“What the fuck, Sera?” Katella asked, throwing a piece of scrambled egg at her sister so it landed on her cheek. “Why did you do that? You went to bed with the love of your life – we all heard you and it wasn’t exactly helpful when we’re trying to get in the mood with our own guy, thank you very much. And then you let him go after a very tense conversation, no morning sex before the skate, and no food in his stomach? Are you insane? Why would you do this?”

Seraphina furrowed her brow, her eyes glassy. “I don’t know,” she said in a soft voice. She wasn’t going to argue with Katella or explain her reasoning behind it. Not with how heavy her heart was in her chest. Not with how much pain her body was in.

Harper and Emma locked eyes with each other and Harper leaned forward, her forearms on the white table cloth. “Seraphina,” she said in a gentle voice. “It’s clear you have feelings for Brandon. You don’t even deny it. He told you he has feelings for you. What’s the big deal about seeing each other?”

“There’s a conflict of interest,” Seraphina said, picking her head up. “I don’t need my other players saying I’m showing him favoritism or I’m not putting him on the trading block because I want him here with me.”

“Would the players even say that?” Emma asked, cocking her head to the side. “Negan and Kat are dating and no one has mentioned anything. Granted, not everyone knows about them and it’s a little different since she’s not the official owner, but still.”

“It’s different,” Seraphina pointed out. “We all know it’s different.” Her head dropped to her hand while her other picked at her food. She had scrambled eggs with cheddar, fresh fruit, and breakfast potatoes. This was some of her favorite food and she couldn’t bring herself to be hungry. Which was crazy because she was always hungry. It was part of her nature. Especially when it came to breakfast. “I’m the owner and manager. I have to set the example.”

“Listen, Sera,” Katella said, her tone no-nonsense with no room for arguing. “I’m not trying to be a bitch here but I have to in order for you to get this. Brandon Thorpe isn’t the type of guy you meet often in your lifetime. He isn’t going to wait around for you to realize he’s worth taking a risk for and being with. If you can’t show him this, if you can’t be with him, he is not going to wait around for you. Do you understand this?”

Seraphina dropped her fork so it clattered to the plate and her hands found her face as tears spilled out of her. She started sobbing. Not cute sobbing where the girl was still pretty and onlookers felt compassion and sympathy. Seraphina was bawling, with excessive saliva spilling out of her mouth, snot running down her nose, her mascara from last night taking over her cheeks, her hair frizzing because her face was hot, red, and blotchy. The sounds she was making should not be coming out of a human and her shoulders jumped as each sob racked through her body in a jerky, twitchy motion.

She took ugly sobbing to a whole new level.

“Of course I know this,” Seraphina replied, more saliva coming out of her mouth.

“This is the worst thing that’s ever happened since Papa died and I don’t… I don’t know what I can do to fix it.”

“It’s a lot easier than you’re making it out to be,” Emma said gently, coming over to Seraphina and placing her hand on Seraphina’s shoulder. “Seraphina, love is complicated, yes, and not everything is black and white.” Seraphina tilted her head up and looked at her friend. Her face was sticky with drying streaks of tears on her face and she knew she probably looked absolutely ridiculous. “Your decision right now is not that complicated. You either want to be with him or you don’t.”

“And dragging it on and leading him on isn’t going to help the situation,” Harper pointed out. “I know some guys like the chase because they find it challenging but Brandon Thorpe seems like a pretty straight forward guy who wouldn’t waste his time with stuff like that.”

“I know,” Seraphina muttered, looking down at her feet.

“Sera,” Katella said. Her tone was hard to distinguish but her green-gold eyes were sharp and focused. There was an emotion there Seraphina had never seen before: disappointment. And it made Seraphina’s gut clench with guilt. “I don’t think you realize how much Brandon cares about you. When I got that first call from you, the one that told me what happened to you, he wouldn’t let me out of his sight until he got some kind of answer of your well-being. He talked more to me then than he ever has. When I got the second call that told me you were here, he followed me like a goddamn shadow. When he first saw you, his eyes went everywhere on your body – up and down – making sure you weren’t physically hurt. You realize it took everything in him to restrain himself from scooping you up in his arms, just to hold you because he was relieved what you endured with Bambridge wasn’t worse?”

Seraphina felt quiet tears start to prick the corners of her eyes before slowly rolling down her cheeks. Her eyes were tired. They were sore and probably red. But she couldn’t stop crying even if she tried. And right now, there was no reason to stop. Not when the tears were clamoring to get out of her body.

“I notice things like that, Sera,” Katella continued. “Especially with someone as quiet and reserved and guarded as Thorpe. He was not closed-off or guarded. He was trying to be. He was holding himself back, yeah. But it wasn’t working. You are the crack in his armor, Sera. You’re his weakness.” She pressed her lips together. “I think you’re making a mistake. I’m always going to be there for you but don’t complain about Brandon when he finds someone else who realizes that he’s worth the risk and doesn’t run away and hides from love. And that’s what you’re doing. You can dress it up any way you want but that’s what you’re doing and, quite frankly, it pisses me off.”

"You think I want to taint Papa's legacy by dating one of his players as the owner and manager of the team?" Seraphina asked, wrinkling her brow and looking at her sister like she could not believe what she was insinuating.

"Papa is dead, Sera," Katella snapped. "Papa is dead and you have to be able to wrap your head around that. He isn't coming back. He isn't looking down on you with this anger and expectation to keep his values the same. If he had, don't you think he would have outlined something to tell you how to do your job? But he didn't, did he?" Katella slowly walked over to the closet, shaking her head. "Didn't he come to you constantly for opinions about whether or not he should trade someone or how he should handle a particular situation he was in? Do you think he would have done that if he was so concerned about doing everything right? Because you sure as shit didn't know anything about hockey then and he continued to go to you for advice."

Katella emerged from the closet in a bra and boy shorts and she began to slide on her outfit for the day - a white blouse and dark skinny jeans.

"Stop desecrating his memory by using him as an excuse to not be with Brandon," she finished.

"Excuse me?" Seraphina asked through gritted teeth, looking up from her plate to lock eyes with her sister. Harper was suddenly very interested in her phone and Emma excused herself quietly, disappearing into the restroom to shower.

"You heard me, Sera," Katella said, buttoning up her jeans. "Stop using Papa as an excuse for why you won't be with Brandon. You're making that choice because you're scared, not because of Papa, and to use him like that is just dishonorable."

"Dishonorable?" Seraphina asked. "Says the girl who can't keep her legs shut with his team."

"It isn't his hockey team anymore," Katella snapped, her eyes flashing emerald. "It's your hockey team. Yours. Papa is dead," she repeated. "Stop saying it's his team. It's yours."

Seraphina clenched her teeth together and curled her fingers into fists to keep her temper at bay. She knew what Katella was trying to do and she couldn't rebel against it - Ken was her grandfather too. If anyone got to claim ownership of him the way Seraphina had, it would be Katella. At the same time, it was difficult to understand how they both could have such different perceptions of the same man.

They both couldn't be wrong. 

Katella pressed her lips together and kept from saying anything else. That was probably a good thing. Seraphina had said done pretty nasty things and she knew that eventually she would apologize for it but not now. Things were still heated between them and Seraphina was still reeling from what happened this morning with Brandon. She needed to get out of here, away from her friends, away from her sister. She threw on some workout clothes and headed to the hotel gym. She didn't even like working out but she needed a way to get all this excess energy out.

After a couple of hours in the gym, she glanced at the wall clock. Brandon would be leaving the morning skate right now. Her heart clenched in her chest and she forced everything down, she didn't want to feel this anymore.

At that moment, Katella walked in the gym in yoga pants and a tank top, her hair thrown up in a ponytail. Seraphina wasn't sure if she should hide or if she should let Katella find her because there was no way Katella was here to workout. As much as Seraphina didn't like working out, Katella liked it even less. She looked good in workout clothes but Katella preferred activity to straight-up exercise - she preferred hiking, soccer, and dance rather than walking on a treadmill.

When Katella found Seraphina on the treadmill, she nodded at her sister and started to head over. Seraphina tensed and froze. Any chance of avoiding Katella went out the window.

"Hey," she said.

Seraphina took out her earphones and nodded once. "Hey," she said, her voice tentative, still not sure how to respond. Still not sure what Katella wanted.

"I'm here to apologize," Katella said, her green eyes sincere. "I know I came out harsh and while I thought I was being helpful because I think it's important you realize that Brandon Thorpe -"

"I know, Kat," Seraphina said, placing her hands on her hips. "Trust me, I realize how amazing the guy is. With everything," she added, a small blush on her face.

"Good," Katella said with a nod. "I'm glad. But I still don't need to butt in and give you my opinion and make it seem like I'm telling you what to do. So I'm sorry for that." She reached out and cupped Seraphina's cheek with her hand, causing Seraphina to pick her eyes up and look at Katella. "I just want you happy, Sera. And I know Brandon would make you so happy. And if anyone deserves to be happy, it's you." She dropped her hand and took a step back. "Okay, that's all I wanted to tell you."

"Wait," Seraphina said. Katella stopped from turning around and raised a brow. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have said what I said. That was completely underhanded of me and I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," Katella said with a smile. Seraphina could tell that she appreciated the gesture, however. "You're my sister and ever since we were kids, you've been a brat. I'm the instigator, you're the brat." Seraphina laughed as Katella pulled her into a tight hug. "It's okay. I always forgive you."