The Heiress's Revenge - A Bloody Affair - Chapter 62

Chapter 62: [62 – The Helping Hand]
“5 things you can see.”

Seraphina stilled in fear. She had not expected anybody to find her in this position where it would become hard for her to answer. In her panic she did not realize who it was at first. The only thing that her brain registered was fear.

Immeasurable amounts of fear that was a result of her deep seated trauma that was engraved on her mind and heart, imprinted on her soul. She would not have had suffered a panic attack if she was watching them from a distance, keeping an eye on them.

But meeting them up and close, and actually talking to them was a different story all together. Scarier than she had imagined it would be. Tougher than she had thought it would be. It was only after that she heard the person repeat the sentence that she recognized who it was.

“5 things you see.” Seraphina trembled, relaxing a little bit as the familiar voice pierced through the thick fog that surrounded her, the firm and protective touch reassuring her that she was safe.

Seraphina let her gaze wander and observe the first five things that she could see.

“The fairy lights covering every tree and bush, the fountain, the arbor with climbing roses, your hand on my shoulder, and that angel statue on the side.” responded Seraphina.

“4 things you can touch.” he asked again, his hand gently sliding down from her shoulder her hand. Seraphina entwined her fingers with his and responded, “My clutch, my fabric of my gown, these leaves, and your hand.”

Squeezing her hand in a comforting way, he continued diverting Seraphina’s attention to other things, “3 things that you can hear.”

“You voice.” the tremors in Seraphina’s body seemed to have faded away and she felt a lot better as she continued, “The soft hum of music, and the cascading sound of water flowing in that fountain.”

“Good.” another gentle squeeze, “2 things that you can smell.”

“The scent of your cologne,” replied Seraphina as she took a deep breath. She was feeling more relaxed and focused than before, “and the floral, sweet, and earthy scent that surrounds this garden.”

She closed her eyes, a lot calmer than before. She gathered all the courage that she could muster and put her entire focus on regaining her composure. Seraphina heard the crinkle of a candy wrapper as he held up the candy in front of her lips.

She knew that it was an orange flavored, sour candy and she knew him as well. So she did not hesitate in parting her lips and opening her mouth. She heard him chuckle as he placed the candy between her lips and asked, “And the 1 thing that you can taste.”

Seraphina made a slurping sound as she sucked on the sour candy, “This orange candy.” her nose scrunched up slightly as the sourness of the candy hit her, “Oh, it’s sour!”

He chuckled and placed his hands on her shoulder, gently moving her around to face him, “Feeling better?” he asked while patting her on the head, caressing her hair softly.

Seraphina opened her eyes to look at the man who had always been by her side, always protected her, and did all he could do to keep her safe, “Much better.” she replied, “Thank you, Ash.”

Asher smiled, much more genuinely than he had ever smiled in front of his parents or his biological sister, “You don’t have to thank me, Sera. I had a feeling that this could happen, that is why I came prepared.” he said taking out the rest of different fruit flavored sour candies that he had.

He took Seraphina’s clutch from her hand and put all the candies in it, “Remember, what Uncle Mikey used to say?” closing the clutch, he handed in back to Seraphina who only nodded her head in response.

“Boats don’t reach the shore by fearing the waves,” Asher began reciting the lines of the poem that his Uncle Michael and his cousin Caroline, now Seraphina’s father would often recite to them.

Seraphina straightened up, gathering her courage, summoning her strength, “Those who strive with courage, their efforts never fail.” she added.

Asher’s eyes softened as he watched Seraphina’s resolve strengthen before him. Gently brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear, Asher placed his hand on his cousin’s cheek and said, “It’s going to fine, Sera. Do not let your fear rule you, overpower you.”

“You have got this, okay.” he whispered, his tone motivating, “You are stronger than your fears, and you know that.”

Seraphina took a deep breath and nodded positively. The warmth of Asher’s hand on her cheek and of his encouraging words enveloping her like a comforting blanket. It seemed as if she had gotten back all the courage and determination that she had lost a few minutes ago.

“Thank you, Ash.” no matter how many times she said that it would never be enough to express how grateful she was to him. It was only because of Asher, her cousin, her brother, that she was alive and able to fight back.

“I needed that reminder.” she added, her voice a lot steadier now.

Asher nodded, his eyes filled with a mixture of pride and concern, “I am always going to be there for you, Sera. I promised you, did I not? That I would always be there to hold you whenever you fall or falter and would help you get back up and fight.”

Seraphina smiled but said nothing as Asher continued, “Now, let’s go and get through with this, okay?” he grabbed her hands in his and said, “I know that it is hard to see them so happy after they snatched away your happiness. Make your fear and anger you strength Sera, don’t let them be your weakness.”

“You will go inside, face them all without an ounce of fear, and let them have a glimpse of who they are dealing with. Do you understand?” asked Asher.

She nodded, her grip on his hands tightening briefly before she said, “Yes. Let’s go.”

Asher squeezed her hands one last time conveying his endless support to her before letting her go. “Go.” he said, “I’ll follow you after a few minutes.”

Seraphina smiled and used a tissue to dab at the corner of her eyes, “Am I looking good?” she asked.

“Perfect.” Asher responded with a smile of his own, “Now go.”

Locking up all her memories, all her trauma for the night, Seraphina made her way back to the ballroom with unparalleled elegance, confidence, and grace. With every step that she took forward, the sound of ambient music growing louder and louder.

She held her head high, put an alluring smile on her lips as she looked around for Elijah. She found him seated at the center table with his family. She watched him interact with his family. They all looked so happy and so carefree as if they had not done anything wrong in their lives, as if they had not murdered families, destroyed their homes.

Seraphina stood there for a few minutes, taking it all in and making sure that she did not suffer another panic attack at the sight. Felling confident, she walked up to the table where Elijah was seated at.

“Hello!” she greeted, grabbing their attention.