her face.

Rowan quickly jumped in. "Brother, please don't blame Sera. It was my dad and me we asked her not to say anything yet. We were afraid it would upset you and were waiting for the right moment."

He looked between us, a picture of innocence. "I was her junior in college. We we dated for a while, but her family forced her into an arranged marriage, so we had to break up."

He added hastily, "I swear, I have no intention of taking her from you. It's just... I was so scared today. I never thought your mother would be so... distraught."

Seraphinas silence was all the confirmation I needed.

A wave of bitter absurdity washed over me.

So, she knew. She knew my father had a secret son, a whole other life, and she kept it from me.

If I had known sooner, maybe I could have prevented this.

Maybe my mother wouldn't have felt so utterly alone, so betrayed that jumping seemed like the only way out.

Seeing the storm on my face, Rowan spoke again, his voice cloyingly sweet.

"Brother, my mother and I truly just wanted to offer our best wishes. I know I know your moms death is connected to us, and I feel terribly guilty."

He gestured to the karaoke machine. "I just graduated, so I don't have much to offer as a gift. How about I sing you a song, as an apology?"

Before I could answer, he hurried over and selected a track.

The next second, a ridiculously cheerful party anthem blared from the speakers.

I froze.

On the day of my mothers tragic death, he was going to sing that?

He turned, a mocking little wink in his eye.

The rage that had been simmering inside me finally exploded.

I snatched a heavy glass bottle from the coffee table and brought it down on his head.

CRACK.

The bottle shattered.

Rowan screamed, diving behind Seraphina for cover.

"Sera, are you okay?" he cried, feigning panic. "I-I didn't mean it! I swear I didn't pick that song. I must have been so nervous seeing my brother that I hit the wrong button"

Seraphina stood between us, a trickle of blood running down from her forehead where a shard of glass had nicked her.

Her eyes, however, were fixed on me, blazing with fury.

"Asher, what the hell is wrong with you? He's your half-brother! How could you attack him?"

She shielded Rowan protectively. "With that vicious temper of yours, its no wonder he was scared enough to make a mistake."

"I was starting to feel a little guilty about keeping this from you," she spat, "but now I see it was the right call. God knows what you would have done to him if youd known sooner!"

Rowan wrapped his arms around her shoulders, his face a mask of adoration. "Oh, Sera, you're so good to me. You always protect me."

Seraphinas expression softened as she looked at him, ruffling his hair with a fond, exasperated sigh.

"What am I going to do with you? Youre as soft as a little rabbit. If I don't protect you, the big bad wolf will eat you alive."

Her words hit me like a physical blow.

A long time ago, a much younger Seraphina had said those exact words to me.

She probably didn't even remember.

I drew a long, shaky breath.

From my jacket pocket, I pulled out the papers Id drafted but never signed after her last affair.

"Seraphina," I said, my voice devoid of all emotion. "Let's get a divorce."

2

Seraphina let out a sharp, dismissive laugh, signing the divorce papers with a flourish.

"Asher, is this your new trick? The last one didn't work, so you're trying again?"

She tossed the pen down. "Fine. I'll sign. But I didn't cheat this time, so don't expect me to come crawling back to you."

"See you at City Hall in a month," she said, her chin high. "You'd better still have this much backbone then. Don't come crying to me when you change your mind."

My past forgiveness had made her complacent.

She was convinced that for the sake of our families' business alliance, I would never truly leave her.

She was wrong.

"Don't worry," I said, my voice flat. "I won't."

Without another word, I turned and walked out.

I didn't go home. I booked a hotel suite for the month, to wait out the mandatory cooling-off period.

In the days that followed, Seraphina didn't send a single text.

I heard through the grapevine that Rowan wanted to learn to ski in Switzerland.

Seraphina owned a private resort there, so she took him.

My best friend was livid when he called.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" he raged.

"Everyone knows she built that resort for you! It was supposed to be your belated honeymoon spot after she proposed. It was meant to be for you and you alone!"

"And now she's taking that little bastard there? Has she learned nothing? Is she cheating on you again?!"

I sat by the floor-to-ceiling window of my hotel room, the signed divorce papers lying on the table in front of me.

For a moment, I was speechless.

These papers I had them drawn up the last time I caught her.

Id been so suffocated by her betrayal that Id called my friend and hit the clubs, determined to drink myself into oblivion.

Somehow, Seraphina found out.

She stormed in like a hurricane, flanked by her security team, and proceeded to smash the place up, slapping every woman who had dared to talk to me.

She had grabbed me by the collar, her eyes wild.

"You're a real piece of work, Asher."

Then, her voice broke. "I admit it. I fell in love with you. I can't stand the thought of you with anyone else. Are you satisfied now?"

What followed was that infamous live-streamed confession, a spectacle for the whole world to see.

Seraphina swore she would change, that she would be a good wife.

And for a while, life was sweet.

Like my friend said, she showered me with affection, catering to my every whim.

She knew I loved skiing, so she built a private mountain estate in the Swiss Alps, just for me. The name itself was a combination of ours.

But now

I looked at the latest picture Rowan had posted online.

The grand sign above the resort entrance had been replaced.

The four words that once symbolized our union, "Asherina," were gone.

In their place, a new sign proudly proclaimed, "Serarowan."

"Yes," I finally said into the phone, my voice hollow. "She's cheating again. Which is why I'm done with her for good."

I hung up and, without a moment's hesitation, signed my name on the divorce papers.

On the seventh day after my mother's death, my father called, asking me to come home for breakfast.

A foolish part of me hoped he felt a shred of remorse, that he wanted us to visit her grave together.

When I arrived, I found Rowan and his mother, Diane, sitting at the dining table.

My face went cold. I turned to leave.

"Stop!" my father barked, his voice sharp with anger. "Don't you walk out of here!"

He slammed his hand on the table. "I heard you attacked Rowan at the club the other day! What kind of monster are you? Hes your brother!"

He jabbed a finger at me. "Thank God Seraphina was there to shield him! You injure him, and then you have the audacity to demand a divorce and run away from home?"

"I don't know what your mother taught you, but she raised a thug! You will get on your knees and apologize to them right now before you ruin the partnership between our families!"

I stared at this man, this shell of a father whose world revolved only around profit and power.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

"You knew I ran away from home? Funny, you never bothered to ask where I was staying, or if I was okay."

"Oh, that's right, I forgot," I sneered. "Your heart is entirely occupied by your whore. Otherwise, you might have actually shown up to your own wife's funeral. You have the nerve to talk about my mother after that?"

My father's face turned purple with rage. He threw his fork down and raised his hand to strike me.

Diane quickly intervened, her eyes glinting as she played the part of the benevolent peacemaker.

"Darling, what are you doing?" she cooed, holding his arm. "The boy is grieving. We should be understanding. It's alright, I don't mind what he says."

She patted his chest, then turned to me with a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Besides, you can't bruise his handsome face. How will he and Rowan both serve as your groomsmen?"

The world tilted. My blood ran cold.

My voice came out as a strangled whisper.

"What what did you just call him? You're getting married?!"

3

"My mother has only been dead for a week, and youre already marrying your mistress?!"

My fathers face hardened, his voice dripping with righteous indignation.

"You said it yourself, your mother is dead. Am I supposed to mourn her forever?"

"And Rowan is a grown man now," he continued, gesturing to the boy. "I can't let people whisper behind his back, calling him illegitimate for the rest of his life. Its my duty as a father!"

Duty?

I collapsed into a chair, a hysterical laugh bubbling up from my chest as tears streamed down my face.

Rowan slid into the seat next to me, taking my hand in a gesture of false camaraderie.

"This is great, brother! Now we can be a real family. I don't know much about the rules of high society, so you'll have to teach me. I wouldn't want to embarrass anyone."

"Sure," I said, wiping my tears away. "No problem."

My father and Diane exchanged satisfied smiles.

I calmly lit a cigarette, took a long drag, and blew the smoke directly into Rowans face.

"Then here's your first lesson. I am the son of the legal wife. You are the son of a whore. That means you don't get to open your mouth in my presence unless I speak to you first. Got it?"

With a flick of my wrist, I pressed the glowing tip of the cigarette into the back of his hand.

The hiss of searing flesh was punctuated by Rowan's piercing shriek. I grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at me.

"Don't think I don't know. You spoke to my mother alone right before she died. I haven't settled that score with you yet, so I suggest you stay the hell away from me."

"Asher! Have you lost your mind? That's your brother!" my father roared, jumping to his feet. Diane rushed to cradle the sobbing Rowan, glaring daggers at me.

"Hah"

I dusted off my hands.

"My mother only gave birth to me. I don't have any cheap half-brothers."

"Dad, you know my temper," I warned, my voice deadly calm. "You want to throw a wedding for this trash and officially welcome them into society? You go right ahead. But I swear to you, if you try, I will burn your wedding to the ground. Test me."

He knew I wasn't bluffing. My connection to the Seraphine family still held weight.

My father and Dianes faces contorted with rage and impotence.

Just then, a familiar voice cut through the tension from behind me.

"With me here, I'd like to see who dares."

Seraphina strode in, one hand casually tucked into her pocket.

The moment Rowan saw her, his tears redoubled. He scrambled over to her like she was his savior, showing her his burned hand.

Seraphinas face tightened with pity and anger.

"It's okay, Rowan," she cooed, her voice soft. "I'll take you to the best specialist. I promise there won't be a scar."

She looked at him fondly. "Our Rowan has to be the most handsome groomsman for his father, doesn't he?"

I stared at her, incredulous. My voice trembled.

"Seraphina, do you even hear yourself?"

She met my gaze, a cold, mocking smile playing on her lips.

"I heard everything, Asher. In our world, what man doesn't have a few women on the side? Your mother died because she couldn't handle it. Why are you blaming Rowan for her weakness?"

Her words were like knives.

"You had a father your whole life. Why shouldn't Rowan have the same? Its not fair."

"I don't care what you think," she declared, her voice ringing with finality. "I'm going to help him take his rightful place in this family. I'll make sure everyone knows he's a legitimate heir, and no one will ever dare call him illegitimate again."

She took a step closer, her eyes boring into mine. "You want to ruin this wedding, Asher? Go on. I dare you."

I knew she meant it.

The last time she'd made a threat like that, the man who had made a crude joke about me found his company bankrupt within days. He vanished from Seacrest Bay, reportedly with two broken legs and no tongue.

I should have seen this coming.

Seraphina was always promiscuous. To her, my father's infidelity was a trivial matter. She couldn't possibly comprehend the depth of my mothers pain, or mine.

But the betrayal, coming from the woman who had shared my bed, still felt like a dagger twisting in my gut.

I snapped. I slapped her, hard.

"Get out!" I roared.

Seraphina just smirked, rubbing her cheek. Before she could retort, Rowan charged at me, shoving me with all his might.

"I've had enough of you! Stop bullying Sera!" he screamed.

Seraphina watched with a flicker of amusement. "Well, well. The little rabbit has learned how to bite."

"You always protected me, Sera," Rowan declared, puffing out his chest. "Now it's my turn to protect you!"

I stumbled backward, crashing into a pair of large potted cacti.

Hundreds of tiny needles embedded themselves in my back and palms. The sharp, stinging pain made me gasp, blood welling up and dripping onto the floor.

My father sighed, a look of utter disgust on his face.

"You've completely ruined a perfectly good breakfast."

He turned to Seraphina. "Sera, you haven't eaten, have you? Let's go out."

Seraphina, her attention focused entirely on Rowan's hand, simply nodded and led him away without a single glance back at me.

As they left, Rowan turned his head and mouthed one word at me.

Loser.

I watched the four of them walk away, a happy family unit.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips as hot tears finally began to fall.

"Mom, look you're gone, and now your son is homeless"

My voice broke into a sob. "Doesn't it hurt you to see this? Please, come back. I miss you so much"

4

News of my father's impending wedding spread through our social circle like wildfire.

During that time, Seraphina flaunted Rowan at every opportunity, taking him to all sorts of high-profile events, even those meant exclusively for married couples.

She made it clear to everyone: Rowan was not to be called illegitimate. He was to be treated with the same respect as they would treat her.

Rowan, for his part, made sure I knew it. He would call or send videos constantly, each one a carefully crafted showcase of his new life with Seraphina.

"Brother, Sera gave me another diamond ring yesterday. It even has our initials engraved on it. I heard it's bigger than your wedding ring was."

"Oh, and she convinced her father to give me the family's heirloom signet ring. Isn't that something they only give to sons-in-law? I guess you won't be needing it anymore."

I remembered that ring.

By Seraphine family tradition, it was only passed to a new son-in-law after the birth of an heir.

Seraphina had never bothered trying to get it for me, always saying, "We'll have kids eventually, it'll be yours then."

Given her past, I hadn't been in any rush to start a family. We had planned to start trying after the New Year. Now, it seemed, that was off the table.

I couldn't imagine what she must have said or done to convince her staunchly traditional father to break such a long-standing rule.

The final message was a picture of Seraphina, asleep.

Her exposed neck and shoulders were a canvas of angry purple marks.

The text below it read: "Sera said she hasn't been this happy in a long time. She said being with an old man like you was so boring she could only fake it."

I didn't bother replying. I just blocked his number.

On the day of my father and Diane's wedding, Seraphina, paranoid I would cause a scene, hired a legion of bodyguards to patrol the venue inside and out.

It was completely unnecessary.

She had already put the word out: anyone who dared to help me disrupt the wedding would be making an enemy of the Seraphine family.

No one would touch me.

I sat alone in my hotel room, clutching a photo of my mother, tears of guilt and helplessness streaming down my face.

That afternoon, the door to my suite burst open.

Seraphina stood there, flanked by her security, her face a mask of cold fury. A red-eyed, sobbing Rowan was right behind her.

She stormed over and grabbed me by the collar.

"Asher, I never thought you could sink this low! How could you leak private photos of Rowan at the wedding?"

Her voice was laced with venom. "It's all over the news! You've ruined him! How is he ever supposed to get married now? You just wanted to destroy his future!"

I shoved her hand away, my brow furrowed in confusion.

"What are you talk"

Before I could finish, Rowan burst into tears.

"Brother, I know you don't want to give me the company shares, but it was Dad's idea! I'm his son, I can't just defy him, can I?"

He looked at me with wounded eyes. "If you're angry, take it out on me, I can handle it. But why did you have to do it on my mother's wedding day? She's been called a mistress for so many years she's suffered enough."

And then it all clicked into place.

Years ago, when my father was still madly in love with my mother and defied his family to marry her, he had given her half of his shares in the company to show his devotion.

My mother later signed them over to me.

This was never about a wedding. This was a setup.

A cold smile spread across my face.

"Seraphina, are you blind? Can't you see what this is? He's staging this whole drama to steal the shares my mother left me."

"You say I did it? Who saw me? Do you have any proof?"

"I don't need proof! Rowan isn't that kind of manipulative person. You're the only one with a motive!" Seraphina shot back, her belief in him absolute.

She grabbed my arm. "You're going to go live right now, apologize to Rowan, and tell everyone you did it."

"And then," she said, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper, "you will sign over all of your shares in the company to him. It's what you owe him."

"And if I don't?"

At my defiance, Rowan let out a theatrical, despairing wail.

"Sera, my reputation is ruined! Everyone is calling me a shameless degenerate who destroyed his own parents' wedding!"

"My brother had a father his whole life, he has company shares, he has an amazing wife like you I have nothing! I can't live like this, being pointed at and whispered about forever! I'd rather just die!"

"Rowan, don't be stupid!" Seraphina cried, grabbing his arm.

She turned to me, her eyes burning with a cold fire, and a cruel smile twisted her lips.

"Asher, did you really think the body cremated that day... was your mother's?"