••{SERAPHINE'S POV}••
The sound of my heart beating in my chest is so loud in the silence that follows that it's deafening.
Hearing Nayeesha's name leave Azeria's lips felt like being stabbed. And trust me when I say that I know what it feels like all too well.
And the worst part — the part that makes it sting most — is that I can't argue against it.
There's no version of this conversation where I can look at what Azeria is asking of me and find a legitimate reason to refuse.
"You hurt her a hundred times more than you hurt me, Mother," Azeria says. "She's the one who deserves this apology more than I do."
My shoulders slowly slump as the weight of my daughter's words settle in my chest.
How do I even begin to apologize to her?
What do I even say?
How do I stand before someone I reduced to nothing… and ask to be seen as anything more than that?
