[{"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-390":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},764464,1010,"Chapter 390 PLAYING GAMES","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-390",390,"\u003Cp>SERAPHINA’S POV\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, I simply stared at Catherine, certain I had misheard her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ocean roared behind us, waves breaking against unseen cliffs beyond the grassland, but the sound seemed distant and unreal compared to the sudden pounding of my heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What did you just say?” I asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine’s smile deepened, the expression almost indulgent now that she had finally provoked the reaction she wanted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Edward,” she repeated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My father’s name hung between us like a ghost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine tilted her head as though considering how much to reveal. She studied my face with open curiosity, clearly enjoying the tension she had created.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know,” she said at last, “that there were...complications between you and Edward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The understatement almost made me laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Complications.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Years of cold silence, harsh expectations, and a lifetime of being treated as an afterthought were apparently summarized by that single inept word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are many regrets between the two of you,” Catherine continued, watching my expression closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My jaw tightened. “You don’t know anything about my family and me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m merely observing,” she replied smoothly. “Regret has a way of lingering long after people are gone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hated it, how on the nose she was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Imagine, Seraphina,” she went on, “being given an opportunity to resolve those regrets.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A surge of anger rushed through me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My father is dead,” I snarled. “There are no more opportunities.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That,” she said calmly, “is a very simplistic understanding of events.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re lying.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Am I?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You are,” I hissed. “I saw him die—right before my very eyes. I watched his coffin go into the fucking ground.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her tone carried the soft patience of someone entertaining a child’s objections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are certain...possibilities available to those who understand the deeper mechanisms of life and death.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My stomach tightened, Aaron’s face flashing in my mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My fists clenched at my side. “What are you implying?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine’s eyes gleamed. “I’m saying that the past is not always as permanently out of reach as people assume.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart began to pound harder. “You’re playing games.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She shook her head. “Not at all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She took a slow step closer, her movements unhurried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I happen to know of a way,” she said, “that you might be able to make amends with Edward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words struck somewhere deep inside my chest before I could stop them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For years, I had carried a complicated weight regarding my father. Anger had come easily. Resentment had come naturally. Yearning was a constant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet somewhere beneath all of that lay a quieter emotion that I had never fully confronted, stronger since his death and recent revelations of truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine saw the moment the idea touched me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her smile widened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course,” she added, “such an opportunity would require your full cooperation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There it was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I forced myself to take a slow breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You expect me to believe any of the bullshit you’re spewing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I expect you to be curious.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shook my head. “I’m not.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Really?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her tone dripped with condescension now, as though she could see straight through the lie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re not even slightly interested in the possibility of closure?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In my mind, however, the question echoed louder than I would have liked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Closure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The word carried a dangerous pull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine continued speaking in the same calm, coaxing tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You were always a promising child. Even when the others overlooked you, I could see the potential in you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The compliment felt strange coming from her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And when your power first began to manifest,” she continued, “I understood immediately how dangerous the situation was.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eyes narrowed. “You’re referring to the sealing ritual.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.” A sigh escaped her. “An unpleasant necessity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My chest heated with anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You advocated for that ritual.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her lips twitched. “Honey, I designed it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The admission came without apology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And it protected you,” she added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Protected me?” I asked incredulously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine clasped her hands lightly behind her back as she spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your psychic abilities were unstable at the time. If they had continued to develop unchecked, the consequences would have been catastrophic.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There were other ways,” I snapped. “I could’ve been trained. Taught to control—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She tsked, cutting me off. “None of that would have worked.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don’t know that!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine’s gaze softened. “I did what I believed was necessary to keep you alive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No,” I hissed. “You kept me isolated. You kept me small and unloved and weak!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine shrugged, unmoved by my accusation. “You’re free to believe whatever version of history comforts you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And my family?” I pushed. “Was using the ritual to turn them against me also an ‘unpleasant necessity’?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She smiled. “Oh, honey, if it’s familial love you crave, I can give that to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, the air around us shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, the sensation was subtle. A faint warmth brushed against my mind, so gentle it barely registered as psychic energy at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then it grew stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not aggressive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not invasive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just...familiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I blinked in surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The energy field felt strangely comforting, like the soft echo of something I had known for years but never consciously recognized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine watched my reaction closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You feel it, don’t you?” she murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Y-yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A knowing smile touched her lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our abilities share the same origin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The statement caught me off guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Psychic energy has patterns,” she explained smoothly. “Families often carry similar signatures.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The warmth in the air pulsed as she spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You and I are not so different, Seraphina.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly, the tension inside my chest eased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The energy she had released felt calm and reassuring, like a gentle tide moving through the air. Like the warmth of a mother’s hug.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine took a step closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you come with me, I can show you the truth behind everything that happened.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her voice lowered further. “You’ll see your mother again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And perhaps even gain the chance to resolve what remains unfinished between you and Edward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her words settled in my thoughts like seeds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The logic of it seemed...reasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Catherine truly had answers about the past...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there was even a small chance that understanding those answers could help me make peace with my father’s memory...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps going with her was not as dangerous as it seemed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The clearing felt strangely quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wind had softened. The scents had retreated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine’s psychic energy continued to brush gently against my mind, soothing the sharp edges of suspicion that had filled me only moments earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don’t need to fight this.\" Her voice was so sweet. So soft and warm. \"I’m not your enemy. I have always been a friend. I have always been family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something inside me wavered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe she was right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Catherine after all. My sister’s godmother. My mother’s closest friend. The one she trusted to fix me when no one else could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wasn’t evil or malignant. She tried to help Celeste get her wolf back; she was going to give me closure about my father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sudden, sharp sting shot through my entire body, originating from my palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I gasped and jerked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My hand had been in my pocket, gripping the brass compass that had sent a jolt of electricity through me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sensation was brief but sharp enough to rip straight through the strange haze clouding my thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I blinked rapidly, my lungs dragging in air as the quiet warmth that had wrapped around me collapsed like mist burned away by sunlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clarity rushed back with startling force, bringing with it a sickening realization of just how close I had come to stepping willingly into Catherine’s trap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My fingers tightened around the small object as anger rose in my chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not anger at the trap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anger at how close I had come to falling for it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I lifted my head again, the world felt sharper, the breeze colder against my skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine was watching me with careful interest, the faint shimmer of psychic warmth around us already fading now that my mind had pulled free of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I met her gaze, the last trace of the earlier trance gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You almost had me,” I hissed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her lips curved into a predator’s smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Almost,” she agreed.\u003C\u002Fp>",1370,"2026-06-03T02:27:49.405Z",1,"novelbin.me","bdb6328fe74a217e6adb864a435a43f27daa2d35fb1052298782c3365b548e61","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-391","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-389",488,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-cover.jpg"]