Shadows in the Bloodline
Selena sat in the backseat of her car, legs crossed, face like carved ice. The panic in the lift was buried now—shoved so deep inside she could pretend it had never happened.
She tapped her nail against her phone screen and made a call.
Selena hart
“Where are you?”
elara hart
“I—I’m home, sweetheart. I wasn’t expecting—”
Selena hart
“I’m coming over, Don’t go anywhere.”
She ended the call before waiting for a reply.
Her mother’s apartment was modest. Too modest, in Selena’s opinion. She had offered to move her out dozens of times—into a better place, closer to the city. Each time, her mother had refused. And each time, Selena made her pay for it emotionally.
elara hart
“I didn’t know you were visiting. Is everything alright?”
She walked inside like she owned the space—like every piece of furniture was hers, every breath of air borrowed. She took off her coat and draped it over a chair deliberately, ignoring the hooks by the door.
Selena hart
“Do you still keep those ugly curtains?”
Selena hart
“I told you they make the place look like a retirement home.”
elara hart
“I—I like them. They’re warm.”
Selena hart
“No, they’re pathetic,”
Selena hart
“Why do you always settle for less? It’s like you enjoy being small.”
The words landed like bruises. Her mother flinched, but said nothing. Years of this had taught her silence was the safer choice.
Selena circled the kitchen, opening cabinets without permission.
Selena hart
. “You’re still drinking that powdered coffee? I send you imported blends every month.”
elara hart
“I didn’t want to waste them on myself,”
Selena hart
“And why not?”
Selena hart
“You don’t think you deserve it? You don’t think I go through hell every day just to make sure you have better? But of course, you’d rather play poor and pitiful. It makes you feel like a martyr.”
Tears pricked at the edges of her mother’s eyes, but she didn’t let them fall.
Selena hart
“No. You’re not sorry. You’re just weak.”
Selena hart
Selena's voice lowered, quieter now, but laced with venom. “You let him do what he did to me. You closed your eyes and turned away while I screamed from inside that cupboard.”
elara hart
“Selena... I didn’t know—”
Selena hart
“You just chose him over me.”
Selena hart
" U choose ur lover over me"
Selena hart
“I was scared too.”
Selena hart
“You still are. Pathetic.”
The words weren’t a shout. They were a razor blade—soft and deadly.
Selena hart
“Do you know why I visit you?”
Selena hart
her voice suddenly become sweet, falsely affectionate. “Because you’re the only one left who still owes me. You live because I allow it. You eat, breathe, because I don’t turn my back on you like you turned yours on me.”
Selena hart
“Now,” she said, turning away. “Clean this place. And throw those curtains out. They depress me.”
she took a step back, her tone suddenly shifting—too sweet, too calm. Her gaze softened, but it was a calculated softness, like she was performing a role she had perfected over years of practice.
She said, walking over to her and cupping her mother's face in her hand, forcing eye contact.
Selena hart
"I’m only hard on you because I care. You know that, right?"
elara hart
Her mother looked at her, the confusion in her eyes evident. “I—”
Selena hart
“I know you don’t always understand me,”
Selena hart
“But I’m doing this for you, too. For us. I just want the best for you, for both of us. You know that. You’re the only family I have left, and I don’t want to lose you.”
Her voice dripping with sugar.
she leaned in, brushing a strand of hair from her mother’s face with the utmost care, her fingers lingering just a moment longer than necessary. It was almost too affectionate, too comforting—but it masked the underlying control in every word.
Selena hart
“I visit because I know you need me. I’m always here, even when you don’t deserve it,”
She said softly, as if she were a saint for enduring her mother's shortcomings.
elara hart
“I… I don’t want to disappoint you, Selena.”
Selena hart
“You can’t disappoint me, Mom. You just need to try a little harder. I know it’s hard, but I’m doing all this because I love you.”
The words felt suffocating, laden with guilt.
Selena hart
“I’ll see you next week,”
Selena hart
“Let’s not make this harder than it has to be. Try your best, alright?”
Selena hart
“And ya mom call me sweetheart just like u used to call me, ”
With a final, overly affectionate smile, she turned and left, her heels clicking on the floor in the silence that followed.
Her mother watched her go, uncertain whether she had just been comforted or manipulated.
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