POV: Seraphina
Seraphina has always believed that whatever she wanted, she gets. Kaelion will not be an exception. She has always loved him since they were little. She knows that other men want her, but she only wants Kaelion, and no one is going to take that away from her.
She has always known Kaelion as someone who likes everything he does to be in order, order in your jobs, order in your schedule, order in people.
And for all her years together with him, she had maintained perfect order around Kaelion's world.
She knows his meetings ran on time, his staff feared disappointing him, his company moved exactly how it should, efficient, sharp, untouchable, because Kaelion is efficient. When he is into something, he goes all in.
That is why she wants to be closer to him. After she returned from her study abroad last year, her family told her she should join the family business, but she told them she would work for the Thorne empire, so her parents let her go. She told them to gain experience. Still, she knows it's not about experience but about being close to Kaelion. She said, "She belongs here, she belongs with him and no one else."
So when she stepped into the executive floor that morning and saw a new name added to the assistant rotation board…
Elara.
Her jaw tightened. She had heard about her, her story, and how she challenged Kaelion. No one has ever done that, and Kaelion still hired her. Why?
Well, she knew that all Kaelion's new assistants came and went. Burned out. Transferred and quietly removed, they never last long.
But this one?
This one already had a file flagged personally and reviewed by Kaelion himself, and that never happened.
Seraphina set her tablet down on her desk and began her usual morning routine, reviewing Kaelion's calendar, adjusting meeting durations, and filtering requests that weren't worth his attention.
But today, something was off.
He had added a new standing note:
"Include Elara in executive documentation flow."
Her fingers stilled over the screen.
Executive documentation was not beginner-level work.
It required trust.
Precision.
Proximity.
Her chest tightened in a way she refused to name.
At 9:07 a.m., Elara stepped onto the executive floor.
Seraphina watched without seeming to watch.
The girl walked like she was bracing for impact but refusing to show it. Chin up. Shoulders straight. Eyes alert.
Not wide.
Not intimidated.
Alert.
Dangerous.
"Elara," Seraphina called smoothly.
Elara approached. "Yes?"
Seraphina gestured to the desk across from her. "You'll work here today. Temporary placement."
Elara nodded. "Understood."
No nervous chatter.
No desperate eagerness.
Just calm.
Seraphina didn't like it.
"Coffee orders go through me," she said casually. "You don't speak to Mr. Kaelion unless spoken to. You don't enter his office without clearance. You don't improvise."
Elara met her eyes. "I follow instructions. I don't grovel."
The words were polite.
The tone wasn't.
Seraphina smiled.
Sharp. Controlled.
"This isn't a place for pride, Elara. It's a place for survival."
Elara didn't answer.
But she didn't look away either.
She said to herself, "She dares to speak to me; she is not even intimidated by my presence. Most staff members, knowing my relationship with Kaelion, are always mindful around me."
By mid-morning, Seraphina had already gathered enough data to confirm her instincts.
Elara worked fast.
Clean.
No mistakes.
And worse, other assistants liked her.
By lunch, two had already started chatting with her about workflow shortcuts and internal politics.
Influence spread quickly in environments like this.
Seraphina had built hers carefully.
She would not lose it to a girl who had been here less than twenty-four hours.
At 1:15 p.m., Kaelion stepped out of his office.
Every conversation on the floor lowered automatically.
Seraphina stood. "Your 1:30 moved to 2:00. Tokyo call extended."
He nodded once.
Then.
His gaze shifted.
To Elara.
Just for a second.
But Seraphina saw it.
And something hot and sharp twisted in her chest.
Because Kaelion didn't look at staff like that.
Not curious.
Not assessing.
Not interested.
He looked at the tools. Assets. Risks.
But when he looked at Elara…
It was like he was trying to solve something.
"Report," he said, walking past.
"To your office or here?" Seraphina asked.
"Here."
He kept walking.
But Elara straightened instinctively, like his presence changed the air pressure around her.
Seraphina hated that she noticed.
The afternoon turned busy with contracts, urgent investor emails, and last-minute document revisions.
At 4:42 p.m., Kaelion's office door opened again.
"Elara."
The entire floor felt it.
Elara looked up, clearly surprised that he called her directly.
"Yes, sir?"
"Bring the revised logistics file."
Seraphina's nails pressed into her palm.
That file was supposed to go through her first.
Always through her.
Elara stood, gathered the file, and walked into his office.
The door closed.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
Then fifteen.
Too long for a simple document drop.
Seraphina stood abruptly, walking to the coffee station just for an excuse to be closer to his door.
That is when she saw him, her other best friend, Cassian, by the door talking to Kaelion's assistant, what is he doing here she wondered.
Then she called out to him, "Cassian."
He turned immediately and was about to leave without seeing Kaelion when she asked. He said he had a meeting, which had never stopped him from seeing Kaelion, and he left.
She wondered what he is thinking and why he is standing outside Kaelion's office without going in. Is it because he saw Kaelion and Elara? What is really going on? This Elara wants to take everything that belongs to me. Why is everybody giving her attention? She is supposed to be the one they give attention to, not some nobody.
She said to herself. "This Elara will not last here."
Voices were muffled through the glass.
She couldn't hear words, but she saw movement.
Kaelion standing.
Elara was standing across from his desk.
Not shrinking.
Her heart sank; she dug her nails into her palms.
Then immediately the door opened.
Elara walked out.
And they both looked at each other, she gave her a deathly scare she will not forget in a hurry.
She pushed open the door to Kaelion's office without knocking.
"Kael, what was that about?" she demanded.
Kaelion didn't look up immediately, finishing the line he was reading before lifting his gaze to hers. "What exactly are you talking about?"
Seraphina shifted uncomfortably under his steady stare. "You and Elara."
He leaned back in his chair, expression unreadable. "I don't know what you're saying, Sera. Can you mind your job? Why are you here, Sera?"
The words hit harder than she expected. Kaelion had never spoken to her that way—cold, detached, dismissive.
She swallowed before adding, "Cass was here earlier. He left without seeing you. Said you were in a meeting and didn't want to interrupt."
Kaelion gave a small nod. "I'll call him later."
When he noticed her still standing there, studying him as if trying to piece something together, his brows lifted slightly. "Was there something else you needed, Sera?"
Her fingers tightened briefly at her sides. "No."
Without another word, she turned and walked out.
The following day, she saw Cassian again in the office with Elara, both laughing happily.
"Good work today," he said.
To Elara.
In front of everyone.
Seraphina's world tilted slightly.
Because what is Cassian doing? Why is he not praising her instead?
Elara nodded, smiling. "I did my job."
Then she walked back to her desk, like she hadn't just shifted the balance of the entire floor.
Then she went to Cassien again to try to talk to him about staying away from Elara, but he tried to defend her instead. Has Elara bewitched these men in her life? She stormed out angrily.
By evening, the office emptied.
Seraphina stayed; she always stayed because staying late meant being close to Kaelion.
At 7:12 p.m., Kaelion's office light was still on.
She knocked once and entered.
"You should go home," he said to her without looking up.
"I will," she said softly. "I just wanted to confirm tomorrow's executive briefing order."
He nodded, still reading something.
Then he said, casually —
"Move Elara to direct support rotation."
The words hit her like a physical blow.
Direct support meant daily proximity, private meetings, and confidential access.
Trust.
"Are you sure?" she asked carefully.
"Yes."
No hesitation.
No explanation.
Decision made.
She walked out of his office slowly, like she was okay.
But inside, something cracked.
Because, for the first time in years, she wasn't the closest person to him anymore, and she didn't know how to exist with that.
She stopped at Elara's empty desk, looked at the neat stacks of files. The organized notes. The precision.
The girl was good.
Too good.
And Kaelion noticed.
That made her dangerous.
Seraphina picked up her phone.
Dialed a number she hadn't used in months.
When the call connected, her voice was calm.
"I may need a background investigation."
Pause.
"Yes. On a new employee."
Longer pause.
"No. I don't trust coincidences."
She looked toward Kaelion's closed office door.
Then at Elara's desk.
And her voice dropped lower.
"Because if she's not here by accident…"
"…then someone sent her."