[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her":3,"chapter-my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-284":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","My Sister Stole My Mate, And I Let Her",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},764408,1010,"Chapter 284 MERRY CHRISTMAS","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-284",284,"\u003Cp>SERAPHINA’S POV\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My hand tightened around Daniel’s just enough to anchor me as he tugged me those last few steps forward—right into the space between Kieran and Lucian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt it immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air there was...different. Not charged in the explosive, volatile way I braced for, but taut. Like a rope pulled tight between two immovable points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had noticed earlier—had been quietly astonished, really—that Lucian and Kieran were occupying the same room without circling each other like wary predators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That they were capable of standing within arm’s reach without dominance flaring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, standing close enough to feel the gravity of both their presences pressing in, I sensed the truth was far more complicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever conversation they’d been having before Daniel intervened hadn’t been pleasant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And I knew without either of them saying a word that I was at the center of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kieran stood to my left, posture rigid, hands clenched into fists at his sides. Lucian stood to my right, expression composed, eyes unreadable in that coolly self-possessed way of his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They both looked at Daniel when he slipped his other hand through Kieran’s fist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dad,” he chirped, “it’s time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tension dissipated instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Time for what?” I asked, my pulse jumping when both intense gazes fell on me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The surprise,” Daniel stage-whispered, eyes sparkling. “The real one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I blinked. “There’s more?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He grinned up at me, eyes bright with barely contained excitement. “You’ll see. Come on!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tugged again, this time toward the sliding doors that led out to the balcony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t miss the brief look Kieran and Lucian exchanged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t friendly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was...civil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A truce, thin as ice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The balcony doors slid open, letting a surge of cold night air wash over us. Beyond, the world was swallowed in pitch-black, the sky a fathomless navy that seemed to devour every trace of sound and light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything outside felt...suspended, as if the night itself was holding its breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daniel stepped forward eagerly, nearly bouncing on his toes. “Okay,” he said. “Everyone, look up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone gathered behind us, craning their neck in obedience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I squeezed Daniel’s shoulders as I looked up, unsure of what I was bracing for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daniel lifted his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Three,” he said solemnly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart stuttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kieran shifted beside me. I felt it rather than saw it—a subtle reorientation of his attention, as if he were bracing too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky exploded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Light tore through the darkness in a burst so sudden I gasped, breath catching in my throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Color bloomed overhead—brilliant whites and deep blues unfurling across the darkness, swirling like ink blossoming in water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fireworks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not the chaotic, overlapping kind meant to overwhelm. These were deliberate. Measured. Each burst timed perfectly with the next, painting the sky in sweeping arcs and precise shapes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone behind me whooped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I barely heard them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My gaze was locked upward as the display unfolded—blue sparks curling inward, gathering, shaping themselves with impossible precision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breath left me in a soundless rush when I recognized the picture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A crescent moon, sketched in glowing blue light, delicate and exact. Curved protectively around a five-pointed star.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My lucky charm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My fingers trembled as they tightened around Daniel’s hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh,” I whispered. “Oh, gods...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fireworks continued, radiating outward from that central symbol in a cascade of shimmering blues and silvers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The small crowd behind us erupted into applause and laughter, but it all sounded distant, muffled, as if I were underwater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I bent down, pulling Daniel into a tight hug. “This is incredible,” I breathed into his hair. “Thank you, baby. H-how did you know about my lucky charm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hugged me back, voice dropping to a whisper meant for my ears alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It wasn’t me,” he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pulled back, startled. “What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced up at the sky, then over at Kieran, who stood just behind us, gaze fixed upward, expression unreadable in the shifting light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dad planned it,” Daniel said quietly. “All of it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned slowly, heart pounding so hard I was sure everyone could hear it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if he could sense my gaze, Kieran looked away from the sky, and our eyes met.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fireworks reflected in his gaze, softening the dark obsidian into something warmer. Tender.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Merry Christmas,” he said softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No speech. No explanation. No attempt to take credit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just those two words, offered like something precious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My chest cinched so tight I couldn’t breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tenderness in his eyes made something flutter low in my belly. And with it came the ache.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because as much as this moment moved me, as deeply as I could sense the thoughtfulness behind it, it also forced me to confront a truth I’d spent years circling without coming to terms with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was what Kieran Blackthorne was capable of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t think he knew what my favorite food was, but somehow, he knew about my childhood lucky charm and displayed it in the sky for me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then there was the seaside dinner and moonstone necklace from my book. Abandoning his pack on Christmas to be here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This depth. This care. This grand, meticulous attention to detail when he chose to give his heart fully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in ten years of marriage, he had never loved me like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Never planned something just to make me smile. Never looked at me like I was worth the effort of wonder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The realization lodged in my throat, jagged and heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I blinked rapidly, forcing the sting back, even as the final fireworks faded into drifting sparks that dissolved quietly into the night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Applause broke out again. Cheers. Whistles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I barely heard them. I was too busy trying to hold myself together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maya was the first to notice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She appeared at my side like a force of nature, wrapping an arm around me with exaggerated cheer. “Okay! That’s enough emotional damage for one evening,” she announced loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fresh Christmas cookies are ready, and if we stay out here any longer, someone is going to freeze to death and ruin my hosting record.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She leaned in closer, voice dropping just enough for me to hear. “Stay back. Take a breath. Before you implode.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grateful didn’t even begin to cover it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She herded everyone back in with practiced efficiency—Roxy complaining theatrically, Finn laughing, Daniel already talking a mile a minute about the fireworks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The balcony gradually emptied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lingered a moment longer, my hands still trembling with the aftershocks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t trust myself to meet Kieran’s gaze again—not when it carried a loaded vulnerability I didn’t think I could survive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucian stayed back with me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You alright?” he asked quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded, even though my throat was still tight. “Yeah. Just...processing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He studied me for a moment, then reached into the inner pocket of his coat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I also have something for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He held out a small box—unassuming, dark wood polished smooth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s no firework surprise,” he added, as if anticipating comparison. “But I made it myself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I offered him a small smile as I opened it. “Then I’m sure I’ll love it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside lay a simple bracelet—smooth beads interspersed with faintly glowing runic threads, the craftsmanship subtle but elegant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A meditation bracelet,” Lucian explained. “It’s meant to help stabilize mental fluctuations. Encourage deeper rest.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My chest tightened again, but this time the ache was softer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I remember you mentioned in the group chat that you weren’t sleeping well lately,” he continued. “I thought this might help.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You actually made this?” I whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded. “I did.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I swallowed hard. “Thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I slipped it onto my wrist, and the moment it settled against my skin, I felt it—a gentle warmth, a subtle grounding sensation that eased the constant hum at the back of my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucian watched me with quiet satisfaction. “How does it feel?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Steady,” I admitted. “Calming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He smiled faintly. “Good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I met his gaze, something heavy and sincere rising in my chest. “You always seem to know exactly what I need.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Someone should,” he said simply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sounds of laughter and clinking dishes drifted out from inside the house—warm, alive, full.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glanced down at the bracelet again, fingers brushing over its smooth surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bracelet quieted the restless hum in my mind, but deep within, a crescent of light still curved around a shimmering star—no longer in the sky, but etched into memory.\u003C\u002Fp>",1395,"2026-06-03T02:27:49.405Z",1,"novelbin.me","711634349dc7be02195256b2d424a46f882461bcb173dc77b4e121d677b040e6","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-285","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-283",488,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-cover.jpg"]