Seraphina Failed Seduction.
Eric had just finished briefing one of the Zurich security teams when the door to his office flew open with practiced elegance and deliberate flair.
"Eric.."
Seraphina's voice oozed sweetness like honey laced with venom. She walked in with slow, calculated steps, her beautiful gown clinging to her curves, her eyes glistening, not entirely from tears. On one hand, she clutched a glossy tabloid. In the other, a diamond-studded purse dangled from her wrist like a trophy.
She didn't wait for permission.
She crossed the room in three strides and placed her hand on his chest, letting the magazine slide from her fingers onto his desk with a dramatic flutter.
"Look at this," she whispered, tilting her head up toward him. "Tell me this is nothing."
Eric glanced at the cover. Its front cover flashing a tabloid headline in bold red:
"Damien Lopez Swept Away: Mystery Woman in His Arms!"
On the cover, Damien was captured mid-stride, carrying a woman bridal-style, her face partially turned, but still visible enough for Eric to recognize her instantly.
Eva Myles.
Seraphina, however, was oblivious.
Tears welled in her eyes, but they sparkled a little too dramatically, like they were rehearsed. "Eric... tell me this isn't real," she whispered, voice trembling. "Please tell me this is a misunderstanding, just another paparazzi lie."
Eric calmly took the magazine, scanning the photo with practiced detachment. "This... this looks like it was taken in Mexico. Probably on his way back from that tech summit."
"So it's true?" she cried, clutching her chest like she'd been physically wounded. "He was really with another woman? And he carried her like that? Eric, you don't get it, do you, Damien doesn't carry women! He is as hard as steel. That man doesn't even hold doors open!"
Eric carefully returned the magazine to her hands. "You're overthinking this. This is definitely a misunderstanding, or likely just business. No big deal."
"No big deal?" Seraphina nearly shrieked. "Eric, that's a woman in Damian's arms, and you make it sound like you don't know him. Have you seen the video? Did you see the way he was looking at her? And Damian who is very particular about his reputation didn't even mind his pictures being taken. That definitely isn't some ordinary woman as you paint her to be and you know it!"
He kept a calm tone. "You are very much overthinking. You know how these paparazzi shots work. One second out of context and everyone's writing novels with their headlines."
Seraphina looked away for a moment, tears falling, this time, less performative. "Eric, no matter how you make this sounds, like I don't know what am saying, I still chose to believe my instincts, so Eric… please… tell me who she is. I just want to know, I need to know. I can't picture him being that… tender. Not with anyone. Not even with me…"
Eric's brows tightened, jaw stiffening slightly.
"Seraphina_"
Seraphina moved closer, trailing her fingers lightly along the line of his forearm.
"Eric I understand what you are trying to do, I know he's your boss and you are just trying to protect him. But you remember what happened on his trip to Singapore? How he had gotten involved with some random woman? You remember the prize he had to pay right? This is me watching out for him okay, come on Eric, tell me already okay. If not for anything, at least for that moment, that one time you and I was an item," she whispered. "Who. Is. She?"
Eric faltered a little, but stepped back just slightly, not enough to offend, but enough to make her feel the shift.
Seraphina's lips curled into a knowing smile. "You recognize her, don't you?"
He said nothing.
She circled him slowly, her fingertips brushing his back, her breath warm near his neck. "I just don't get it," she purred. "After all the years I stood by Damien, hoping he'd finally see me, and never once does he treat me with affection, not from college time, and not even now. And then suddenly he is getting cozy with some random mystery woman?"
Her voice dropped a little, turning sultry. "You know what hurts the most?"
Eric didn't respond.
She walked back to stand in front of him, slowly unfastening a single button on her blouse. "That the only man who ever truly looked at me like he wanted me...was you, a lowly right hand man."
His jaw tightened.
"Seraphina_"
"No, let me finish," she breathed, stepping even closer. "That night, Eric… You didn't hesitate. You didn't hold back. You touched me like I was something precious. Don't you dare pretend it meant nothing."
Eric closed his eyes briefly, regretting every second of that night she was now dragging out like a weapon.
"You seduced me," he said finally, quietly. "You used Damien's absence, his indifference... to slither your way into me. And I was stupid enough to let you."
A flicker of anger passed over her face. "Stupid enough? So now I'm the villain?"
"No," he said firmly. "But I'm not your pawn, Seraphina. Not anymore. It was a one time mistake. And it won't happen again"
She reached for his tie, fingers curling into the fabric. "Are you sure about that? Because if I recall correctly, that night, you seemed to liked the way I made you feel. Don't lie."
Eric gently removed her hand. "I felt weak. That's not the same thing."
Her eyes darkened. "You think Damien would forgive you if he found out you touched me?"
Eric's voice was low and calm. "Maybe not. But that's why it won't happen again."
Seraphina's breath hitched. "So you'll keep pretending? Hide behind your loyalty and act like that night didn't happen?"
"I'm not pretending," he said coldly. "I'm correcting a mistake."
Her lips trembled, but her pride wouldn't let her cry now. "You just used me, is that it?" she whispered bitterly. "Got what you wanted and tossed me aside like I was cheap."
"I didn't get what I wanted," Eric said. "I got what I deserved—shame."
She turned away dramatically, storming toward the window, her voice trembling with rage and vulnerability. "All I ever wanted was to be seen. By someone. Anyone."
Eric didn't reply.
But his phone buzzed almost immediately.
The Phone Call,The Pressure, and the Truth No One Says Aloud
Eric barely had time to take a breath after Seraphina's storm of seductive guilt-tripping when his phone suddenly lit up.
Mrs. Eleanor Lopez.
Of course.
He stepped away from the window, glancing briefly at Seraphina still standing there with her back to him, shoulders trembling as she wiped away tears, tears he never for once trusted.
He answered. "Ma'am."
"Eric," Eleanor's voice came sharp and direct, clipped with the kind of concern only a mother carries. "Tell me about the woman in that photo with my son."
Straight to the point.
Eric straightened his shoulders. "It's not what it looks like, ma'am. It's some random woman, she slipped during an event in Mexico. Damien caught her before she hit the ground. Paparazzi were everywhere. That's how the shot got taken."
"I don't care how it got taken," Eleanor snapped. "Who is she?"
Eric hesitated. "I don't have the full details for now, but I think he was just trying to help some random woman, be a gentleman_"
Eleanor didn't speak for a second, and when she did, her voice had softened, but only slightly. "I don't want my son making another mistake… not like what happened with Tyler Ross."
Eric's throat tightened.
She continued, "And if this gets out of hand, it could cost us. My son had barely gotten over the first betrayal, if he suffers another... I don't want a son in an asylum, you know what I mean"
"Very much ma'am "
"Also, what if Seraphina sees it? What if my precious chosen daughter-in-law sees it and gets the wrong idea? That girl has been loyal, patient. I can't have her heart broken over tabloid nonsense. I don't want her friends and family misunderstanding anything"
Eric rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Understood, ma'am."
"I want the article gone. Now. Do what you have to do. Pull strings. Pay the damn media team if you have to."
"I'll handle it," he said with quiet resolve, already dialing Damien with his other hand before Eleanor even ended the call.
She clicked off. No goodbye.
The line to Damien barely rang twice.
"Yeah, Eric?" came Damien's deep, level voice.
Eric took a breath. "I just got off the phone with your mother. She's demanding we take down the tabloid post."
Damien sighed on the other end, clearly unfazed. "Let it be."
Eric blinked. "Sir?"
"I said leave it," Damien repeated. "It's not worth the noise. It'll die down in two days."
Eric's brow furrowed, stepping behind his desk as Seraphina turned slightly at the sound of his voice, eyes red but locked on him.
"But ma'am's worried the wrong people might see it and misinterpret the situation," Eric insisted carefully.
"I only care that one person's identity stays protected," Damien replied, his tone darkening slightly.
"Understood," Eric murmured.
Then came a curveball, Damien's voice turned amused, dry, even faintly teasing.
"You have to admit, though... I look photogenic in that shot."
Eric's gaze lifted instantly, straight to Seraphina, who was now facing him fully, eyes puffy but furious, lips slightly parted in disbelief as though she knew something was being kept from her.
"I_ uh, yes, you do sir," Eric muttered.
Damien gave a short chuckle and ended the call before Eric could say more.
Eric lowered the phone slowly.
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence.
Seraphina's eyes burned into him, arms folded tightly across her chest now. "Continue protecting him okay, but I tell you, I would be Mrs Lopez, and when I do, Eric, I would get back to you for ever treating me this way," she whispered.
"Seraphina_"
"You won't tell me anything," she snapped, voice shaking, "You are clearly working with him to have me replaced. Helping him find some thief, instead of advising him to let go, a-and focus on me. You are clearly fighting me? You don't even care about everything I've been doing, all my effort, all this years, this isn't fair."
Eric just look away.
"And the worse part was," she said, stepping closer again. "I even gave you a part of me, Eric. Yet you think it was just a game for me? You really think I don't feel anything do you?"
Her voice cracked with emotion, but he still said nothing. His silence was louder than any explanation.
Seraphina stared at him like she hates him. He didn't flinch.
Then she angrily walk away.
But for the first time, he looked tired.
Very, very tired.