CRAVED: Her Blood, Their War.

Seraphina's POV

"I'm sorry, Seraphina. I can't do this anymore."

"Huh?" I raised a brow, expecting an explanation, but what he did next knocked the air from my lungs.

He grabbed me and lifted me onto the nearest table. His lips crashed into mine, hot and hungry.

My heart leapt.

I moaned into his mouth, my fingers tangling in his hair. Our tongues moved like we had been starving for each other's saliva. I raised my hips, rubbing my soaked pussy against his hard groin.

Just then, Lucien pulled off my suit leaving me with just my bra and lingerie underwear. He lowered his fingers to feel my wet pussy over the thin fabric.

"Seraphina..."he groaned. "You're a really naughty girl aren't you?"

"Please... touch me." I whispered into his mouth.

His hand slid up to my back, where he unhooked, and pulled off my bra, cupping my naked breasts with both hands. He smirked as he teased my nipples with his hot, wet tongue. I shook at his touch my body convulsing as I reached my first orgasm...

But he didn't stop there. He kept playing with my boobs. Licking and sucking while I slithered with pleasure, clinging to him like a life line. Then his mouth left my nipples and trailed kisses up my neck, where he sucked gently... making me nearly pass out.

My panties were drenched.

I wrapped my legs around him and he lifted me off the table, carrying me to the sofa. I straddled him, grinding on his rock-hard dick.

I rode him slow, firm motions. I could feel how soaked I was, my pussy clenching every time I pressed down on him.

"Fuck, Seraphinna," he groaned, squeezing my ass while I ground into him.

He reached for my nipples again, sucking so hard, I arched into him.

"Vale...rian." I moaned before I could stop myself.

He looked stunned, like something in him snapped.

He suddenly broke the kiss. We were both breathless.

I stared at him confused. Why did he stop?

I reached to kiss him but just when my lips met his, he pulled away like i was an electric pole.

"Lucien..." But before I could finish my sentence

"Who's Valerian?" he interrupted, his breath still shaky and hot against my face.

Valerian? Who was he talking about?

I blinked at him, completely thrown off. "Valerian?" I repeated, the name lingering on my tongue like something half-remembered from a dream. "I didn't... what are you talking about?"

Lucien stood there, staring at me like I'd just betrayed him.

"You moaned his name," he said quietly. "Just now. While you were riding me."

"No," I shook my head, my voice cracking. "No, I said your name."

He gave a humorless laugh, low and cold. "You didn't. You said Valerian."

I stared at him, heart racing, suddenly conscious of the damp air between us, the heat of my skin, and how everything had shifted in the space of a heartbeat.

"I don't know anyone named Valerian."

He didn't answer.

Instead, he grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head, each movement sharp, and controlled, like he was restraining himself. My body was still buzzing. Trembling from pleasure and confusion. But he was already stepping away from me like I was something dirty.

"Lucien, please," I whispered, still sitting on the sofa, my chest bare, legs still spread. "I swear I don't..."

He turned, his face unreadable. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing, Seraphina, but if you're seeing someone else, you could've just told me."

"I'm not! What are you talking about?" I scrambled to stand, grabbing the throw blanket off the back of the couch to cover myself. "There is no Valerian. I've never even heard that name before."

He paused in front of the door then reached into the inner pocket of his blazer.

Something clinked softly. A glint of silver flew through the air and landed at my feet. I looked down and saw the ring.

His ring.

The one he'd given me six months ago when he asked me to marry him.

He didn't say another word. Just opened the door, walked out, and slammed it shut behind him.

I stood frozen, blanket clutched to my chest, heart pounding in the echo of the silence he left behind.

And then the door opened again.

"Seraphina?" a soft voice called out.

My head whipped around just as my sister stepped in, stopping dead at the sight of me with my hair a mess, cheeks flushed, the blanket barely holding on to my body.

"What the hell happened in here?" she asked, eyes narrowing as she took in the ring on the floor and the look on my face.

I didn't know how to answer. The weight of everything hit me all at once, his silence, the cold and disgusted way he'd looked at me, the ring on the floor. And that name... Valerian. I didn't even know who that was.

My legs gave out before I could stop them. I sank to the floor and started to cry. Ugly sobs that cracked through my throat. The blanket slipped down my shoulder, but I didn't care. My whole body felt numb, except for the ache in my chest.

Sienna dropped her bag and rushed to me. She was on the floor in seconds, arms wrapping around me, holding me like she used to when I was a kid and thought the world would end just because I skimmed my knee. She didn't ask questions at first. She didn't try to fix it. She just held me, rocking us gently like she could carry the weight of my grief.

"I've got you," she whispered, her hand stroking my hair. "I'm here. I've got you."

I cried harder. Into her shoulder, into the comfort of her presence, into everything I'd just lost. The sound of the door slamming, the look in Lucien's eyes, the way his name had twisted into someone else's. I cried until my throat hurt and I couldn't breathe properly.

She pulled back just enough to brush my tears away with her thumb, and her eyes were already glassy. "Let's get you up," she said softly. "Come on. You need air. Maybe food. Something to make you feel human again."

I let her pull me to my feet. She helped me get dressed, no questions, no judgment, just quiet patience. She even smoothed down my hair and grabbed one of her jackets for me.

We didn't go anywhere fancy. She drove us to our usual spot, some tiny hole-in-the-wall diner we'd discovered in high school. The lights were too bright, the menu hadn't changed in ten years, and the waitress remembered our names.

Sienna ordered for both of us like she always did. She made sure I had extra whipped cream on my hot chocolate, and when my hands trembled too hard to lift the cup, she slid into the booth beside me and held it up for me.

I leaned against her shoulder, and she rested her cheek against my head.

"He's an idiot," she murmured after a while. "And you deserve so much better than someone who throws away love because of one word."

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. I just closed my eyes and let her warmth fill the cold spaces inside me.

She didn't rush me. We sat there for what felt like hours, sipping hot chocolate, stealing fries off each other's plates, pretending we weren't both hurting.

Later, when we got back to my place, she tucked me into bed like she used to when I was sick. Then she curled up next to me on top of the covers and held my hand.

"You'll be okay Phi Phi," she said quietly. "You've got me, and I'll always be here"

I believed her.

Because Sienna always made things, so much better.