novelraw Chapter 436: Not a Suicide
Chapter 436: Not a Suicide
Seraphina’s POV
Yura shook her head slowly as she stared at me, her eyes filled with something I couldn’t fully understand at first, something between disbelief and anger that seemed to grow stronger the longer she looked at me. For a moment, it almost felt like she hadn’t even heard what I said, like my words were still hanging in the air, waiting to be processed, but then something in her expression snapped.
Her expression changed, and before I could even fully process it, she moved.
The distance between us disappeared in a second, and suddenly, her hand was in my hair, gripping it so hard that it sent a sharp, burning pain through my scalp. The force of it made me gasp, my body reacting before my mind could catch up, and I instinctively reached up to grab her wrist, trying to pull her hand away from me. The pain was immediate and overwhelming, and for a moment, I was too stunned to even think properly.
"What the hell...let go of me!" I snapped, my voice breaking slightly as I tried to pry her fingers out of my hair, but she didn’t budge. If anything, her grip tightened, and she yanked my head back just enough to force me to look directly at her.
Her face was close to mine now, closer than it had ever been, and the anger in her eyes was no longer something distant. It was right there, raw and burning, and it made my stomach twist in a way I didn’t like.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" she demanded, her voice low but filled with rage as she held me there, her fist still tangled in my hair. "Coming into my house and threatening me like that?"
I clenched my jaw, still trying to free myself, but her grip didn’t loosen even a little. "I said let go of me," I repeated, more forcefully this time, even though I could feel the sting of tears building in my eyes from the pain.
She let out a dry laugh, the sound harsh and completely lacking any humor, and it only made the situation feel worse. "You must really think I’m some kind of joke," she continued, her tone sharp and cutting. "Maybe because of how I was in Elysium. Maybe because I didn’t bother making myself noticeable there, but don’t ever think that means you can look down on me or threaten me however you like."
"Let go of me, or I’ll scream," I shot back, even though I knew how weak that threat sounded the moment it left my mouth.
She laughed again, this time a little louder, and it made my skin crawl. "Scream?" she repeated, her lips curling slightly in amusement. "You really don’t get it, do you? You walked into my house on your own, and even when I told you to leave, you refused. So go ahead and scream. Let’s see how far that gets you."
I glared at her, my grip tightening around her wrist even though I knew I couldn’t force her to let go. "Are you seriously acting like this just because I want to know what happened to Yuna?" I asked, my voice strained, both from the pain and the frustration building inside me.
Her expression hardened again, and for a moment, it looked like she was about to say something harsher, something worse. "You have no business knowing anything about my sister," she said instead, her tone colder now, more controlled but no less intense. "And it’s not like you and her were even close anymore, so don’t act like you have some right to come here and demand answers."
That stung in a way I didn’t expect, but I didn’t let it show. "All I’m asking is if she’s alive or not," I said, forcing myself to stay focused on what mattered. "That’s it. Just tell me that, and I’ll leave."
For a brief moment, something flickered in her eyes, something that looked almost like hesitation, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.
"Go back to Elmeria," she said instead, her voice firm, almost like a warning. "Go back to Elysium while I’m still being nice."
I clenched my jaw, frustration bubbling over now, mixing with something harder to ignore. "It’s partly my fault," I said suddenly, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
That made her pause.
Her grip on my hair didn’t loosen, but her expression shifted slightly, confusion replacing the anger for just a second. "What?" she asked, her voice no longer as sharp as before. "What do you mean it’s your fault?"
I let out a shaky breath, the pain in my scalp still there, but suddenly not as important as the seriousness of what I was about to say. "That day," I began, my voice quieter now, more serious. "Iris tried to kill me."
Yura’s brows furrowed, her confusion deepening, but she didn’t interrupt me this time.
"She pushed me off the rooftop," I continued, my grip on her wrist loosening slightly as I focused on the memory. "Or at least, she tried to. Everything happened so fast, and I thought that was it. I thought I was going to die."
The words felt heavy in my mouth, and for a moment, I had to swallow past the tightness in my throat before I could continue.
"But then Yuna showed up," I said, my voice softening without me meaning for it to. "She stepped in, she stopped Iris, and she gave me a chance to get away."
Yura’s grip finally loosened just a little, not enough to free me completely, but enough that I could feel the difference.
"I ran," I admitted, my voice dropping even lower now.
The silence that followed was different this time in a way that had nothing to do with anger. "I didn’t think..." I trailed off for a second, shaking my head slightly. "I didn’t think Iris would go after her. I didn’t think she would hurt Yuna. I thought she just wanted me."
My chest tightened painfully as the memory of trying to escape that day flashed through my mind.
"Even after I woke up, I still knew nothing about what happened to her because I could have never imagined it," I continued, my voice barely above a whisper now. "Then a few days ago, I was told, and that’s also when I found out what the school said, which was that she jumped, and it was a suicide."
I let out a small, bitter laugh, even though there was nothing funny about it. "But I know that’s not true," I said firmly, looking straight at Yura again despite the tears threatening to fall. "There’s no way that’s true."
By now, her hand had completely stilled in my hair, her grip no longer as tight as before, but she hadn’t let go either.
"That’s why I came here," I added, my voice steadier now despite everything. "Not to threaten you, or to cause any trouble. I came because I wanted to tell you the truth. So that she doesn’t get buried as someone who killed herself when that’s not what happened."