Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]
Chapter 152 152: Out of Character

Seraphina's POV

I groaned into my hands for the hundredth time, flopping back on my bed as if it could somehow erase the mortifying memory of my earlier confrontation with Electra.

The look on her face—equal parts annoyed and confused—played on an endless loop in my mind. What had I been thinking? Asking her who the red-haired girl was like it was my business? Like I had any right to care?

The frustration building inside me felt unbearable. Why had I let myself get so worked up over something so ridiculous? Electra had probably gone back to her table with Yuna and that girl, laughing off my stupidity.

I squeezed my eyes shut, groaning again as the thought twisted in my chest.

Unable to sit still, I pushed myself off the bed and walked over to the full-length mirror standing in the corner of my room. I needed a distraction—anything to pull me out of the spiral I was in.

Staring at my reflection, I tilted my head slightly, trying to focus on something tangible. My appearance, for example.

My short hair caught my attention first, as it always did now. Running a hand through it, I frowned. What had possessed me to chop it all off?

I'd told myself at the time that it was to look more "serious" or "different." But now? Now it just felt like a mistake—a rash decision made by someone trying too hard to be something she wasn't.

I twisted a strand of the short locks between my fingers, wondering if the haircut made me look more like the Seraphina Vale I had become or less. Before the switch, my long hair had been something I secretly liked about myself, even if I never openly admitted it.

Now, looking at the reflection staring back at me, I couldn't help but feel like I'd erased a part of who I was.

"What's next?" I muttered under my breath, scanning my face for any other changes.

My features were the same, of course. My boring blue eyes stared back at me, and my lips pressed into a thin line as if they were scolding me for my earlier behavior. I leaned closer, searching for any other difference in my expression, my posture—anything.

But no. The changes weren't physical. They were deeper, buried in the way I carried myself, the way I thought and acted.

I was floundering and letting my feelings for Electra—feelings I couldn't even properly define—get in the way of whatever semblance of control I still had.

I shook my head, trying to push the thoughts away. Dwelling on them wouldn't help. I needed to focus on the things I could control, not the things that made my head spin.

Taking a deep breath, I turned away from the mirror and walked over to my desk. The pile of textbooks and notes waiting for me felt oddly comforting—at least academic work made sense, unlike the mess I was currently dealing with emotionally, and it was even better since I was now dealing with courses that were much more difficult than what I was used to.

As I sat down, my phone buzzed on the edge of the desk, drawing my attention. I picked it up, half expecting a message from Irina or Roxana asking why I'd skipped the rest of the day, but to my surprise, it was a message from Electra.

*We need to talk.*

I stared at the screen, my heart skipping a beat. My immediate instinct was to ignore it—to pretend I hadn't seen it and hope she'd forget whatever it was she wanted to talk about, but I knew that wasn't realistic.

Electra wasn't the type to let things slide, especially when she felt something was important.

Taking a deep breath, I typed out a quick reply: *About what?*

The response came almost immediately. *Just meet me at the library after dinner.*

I frowned, my anxiety spiking. What could she possibly want to talk about? Was she going to remind me of what happened earlier? Part of me wanted to back out, to come up with an excuse to avoid the conversation entirely. But another part of me—a part I wasn't sure I liked—was curious.

Curiosity won out.

---

After dinner, I made my way to the library, my stomach twisting in knots. The space was nearly empty, except for a few students scattered at various tables. I spotted Electra near the back, seated at a table tucked between two tall shelves.

She was staring at her phone, her expression unreadable.

"Hey," I said softly as I approached.

She looked up, the expression on her face serious. "Sit."

I slid into the chair across from her, unsure of what to expect. "What's this about?"

Electra didn't respond immediately. Instead, she leaned back in her chair, studying me with an intensity that made me squirm.

Finally, she spoke.

"I still don't understand why you did what you did earlier this afternoon, Seraphina," she said, her voice tight. "I spent the entire afternoon trying to figure out what possessed you to call me out just to ask about Iris."

I felt my brows knit together, confused at first. Iris? For a second, I couldn't place the name. Then it clicked—she meant the red-haired girl I'd seen at lunch, the same one that had spiked my rage for no logical reason. Right.

I forced myself to exhale. "I can't believe you're still on that," I said quietly, trying to sound nonchalant. "It was nothing serious. Just forget it happened."

Electra scoffed lightly, her lips twisting into a humorless smile. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll just 'forget it happened.' Because it's so easy to forget being publicly pulled out of the cafeteria by you, only to have you demand answers about who I'm sitting with."

I looked away. "I didn't pull you out in front of everyone," I mumbled, though I knew it was a weak defense. "We left quietly."

She gave me a pointed look, and I swallowed, bracing myself. "I said it was nothing serious," I repeated, though my voice lacked conviction.

Electra's eyes narrowed. "Then why did you look like you were going to murder somebody?" she asked pointedly. "When I thought about it again, I noticed that you glared at Iris like she'd personally wronged you when you walked up to us, and then you demanded to know who she was. That doesn't sound like nothing, Seraphina, so start talking."