CHAPTER 142: I’M YOUR IDIOT!

Lucien’s POV

I was still stuck on what Emma had said about Seraphina... that she was the girl who had saved my life back then.

Everything suddenly felt different. As if everything now was falling into its place without me even knowing.

If I’d just looked closer before, I would’ve seen it. I would’ve known why that face in my dreams kept getting vivid, why those dreams followed me even when I was awake.

I used to think it was just because I couldn’t stop thinking about Sera, that she’d somehow gotten under my skin.

But no. It was always her.

And now that I knew... she wasn’t going anywhere, even if the whole world would be against us! I would still make her mine!

I was full of determination when someone suddenly smacked me from behind. The hit wasn’t hard, and I wasn’t ready for it, which made me almost stumble forward. My jaw tightened as I slowly turned around, with eyes cold enough to kill.

"Alis!"

The moment I saw it was Alistair, I eased up a little, but my teeth still ground together.

"Why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to be with your siblings?"

He only smirked, that usual lazy look in his eyes. "I was. Then I thought there was a lonely soul around here."

I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t know what he was trying to say. "And?"

"And," he said slowly, as if enjoying dragging it out, "I figured you’d be too deep in your thoughts to notice someone coming up on you, and see, I was right."

I let out a short, humorless laugh. "You always were good at showing up where you’re not wanted."

He shrugged and rolled my eyes, completely unfazed by my words. "Someone has to keep you from doing something stupid."

"Too late," I muttered under my breath. "But now, can you tell me why you didn’t go with Asher?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "He was furious when you didn’t follow him. Now you want him to kill you for staying here on my side?"

"Are you for real?" Alistair stepped closer, resting a hand on my shoulder like he’d done a hundred times before. "You’re my friend, and I know you needed someone... so I sent Sera with Asher. He’ll take care of her."

What!?

The words made my heart skip a beat, and my eyes went wide before I could hide it, then narrowed again, trying to keep my face unreadable.

Did he really leave his sister behind for me? The sister he doted on so much that he almost became bankrupt?

Was he really staying here for me?

But it was also true that no matter how bad things got, no matter how much I tried to push him away, Alis was always there. I could be bleeding, broken, or ready to lose it completely, and he’d still show up to help me and take care of me.

I neither asked for his help, nor anyone else... But he was always just there.

I hated admitting it, but in my worst moments, when the world felt empty, when there was no one for me, not even my family... Alis was the only one who never left me.

And now he was standing here with his hand still heavy on my shoulder, I realized something: if he’d sent Sera with Asher, it meant he still saw me as his friend.

And... Seeing him here with me, I could tell that I really needed his goofy presence around me.

I looked away, jaw tightening. "You’re an idiot," I muttered.

"Yeah," he said with a faint grin. "But I’m your idiot."

The moment those words left his mouth, we just stood there, staring at each other like idiots.

"You!" I snapped, shoving him back a step. "Don’t you dare use your melodramatic crap on me!"

"I..." Alistair scratched the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at me. "Of course, I’m your idiot... since I’m literally handing over my sister to you."

For a second, I didn’t even breathe. "Excuse me?" My voice went higher than I wanted, brows shooting up. "Did you just—what the hell did you just say?"

He smirked like he’d won something. "You heard me."

I blinked, still trying to process. "Are you insane or are you playing with my emotions? Didn’t your brother just went ahead to threaten me and you are here promising me? Are you insane?"

"Both, probably." He shrugged, then stepped closer like he wasn’t afraid of getting punched. "Point is... I trust you."

"Why would you?" I asked in a sharp tone as I sat on the bed where Sera had been resting just moments ago. The sheets still held the faint scent which made me miss her.

"Didn’t you just say I should sort things out with my ex? And you said it right in front of your sister!" I glared at him gritting my teeth.

Alistair didn’t flinch. Instead, sat down on the chair in front of me. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You see," he began slowly, "no matter if my sister likes you or hates you... you’ll always be my friend." His gaze locked with mine steadily. "And since I know the kind of person you are, I just wanted you to stay clear and not give her any false hope."

His words were deliberate and calm but my blood was heated. I wanted to say something but nothing came out of my mouth.

"Since," he continued, tilting his head as if gauging my reaction, "she’s hopelessly in love with you and... ahem... she herself admitted she was trying to seduce you."

I blinked, feeling the room closing in toward me. My pulse jumped in my throat. The image of Sera’s flushed face when she’d looked at me earlier today flashed in my mind.

"Did she?" I asked in a low voice. Even though I was aware that she had said that right to my face.

"Either way!" The moment I realized I was leaving my emotions bare in front of Alistair again, I quickly pulled back and gave his shoulder a light punch. "How dare you take Sera back to that hell? Wouldn’t it have been better for her to live with me?"

Alistair smirked faintly, rubbing the spot where I’d tapped him. "You could’ve just asked instead of pretending to hit me," he said. Then he added, "And didn’t you hear? We said we were taking her home, not to the Lancaster mansion."

"Really?" I raised a brow, not buying it. "You’re broke and had no money on you, so where exactly did you get the cash to move her somewhere?" I leaned in, my face right up to his, pointing a finger at him.

"Don’t tell me you’re dumping her in some spooky place with a crap atmosphere." Just imagining Sera stuck in a place like that made my chest tighten and anger rose in my heart.

"Dude!" Alistair stood up and flicked my finger away, giving my arm a light punch.

"I might be broke, but my brother’s loaded, you know. And guess what... He has finally figured out that Sera is the only one who matters to us. No Melissa, no other toxic person can replace her. So..." He let out a small chuckle, "he sold all properties or Melissa and made sure Sera owns more than her or even me. We brothers gave her everything we had from the Lancaster mansion."

I snorted, then gave him a light punch back on the shoulder. "Fine! I’ll let you off just this once. But if I find out you put her somewhere shady, I’ll drag you out by the collar myself."

"Man!" Alistair shook his head and then started laughing out loud and it wasn’t normal, he was clutching his stomach like I had just told him the world’s funniest joke.

His chair scraped back, and in his fit, he leaned too far and bumped the edge of the table. A few items clattered to the floor which I ignored for now.

"What the hell are you laughing for!" I narrowed my eyes, but my voice stayed sharp. My knuckles itched to swing a hard punch on him, but instead of actually hitting him, I gave him a quick push, just enough to make him stumble back another half-step. "Don’t test me, Alis. Or I swear I’ll pull my investments, and you can enjoy explaining to your precious artists why they’re busking on street corners."

"Hey, hey!" Alistair finally straightened, his hand still resting on his stomach as he wiped at the corner of his eye. "Don’t be so rude! I was just laughing because of something—"

"What something?" I stepped toward him, keeping my gaze locked on his face, even though the corner of my eyes caught a diary still lying on the floor. But I ignored it for now. Whatever that was, I’d get to it.

First, I needed to know what could possibly make him burst into hysterics out of nowhere.

Alistair gave me a knowing smirk."You’re going to lose your mind when you hear it," he said, saying those words with difficulty as he was still recovering from his hysetic laughter.

That smirk alone made me want to flick him on the forehead just for the satisfaction, but I kept my arms folded and waited for his response.

"It’s just that... I only thought it was my sister who was crazy about you and you were only kind to her because of whatever story Adrian had filled you in with!