Author's note: this is from Seraphina's point of view

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The awkward atmosphere was interrupted by my phone ringing and my breath hitched when I saw the caller ID: "Mona".

This is it. She wouldn't call if she doesn't have some updates. Am I ready for this?

Pick up the call, Serina, or you will miss it!

I glanced at Lazarus who looked at me curiously as I got my phone. My anxiousness was tangible.

"Hi, Mona…"

"Hey, Serina!", Mona greeted me with enthusiasm that told me she has something. "Is this a good time to chat?"

"Yes, yes…", I said quickly as I struggled to inhale enough oxygen. Do I even need oxygen? I needed it at that moment.

"Alright!", Mona exclaimed. "I sent coupons to your parents from my spa for promotional discount and several complimentary services for first-time customers. I will let you know if they book an appointment, and if I don't hear back from them in one week, I will send another batch with more perks. If I send them all free it might be suspicious, and this should be fine…"

I agreed with her. She planned this well.

Mona was chattering and I realized that she will not stop anytime soon unless I interrupt her.

My hands were shaky as I asked in a whisper, "Anything on Duke?"

"Yes, yes…", Mona said, and I heard some paper shuffling. "Your Duke's name is Drago Orsini…"

My heart stopped. Drago Orsini. It sounded so familiar. How come I didn't remember it before?

"He is known in the business circle as a finance wizard. I don't have very recent information as he keeps a low profile, but there are some rumors going on…" Mona paused, and I swear that second felt like a year. "He is handsome and rich, and many girls have their eyes on him, but one stands out. Magdalena Thompson. The latest gossip is that she is pregnant with his child and they are about to get married…"

I didn't hear what else Mona was saying as my head pounded like something was trying to burst out from my skull.

"Mona… I will… call you… later…", I stuttered in a voice that didn't belong to me and I faintly heard her say, "OK", before my phone clattered on the marble floor.

Magdalena Thompson. Image of a blonde appeared in front of me… girls' restroom in high school and her telling me to stay away from Drago because I'm not worthy… "Do you think he is with you because he likes you? You are a charity case, and he pities you. If not for your grandmother leaving you money, you would not be here…" How did she know about the trust fund?

Another scene with Magdalena, behind the gym… "You will see, he will forget about you…" I didn't believe her, but something about her confident smirk made my heart clench.

Duke and I on the school roof… He grabbed my hand. "Where did you get this bruise?" I yanked my hand away and pulled my sleeve lower. "I was clumsy." I didn't want to say that Magdalena and her bullies held me in place just to prove how powerless I am while Magdalena waved scissors around my head and snickered, "I feel magnanimous today, so I will give you a choice. Should I cut your hair or your face?" She didn't cut anything, but I've got a message. She is the boss, and I am no one.

The sharp pain radiated from my chest at the image of Duke and Magdalena talking. I looked away, but he saw me, and he was next to me within seconds. "That was nothing…", he said right away, even though I didn't ask anything and that was enough for me to know that he lied. Why would I care? We were not dating or anything like that, but the fact that he was getting chummy with my bully, hurt. A thought crossed my mind, 'Just a few more months and school will be over.'

And it was over because the next scene that came into my mind was in the college classroom, a girl came to me and put a magazine on my desk. "Did you know about the biggest news? Isn't he your friend from high school? Will they invite you to the wedding?" And there it was, a front-page picture of Magdalena and Duke at some party with a flashy title how heiress of the Thompson family found her match.

More photos of Duke and some random women I didn't know flipped in front of my eyes and I was unable to stop it, but no matter how many women were there, Magdalena appeared more than the others and now she is pregnant, and they are about to get married. How old is that rumor? They are probably married already.

Duke said that he will stay in touch and that he will not forget about me, but he did.

I was so stupid. I feared that he forgot about me after four years, yet he forgot about me long before that.

I cursed myself. Why didn't I remember this first? If I was aware from the beginning that Duke was just wishful thinking that collapsed before anything happened, I would avoid daydreaming and hoping, and my world wouldn't shatter into a million pieces when reality slapped me.

I knew it was all in the past, but it all felt so fresh like it happened yesterday, and my chest burned like someone is pulling my heart out.

And this time for real, there was no oxygen. Why can't I move? Why can't breathe? Am I even alive? Do I even want to be alive?

I struggled to inhale. Air. I need more air and I could see the invisible particles moving toward me. Is this what people see before they pass out, or before they die?

I felt the ripples as if the air became tangible and I was able to draw it in.

"Serina!", Lazarus's panicked voice reached me from the distance, but my eyes were closed, and I was focused on getting more air that I desperately needed to fill the cavity that was left by my heart which just burst into nothing as more and more images from my past resurfaced. Images of Duke with other women. Images of Duke with Magdalena. Images of me without Duke.

Abandoned by everyone. Lonely. Heartbroken.

No! I don't want to remember! Stop it!

The pain was worse than what I went through in the alley when the man choked me. And it was worse than what I experienced in Aldus's lab in Venice. At that time, I thought I am in hell, but this was much worse because the pain was not physical. This time, my agony was emotional, and it was getting worse with every damned image that reminded me Duke is not mine. He never was. The happy images faded and were replaced by desolation. I was always alone.

Stop it! STOP!

Everything became still. Deafening darkness surrounded me, and I could imagine that this is how vacuum feels.

I opened my eyes and I saw dust and broken pots and plants rotating around me slowly without making a single sound. I wanted to touch the broken palm tree that was right in front of me, but my body was non-responsive.

Energy bubbled inside me and wanted to burst out fueled by my anguish and I could see that the chaise I used to sit on, it was also floating around me. It all started rotating faster as my vision became blurry.

"AHHHH!", I screamed, and I heard a rumble and the ground shaking and the glass shattered all around me… and then the world turned silent.

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