Page 6 of Stripping Little Seraphina
“You want to explain what the hell happened?” His voice was low but cutting.
I swallowed hard, not ready to talk about any of this shit. “Easy. I wasn’t paying attention to a lot of stuff. Not to Emerson. To Sera. To anything in my life that’s happening right now outside of work. Work had me on the road?—”
“Don’t.” His hand cut through the air. “Don’t start with excuses. You volunteered for this role, Vasiah. You promised meyou could give your time and your focus. Instead, you let your mentee spiral so badly she emailed me at two in the morning saying she was dropping out. No refund, no discussion. Done.”
I closed my eyes, shame twisting in my gut. “She withdrew?” Things were worse than I’d expected. I sighed, threw my legs over the edge of the bed and sat there. I washed my hands over my face trying to get rid of the stress building from my head down to my shoulders.
“Yes.” His glare sharpened. “Because you didn’t show up for her. Do you understand what that means? You didn’t just let me down—you let her down. And she was already fragile. She trusted this program to be a safe place, and you proved her right to doubt it. Have you even looked at her application? She’s a walking anxiety attack already happening. She’s new to her feelings and has no idea how to control herself. I agreed that you were a perfect fit. The best I thought. I’ve seen you calm submissives with a simple look, but somehow you’ve only made this one worse. Part of the responsibility of being a Top is knowing when to step away or say no. You’ve done neither and now we have an emergency and I can’t trust you to handle it.”
I flinched. “We have history. I didn’t know it was her until she opened that door last night. I swear it. And when I realized, I panicked. We’d already gotten off on the wrong foot with Emerson’s lessons. She’s his driving instructor. She told me he wasn’t ready, and she was right—he failed. I brushed her off, like I always do when I don’t want to admit I’m wrong. I didn’t listen, and now…” My throat tightened. “Now I don’t know how to fix it. Plus, not being present for her the way that she’s needed has added more fuel to the blazing trail of fire.”
Ezra stepped closer, folding his arms. “Of course you don’t. That’s the problem, Vasiah. You didn’t listen until it was too late. With your son. With your mentee. You keep telling yourself you can juggle everything—your job, your obligations, yourrelationships—but in the end, everyone pays the price for your neglect. This was obviously a bad idea.”
I looked away, as guilt burned inside. He wasn’t wrong.
“She’s hurting,” he said, his tone softening just enough to make the words land harder. “I can see it. She’s spiraling. And if you don’t step up, she’s going to walk away from something that could have helped her. Maybe from more than that. So here’s your choice: fix this, or step aside and let me find someone who will.”
My chest clenched. “She’ll never forgive me. Not after last night.”
“Then you show her why she should. You rebuild the trust you broke. Piece by piece if you have to.” His gaze pinned me in place. “You care about her, whether you’ll admit it out loud yet or not. I can see it. So stop wallowing and do something about it.”
I nodded slowly, though doubt still gnawed at me. “And if I fail again?”
His eyes narrowed. “You won’t. Not if you’re serious about this. Not if you finally decide that showing up matters more than running away.”
I swallowed, the weight of his words heavy but undeniable. For Emerson. For Sera. Maybe even for myself.
It was time to decide if I was going to keep running—or finally show up.
After Ezra left me gutted and raw, I forced myself to shower and join him for breakfast in his suite. He didn’t say much—just slid a plate of eggs and toast toward me, his silence more cutting than anything he’d said earlier. I’d let him down. Therewas nothing like letting down a friend, especially one who has always been there for you. Yeah, he was pissed and because we were close I could see that his abrasive approach was because he cared, not because he thought less of me as a person. I’d jumped on his ass a time or two about that no-good ex of his. Ezra smiled as he read something on his screen.
“Who is she?” I asked, knowing that there was only one reason for anybody to have that dopey-ass grin on their faces.
“What do you mean?” He put his phone down and that madly-in-love light showed bright in his eyes.
“Please tell me it’s not what’s her name. She’s bad news, E.”
“Oh god, no.” He chuckled. “It’s nother.”
“Good,” I mumbled. “Fresh blood? Where’d you meet her?”
“I’ve known her a long time. Believe it or not, she’s here. We grew up together and we’ve always liked one another. Happens to be that we’re both available. We’ve gone on a couple of dates and things are going just fine.”
Now it was my turn to smile. “Whoever she is, she’s lucky to have you.”
Ezra didn’t respond, he just stared at me. I meant what I said. He was one of the good ones. I wished nothing but the best for him and if his mystery lady was for him, I wanted him to have his happily ever after.
I ate, even though my stomach roiled, because I’d need strength for what came next. Once the meal was done, I left the suite and toured the Ranch.
The grounds hadn’t changed much since my last visit, but it felt different walking them now. The laughter and chatter drifting from the Littles’ play quarters tugged at something I hadn’t let myself feel in a long time. I remembered what it was like to have a Little of my own, the responsibility of being someone’s safe place. The weight of it. The pride of it. The ache of knowing I hadn’t been present for mine now.
I shook the memories off and kept walking, letting my feet guide me. They led me to the library—a quiet, tucked-away space lined with shelves and soft chairs. And there she was, reading a book. I nodded a hello to Amelia–she ran the library department in the Littles’ Wing—as I approached Sera. I felt the blonde’s protective eyes watching me as I walked over to Sera. I knew the feeling. Littles pulled that energy from the best of us.
Sera.
She sat curled in a chair, knees tucked under her, a book propped open in her lap. The light caught in her hair, and she looked softer than she had last night, lost in the pages. For a moment, I let myself admire how peaceful she looked. Her dark brown bangs swooped over her left eye, giving her a false sense of privacy behind the drape of locks.
But then my shadow crossed her, and she snapped the book closed like she’d been caught doing something wrong. Her shoulders stiffened as she stood quickly, smoothing down her skirt, and blowing the hair from her adorable round face. Her cheeks plump enough to make her appear more youthful than she already was, especially with her dark brown hair pulled back into two low hanging pigtails.
