Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]
Chapter 80 80: Desperate

Seraphina's Pov

The phone nearly slipped from my grasp as I gripped it tighter, trying to steady myself. My pulse quickened, and for a moment, I couldn't breathe.

The words replayed in my head over and over again: Your father is extremely sick.

"But what do you mean, Gianna?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "What do you mean he's sick? How—when did this happen? He can't be sick. Please tell me you're joking, Gianna."

She let out another heavy sigh, one that sounded more annoyed than concerned. "Seraphina, I know you're stupid, but you can't possibly be that stupid, right? I just told you he's not doing well. His health has been declining for a while now, but he didn't want you to worry, which is why you're only just finding out about it. Now it's reached the point where... he might not have much time left, and he asked me to call you because he wants to see you."

Her words hit me like a sledgehammer to the face, and I couldn't even focus, nor could I even process what she was saying. The man who had raised me—distant, flawed, and indifferent as he might have been—was suddenly on the brink of dying, and it shocked me so much that my mind struggled to catch up.

"How long?" I finally asked, my voice hoarse. "How long has he been sick?"

"Does it matter?" Gianna snapped, her voice laced with impatience. "What matters is that he's asking for you. He doesn't ask for much, Seraphina, so be a good girl and get ready to come home."

I wanted to yell at the witch and tell her that this wasn't the time for her to sound condescending or dismissive, but my throat tightened with emotion, making it impossible to say anything against her tone.

Instead, I sat down on the edge of my bed, my legs feeling like jelly.

"So tell me, Gianna," I began, trying to steady my voice, "how soon can I get home? I want to see my father, so tell him I'll come."

I swallowed hard, pushing down the lump forming in my throat. "But the problem is, I don't know how to book a flight back to Aldoria on my own, and I also need someone to take me to the Elmeria airport because I don't know my way around the kingdom."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, and I could almost picture her smirking. "Do you expect me to drop everything and cater to your needs, Seraphina? Do you have any idea how difficult things are for me at the moment as the lady of the house?" she scoffed. "By now, you should have made some friends who know their way around Elmeria. Perhaps they can help you get to the airport, or you can take a cab or something."

Her words stung, but I tried not to let it show. "I—I haven't really made any close friends yet," I admitted softly. "So please, Gianna. Just help me figure out a way I can get to the airport."

She let out a derisive laugh. "Of course you haven't. Always the loner, aren't you, Seraphina? Well, for your information, I already booked a flight before I called you, and I'll send you your flight details as soon as this call ends. The plane leaves in a few hours, so you'd better hurry up and figure out on your own how to get to the airport. You had better not miss it, because if you do, I'll be sure to tell your father that you didn't want to see him and that you couldn't be bothered to come home when he needed you."

"Wait, Gianna—" I tried to interject, but she had already ended the call, and the silence that followed was deafening. I stared at my phone, the screen dimming before going dark.

My heart felt heavy, and my chest tightened as tears began to stream down my face. I couldn't believe her callousness. How could she expect me to find my own way to the airport in a kingdom I barely knew?

The fact that my father was ill—possibly on his deathbed—filled me with a dread I couldn't shake. Despite everything he had put me through, he was still my father, and he was the only parent I had left.

So the idea of losing him was unbearable, even though our relationship was strained.

I wiped my tears and sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the floor. I needed to pull myself together. If I missed that flight, Gianna would make sure my father thought I didn't care. She'd tell him I didn't want to see him, and I couldn't let that happen.

No matter how much I despised her manipulative nature, I wouldn't let her weaponize this against me and make me into a terrible daughter.

I climbed out of bed, dragging my feet to the small corner of the room where I kept my things. Gianna had sent another curt message alongside my flight details, reminding me not to be late.

With a tired sigh, I grabbed my small bag and began packing a few clothes and some toiletries. Once my bag was ready, I tossed my phone on the bed and headed for the bathroom.

I took a quick shower, letting the hot water soothe my nerves, though it couldn't completely erase the knot in my stomach. After dressing in a simple outfit—a plain white blouse and black jeans—I dried my hair, tied it into a neat ponytail, and took one last look at myself in the mirror.

I looked presentable enough, even though the dark circles under my eyes betrayed how little I'd been sleeping lately.

Back in my room, I picked up my phone and double-checked the flight details Gianna had sent. My flight was in a few hours, and I still needed to figure out how to get to Elmeria Airport.

The school didn't exactly have cabs waiting outside, and I wasn't sure if the school transportation service would accommodate a personal request like this. I glanced around the room, chewing on my lower lip as I weighed my options.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had no one else to ask for help, and that left only one possibility: Principal Astor.