Seraphina's Point Of View
"On the grounds that you're fired, Ms. Vale."
He delivered the words with clinical detachment, as if announcing the weather rather than dismantling my entire world. There was no malice in his tone, no satisfaction, just the cold efficiency of a man executing orders.
For a second… just one second, everything went silent. Not the room. Not the faint rustle of tape sealing boxes. Not the distant hum of the office outside.
No.
Just… me.
My breath stalled halfway in my chest, trapped somewhere between my lungs and throat. My fingers twitched at my sides, searching for something to anchor myself to. My brain usually sharp, quick, always ten steps ahead just… blanked. It was as if someone had pulled a plug, draining every coherent thought from my mind.
"What—"
The sound that left my lips wasn't even a word. It was air. Shock. Disbelief. The syllable died before it could fully form, hanging uselessly in the space between us.
