Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]
Chapter 153 153: We're not together

Seraphina's POV

I pressed my lips into a thin line, and my mind flickered through possible excuses: I was stressed, I was annoyed by the entire situation, I was just curious, but none of them sounded sensible. And the truth? The truth was that I didn't fully understand my own behavior.

I'd felt something—a hot, irrational anger—surge up the moment I saw them together, and I'd acted on impulse, but if I told her that, she'd misunderstand.

Electra raised an eyebrow, apparently reading my hesitation as yet another evasive tactic. "Well?" she prompted. "Are you going to explain or what?"

I exhaled slowly, letting my gaze drift around the library. "I don't know why I got so upset," I admitted at last, hating how uncertain I sounded. "It just… happened."

Her brow furrowed. "That's not an answer."

I shifted my weight, crossing my arms over my chest in a protective gesture. "Fine," I said, my voice rising with a note of defensiveness. "You want an answer? Then here it is: I was angry when I saw you and that girl because—I didn't recognize her, and you two looked so… comfortable. I know it's stupid, but I felt like—I was missing something important."

Electra blinked, her annoyance faltering for an instant. Clearly, she hadn't expected me to come clean even that much, and she looked like she was struggling to understand what I meant. "Missing something," she echoed. "Explain."

I let out a rough laugh, more out of nerves than humor. "How am I supposed to explain something I barely understand?" I snapped. Then, seeing her expression harden, I forced myself to tone it down. "Look. You and I… we have history, okay? Complicated history, and ever since this whole… switch happened, it's like my emotions have been on a roller coaster I can't get off of. So seeing you with someone else—someone I don't know—just set me off. That's it."

She studied me for a long moment, eyes searching my face. "So," she said slowly, "you're saying you were jealous?"

My heart lurched at the word I'd been so determined to avoid. "No," I insisted, though even I could hear the quaver in my voice. "It's not that—like, I don't—" I stopped, realizing I was babbling.

Closing my eyes briefly, I tried again. "I don't think it's jealousy. Not exactly."

"Then what is it?" she pressed, her tone quieter now but no less insistent.

I swallowed. *Because I used to like you, but then I hated you, and now I'm stuck somewhere in between.*

The thought flashed through my mind, but I wasn't about to say that out loud.

"All I know is, it's not jealousy, Electra," I repeated, my voice calm. "So please, don't flatter yourself by thinking that I reacted out of jealousy because of you. I just didn't recognize her and was curious, that's all."

Electra raised an eyebrow, her arms mirroring mine as she crossed them over her chest. "Curious enough to drag me out of the cafeteria like it was some kind of emergency?" She let out a dry laugh. "You're a terrible liar, Seraphina."

My hands clenched into fists. "I'm not lying," I said firmly, though I could hear the defensive edge in my voice. "You really are reading too much into this. It's almost like you're desperate to make me admit to an emotion I don't feel."

"Oh, really?" Electra leaned forward slightly, her piercing gaze locking on mine. "Then explain why you were glaring at Iris like she'd personally offended you, or better still, why you couldn't stop frowning when you saw us together this morning."

I opened my mouth to respond, but the words wouldn't come.

Instead, I deflected. "Maybe I don't like redheads," I muttered, my tone light but strained.

Electra's eyes widened slightly before she barked out a laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "That's the best you've got? You don't like redheads? When you're a redhead yourself? Oh, come on, Seraphina, you're not even trying. Do you think I was born yesterday?"

Heat rose to my cheeks, and I quickly looked away, focusing on the bookshelves. "Believe what you want," I said, my voice quieter now. "I already told you it wasn't a big deal."

But Electra wasn't letting this go. "You know, if you are jealous, it's not the end of the world. You could just admit it, and we'd both move on. Just admit it, and stop being a baby about it."

"I'm not jealous," I said again, though the conviction in my voice was wavering. "Why would I be? You and I aren't... We're not..."

"Not what?" Electra prompted, her voice softer now, almost teasing. "Not a thing? Not close? Not... anything?"

I swallowed hard. "Exactly," I said, my voice barely audible. "We're not anything."

For a moment, there was silence between us, and then I risked a glance at Electra and found her staring at me, her expression unreadable. It was almost as if she was searching for something, though I didn't know what.

Finally, she let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair. "Fine," she said, her tone resigned. "If you say you're not jealous, then I'll take your word for it. But since we've concluded that it's not jealousy..." She paused, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "I really hope such things don't happen again because it could lead to misunderstandings."

"What… misunderstandings?" I asked.

Electra sighed. "You know what I mean, Sera. If you keep dragging me aside every time I'm with someone you don't know," she paused. "It'll look weird, especially to other people who don't know any better."

I rolled my eyes. "Why would it look weird?"

She let out a humorless laugh. "Because it can come across like you're jealous. Or possessive. Or both, and that might make people think we're, you know"—she trailed off, waving a hand—"in some sort of relationship."

I scoffed. "That's ridiculous," I retorted. "No one in their right mind would think that we…"

"Oh, trust me," Electra said, narrowing her eyes, "people love to assume. One minute you're yanking me out of a room, the next, they're convinced we're secretly dating."

She exhaled slowly. "Look, we're both free to talk to whoever we want, okay?" She shrugged. "I don't have to explain myself when I'm with another girl, and you don't have to play the part of some jealous girlfriend—because we're not together. As long as we both remember that, we'll be fine."