Seraphina’s eyes instantly reddened.
She threw herself into my mother’s arms, her voice trembling.
“I knew…you’re the best person for me.”
My mother hugged her.
For a moment, her movements even carried a kind of… cautious tenderness.
“You are my most beloved child.”
She said.
Word by word.
Without the slightest hesitation.
I stood beside her.
Suddenly, I felt as if my chest had been ripped open.
Something I had never received.
She gave it to someone else.
Without hesitation.
My father died long ago.
She died in a family purge.
Not even her body was left.
From then on, only she and I remained in the manor.
Later—
Lucia Marchetti fell ill.
For two whole years.
The kind of illness that slowly drains you.
Before she died, she was placed in the most secluded wing of the manor.
The heavy curtains were drawn tightly, not even letting in sunlight.
The air was thick with the smell of medicine and decay.
I stood outside the door.
I heard her say with her last strength—
"Seraphina…I'm entrusting her to you."
My mother didn't hesitate.
She nodded.
Like accepting a responsibility.
Like receiving a replacement.
The next day.
Seraphina moved into my room.
And I was kicked out.
I refused to move.
That was my only space.