Chapter 101 Coming Clean, Learning the Truth
Pretending she didn't want to hurt Ophelia was a facade. In truth, Seraphina felt a mix of fear and defiance that held her back from speaking frankly.
"You just need to explain things properly, Ophelia isn't one to sweat the small stuff," Magnus assured her.
That comment irked Seraphina. In Magnus's eyes, Ophelia could do no wrong.
Before Seraphina could respond, footsteps echoed at the door.
"What happened here, Seraphina? Why is the door busted?" Ophelia, having heard that something was amiss, had dropped everything to rush over.
She saw Seraphina's reddened eyes, a clear indication of tears, and the visibly forced entry. It was enough to make anyone's mind race with possibilities.
"Was it a break-in?" Ophelia glanced between Seraphina and Magnus, suspicion in her gaze.
Magnus had texted her but hadn't mentioned what the trouble was.
Magnus shot Seraphina a look—a silent cue to keep to the script and omit unnecessary details.
Wiping away a tear, Seraphina managed, "I was scammed. Giselle and the others took off. Thankfully I managed to salvage half of my investment, so the loss isn't too severe. Otherwise, I'd be at my wit's end."
Seraphina's half-truths didn't raise any red flags with Ophelia.
"I warned you about that crowd. They didn't look trustworthy." Ophelia sat beside Seraphina, her tone soothing. "What matters is you're okay. A financial loss is minor in the grand scheme of things."
Ophelia's real intent was clear—she valued Seraphina far more than any amount of money. As long as Seraphina was fine, they could always make a fresh start.
Ophelia was careful not to upset Seraphina further, avoiding any harsh comments upon hearing the bad news.
Even so, to Seraphina, Ophelia's remark about the money felt like a jab, hitting where it hurt the most.
Seeing Seraphina hesitate to clarify further, Magnus chimed in, "Ophelia, Seraphina has something more she wants to tell you."
Hearing the words, Seraphina glanced at Magnus. She wasn't at all mentally prepared for what was coming.
Ophelia asked with confusion, "Seraphina, do you have something to say?"
Seraphina seemed as if she wanted to speak but hesitated. With Magnus's intense gaze on her, she felt she couldn't keep her secret any longer.
She knew if Ophelia found out about her identity fraud, she would offend Ophelia, who then wouldn't care what happened to her. However, by coming clean now, at least she would be following Magnus's wishes and have his support. Otherwise, there was no way she could repay the huge sum of money involved.
Ophelia noticed the silent exchange of looks between Magnus and Seraphina, clearly sensing they were hiding something.
"Seraphina, Magnus, what happened on earth?" she pressed.
Seraphina mustered her courage and said, "Finnegan took me to Orchid Garden because he...he found my resume in his room.”
"Your resume?" Ophelia wasn't immediately catching on, nor did she understand why Seraphina was suddenly bringing up Finnegan.
With a subtle cough from Magnus as a prompt, Seraphina continued, "Finnegan thought I was the person that night at Ritz-Carlton. He sought me out, wanted me to be his woman. Ophelia, I had no clue that it was you that night. By the time I learned the truth, it was too late. I had already moved into Orchid Garden, becoming his girlfriend."
Still, Seraphina didn't want to admit it was intentional. She was making excuses for her devious behavior, trying to cast herself as an innocent victim.
That last remark was also meant to leave a sting for Ophelia. Even if it was all a mix-up, she had become Finnegan's girlfriend. Having stayed at the luxurious Orchid Garden for so long, under the title of girlfriend, it would be no surprise if something substantial had happened between them.
Seraphina had not made herself clear. She had deliberately used ambiguous statements to lead Ophelia to infer her own conclusions. If the day ever came when she was exposed, she could innocently claim she had never made any specific statements about sleeping with Finnegan—it was all Ophelia’s own assumption. This little stratagem went undetected by Magnus and, on the surface, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with Seraphina's words. She did, after all, admit to the identity mix-up.
Upon hearing Seraphina's admission, Ophelia suddenly stood up, staring at her in disbelief, "How could you do this? You want to hide who your boyfriend is, you’re afraid to acknowledge when you started dating. You knew all along—it wasn't you Finnegan was looking for. You're scared I'll expose you, aren’t you?"
"It's not like that, Ophelia, it really is a misunderstanding," Seraphina argued feebly, "I honestly didn't know at first. It wasn’t until I moved into Orchid Garden that I found out."
"You're lying," Ophelia said, fuming with anger. She wasn’t foolish enough to miss the holes in Seraphina's story.
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