Betrays Love 208 Summary


    Seraphina is pulled from her thoughts by her mother’s gentle voice, revealing her lingering sadness as she stares at a sketch of Kieran. When her mother asks if she is alright, Seraphina hides her emotions but senses her mother’s own struggles. They discuss Celeste, Seraphina’s sister, who has distanced herself from the family, living in a luxurious vi and refusing contact. Their mother is worried and conflicted, feeling torn between respecting Celeste’s wishes and her desire to reconnect.


    The conversation shifts to an uing heir ceremony for Daniel, a family event that holds deep meaning for Seraphina’s mother. She confesses her regret over never giving Seraphina a propering-of-age ceremony, something Celeste had received in grandeur. This admission opens a rare moment of vulnerability between them, highlighting past neglect and unspoken pain.


    In a surprising gesture, Seraphina’s mother presents her with a gold bracelet, an heirloom passed down from her own mother and intended for Seraphina’s wedding. The bracelet, engraved with their family initials, symbolizes a heartfelt attempt to mend their fractured rtionship. Seraphina wrestles with mixed feelings—hope, suspicion, and the weight of old wounds—but ultimately epts the gift, touched by her mother’s sincerity.


    Their embrace marks a tentative step toward healing, with Seraphina’s mother expressing a wish to close the emotional distance between them. Though aware of the fragility of such promises, Seraphina responds with quiet hope, signaling a possible new beginning in theirplicated family dynamic.Continue Regr Chapter Reading Below


    On Chester 208, RUCKED FOR JEWELRY


    Chapter 208: SUCKER FOR JEWELRY


    SERAPHINA’S POINT OF VIEW


    My mother’s gentle voice pulled me abruptly from the haze of my thoughts.


    “Seraphina, dear?”


    I blinked a few times, the vivid memory fading away like morning mist under the sun. The sketchpad rested open on the table beside me, Kieran’s penciled profile turned toward the window, as if watching the world outside.


    A tear slipped silently down my cheek.


    “Oh—sorry,” I murmured quickly, brushing beneath my eyes before my mother could notice. The emotion from the memory still clung to me, but I forced my voice to sound steady. “I was just lost in thought. Remembering something.”


    She lingered in the doorway, her face a mixture of warmth and concern. “Good memories, I hope?”


    I fought back a bitterugh and shrugged nomittally. “Old ones.”


    It was then I realized the chair next to me was empty. How long had I been staring nkly into space?


    “Maya?” I asked, ncing around.


    “She’s off somewhere with her nephews,” Mother replied with a small shake of her head. “Those boys have boundless energy. I just hope they don’t wear her out like they’ve done to their poor father.”


    I smiled faintly. “Maya can handle them.”


    Mother hesitated, then stepped forward, smoothing the fabric of her perfectly pressed skirt. “Are you alright, Sera?”


    I gave a small shrug, closing the sketchpad and pushing the memory deep inside me.


    She watched me quietly for a moment, and I took the chance to study her as well.


    Up close, I saw details I’d missed earlier at lunch—the faint shadows under her eyes, the subtle lines that even her careful makeup couldn’t hide.


    “What about you?” I asked softly. “Are you alright?”


    Her hand froze mid-air. “Of course,” she said quickly, but the tightness in her voice gave her away.


    I reached out, gently touching her arm. “Mother.”


    She sighed heavily. “It’s a subject I doubt you want to talk about.”


    “Try me.”


    “It’s… Celeste.”


    Just hearing that name felt like salt poured onto an open wound.


    Of course, it was about Celeste.


    “Isn’t she living it up at Catherine’s vi?” I tried to keep my tone light, but bitterness slipped through despite my efforts.


    Mother winced. “You make it sound like a vacation.”


    “Isn’t it?” I said dryly. “She’s in a luxurious vi by the beach, with endless ocean views and servants catering to her every whim.”


    Mother exhaled slowly, her eyes drifting toward the window as if seeking some calm. “I’ve been calling her,” she said.


    “Regrly. But she rarely picks up, and when she does, she sounds… distracted. Distant. I’d hoped she’d be back by now, but…” She shrugged helplessly.


    I pictured it easily—Celeste lounging on a sunlit veranda, responding to our mother with bored annoyance before ending the call abruptly.


    “I even offered to visit,” Mother added, “but she refused. Said she doesn’t want to see any of ‘you people.’” She sighed. “She’s still so upset?”


    I held back a scoff. Knowing Celeste, that sulk wouldst at least another decade. I wasn’t even going to pretend I didn’t feel a little satisfaction at that thought. If I never saw her again, it would be too soon.


    But my mother wasn’t me, and Celeste wasn’t just a thorn in her side. She genuinely adored that little she-devil more than she ever did me.


    “Ethan’s not happy about it,” Mother continued. “He says if Celeste wants to iste herself, we should let her. That I shouldn’t stoop to chase after her when she’s being rude. But…” Her voice wavered. “She’s still my daughter, Sera.”


    I think it was a sign of my growth that my first instinct wasn’t to remind her sharply that I was her daughter too, and that she never seemed to care about me the same way.


    “I’m… sorry,” I said softly.


    She shook her head. “It’s not your fault.” Her gaze was sincere as she looked at me. “None of this is your fault, Sera.”


    It felt like she was speaking about more than just Celeste’s tantrum—as if she were trying to apologize for years of silent me.


    Like I’d told Ethan, I wasn’t ready to relive painful memories today. I’d slipped once with Kieran’s memory, but I wouldn’t again.


    So I turned away.


    “You should go, anyway,” I said. “If you miss her that much, go see her. You could use the chance to visit Catherine, too. You haven’t seen her in a while, right?”


    Mother was silent for a moment, and I guessed she was weighing the idea. After all, Celeste was the apple of her eye; no one else ever really measured up.


    “Actually, I’m going to stay,” she surprised me by saying. “At least until Daniel’s heir ceremony.”


    I turned back to her, eyebrows rising in surprise. “That’s… more important?”


    She looked mildly offended. “Of course. Your father and I talked about that moment all the time. We couldn’t wait.”


    A small smile tugged at my lips. “I’m d Daniel has grandparents who adore him so much.”


    Her voice softened. “It’s more than that. Being part of Daniel’s ceremony feels like… redemption.”


    I tilted my head. “For what?”


    Her eyes darted away, then back to me, then away again.


    “For not giving you a propering-of-age ceremony,” she confessed quietly. “It’s something I’ve always regretted, Sera.”


    Her words—and the honesty in her tone—caught me off guard.


    Theing-of-age ceremony wasn’t unlike the heir ceremony, but it was held when someone bonded with their wolf. Naturally, I didn’t have one.


    Celeste’s ceremony was grand—the biggest party I’d ever seen for a twelve-year-old.


    I opened my mouth to respond, but my mother suddenly stood, straightening her posture as though afraid to linger in vulnerability.


    “Come with me,” she said. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to give you.”


    She led me down the hall toward the master bedroom, where the air still carried faint traces of my father’s leather and amber scent.


    The curtains were half drawn, sunlight catching on the ornate mirror and the delicate silver frame holding a photo of us from long ago—when I was a toddler, and we still fit the illusion of a perfect family.


    Mother crossed to her vanity and carefully opened a drawer. When she turned back, she held a small satin box in both hands.


    “I was saving this for your wedding,” she said quietly. “But… that didn’t…” Her voice trailed off, and I had no intention of helping her finish the thought.


    My wedding hadn’t exactly been a joyful asion for gifts.


    “Anyway,” she exhaled, “I think Daniel’s ceremony is as good a moment as any. I’m sorry it’s sote.”


    She opened the box to reveal a thin gold bracelet, worn smooth by time and polished to a gentle glow.


    “It belonged to my mother,” she exined. “She gave it to me when I married your father. I always intended for it to be yours.”


    I stared at it for a long moment, torn between a small flicker of hope and a wave of suspicion.


    Was she giving it to me now because Celeste wasn’t here to receive it first? Because her engagement had fallen apart?


    “Why now?” I asked quietly.


    Mother shifted her feet, her gaze fixed everywhere but on me—the awkwardness of the moment surprising me more than anything all day.


    “What is it?” I pressed.


    She hesitated, then met my eyes. “When you arrived earlier today,” she said slowly, “Sylvia noticed something different about you.”


    At the mention of my mother’s wolf, Alina perked up beside me.


    “Your scent—it’s changed. Stronger. I wanted to ask, but…” A rueful smile flickered on her lips. “I didn’t want to push you too hard and shatter the fragile peace we’ve built.”


    For a moment, silence stretched between us.


    Then Mother added softly, “When I saw you sitting in your old room just now, I thought—Goddess, how much I’ve missed you. I wanted toe in and just… hold you. But then you looked up, and you seemed so far away, and…” She sighed. “It reminded me of the distance between us. The one I allowed to grow.”


    My throat tightened.


    “And I know it’s my fault,” she whispered, brushing her hand over mine. “I pushed you away. I wasn’t there when you needed your mother. I’m so sorry, Sera.”


    I swallowed back a flood of emotion.


    “How do I know you mean that? How can I be sure you’re not just giving me this because Celeste’s no longer around?”


    She didn’t seem offended by my usation.


    Instead, she tilted the bracelet toward me. The light caught the initials engraved along the inside curve: T, M, S.


    Tabitha.<fna191> Th?s chapter is updated by f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?</fna191>


    Margaret.


    Seraphina.


    “She had it engraved before she gave it to me, and I did the same,” my mother exined. “Eleven years ago.”


    Tears blurred my vision, and I blinked hard to keep them at bay.


    This wasn’t an afterthought. Like Kieran, this was my mother’s way of reaching out to me once again.


    Maybe I was softer than I thought. Maybe I was pathetic. Or maybe I was just a sucker for jewelry.


    I smiled gently. “It’s beautiful.”


    Her eyes softened, and she smiled back—not the polished hostess smile she wore for the Cartridges, but something small and trembling.


    “I only wish I’d given it to you sooner. There are so many things I wish I’d done. And even more I wish I hadn’t.”


    Her words cracked something deep inside me.


    Without thinking, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her. For a moment, she stood still—then she embraced me tightly, tighter than I remembered.


    Her familiar perfume surrounded me—white lilies and faint sandalwood—and beneath it, something more primal: the soft hum of her wolf, calm and maternal.


    Alina purred softly, nestled against her.


    “Oh, I missed you, Sera,” my mother whispered.


    “I missed you too,” I murmured against her shoulder.


    When she pulled back, her eyes were shining with tears yet bright with hope. “I—I hope we can grow closer,” she said, brushing a hand gently across my cheek. “Bridge the gap. No more distance. No more enmity?”


    I nodded, though I knew all too well how fragile promises were in our family. “I’d like that,” I said softly.


    She smiled and fastened the bracelet around my wrist. The gold gleamed in thete afternoon light, sparkling like a promise—one that might, just maybe, hold.Conclusion


    The chapter closes on a tender moment of reconciliation between Seraphina and her mother, where years of silence and distance begin to soften under the weight of shared regret and unspoken love. The gift of the bracelet, a family heirloom passed down through generations, symbolizes not only a connection to their past but also a fragile hope for healing and renewed closeness. Despite the lingering pain andplicated feelings, this gesture opens a door to understanding and forgiveness that Seraphina had longed for, even if she hesitates to fully trust it.


    In this quiet exchange, the emotional walls that separated mother and daughter start to crumble, revealing their mutual longing for connection and eptance. The chapter’s themes of family, loss, and the yearning for belonging resonate deeply, reminding us that even the most strained rtionships can find moments of grace. As they embrace, there is a sense of tentative hope—an acknowledgment that while the past cannot be changed, the future still holds the possibility of mending broken bonds.What to Expect in Next Chapter?


    The next chapter promises to delve deeper into the fragile andplex rtionship between Seraphina and her mother, as the tentative steps toward reconciliation begin to unfold. Emotions will run high as old wounds resurface, and the characters grapple with the weight of past regrets and unspoken truths. The bracelet, a symbol of family legacy and hope, may serve as a catalyst for change—but whether it can truly mend what’s been broken remains uncertain.


    Meanwhile, the lingering presence of Celeste’s absence and the tension it creates within the family will continue to cast a shadow, hinting at unresolved conflicts and emotional turmoil just beneath the surface. Seraphina’s own inner struggles, alongside the shifting dynamics with those around her, set the stage for moments of vulnerability and unexpected revtions. Readers can anticipate a chapter rich with heartfelt dialogue and subtle shifts that could redefine the bonds that tie this fractured family together.