“Ms. Steele, Mr. Trevor is in a meeting. Would you like to wait in the reception room?” Dakota replied politely.
Serena’s almond-shaped eyes narrowed slightly. “Oh? He summoned me in such a hurry that I assumed your company was on the verge of bankruptcy.”
Dakota choked on her words and could only smile awkwardly.
Today was truly strange. Trevor’s behavior was odd enough, but even Serena had suddenly started speaking with a sharp edge.
Serena had no intention of making things difficult for a secretary. “Please take me to the reception room, Ms. Corwin. I have court this afternoon, so I can only wait thirty minutes. Kindly let him know.”
Seated in the reception room, she searched for recent news about Levine Group’s personnel changes. Sure enough, the top result was about Sebastian returning to the country and preparing to overhaul the group.
Serena stared at the man in the photo. Even through a screen, she could feel the commanding presence he was born with.
And that day, she had cried in front of him-tears and snot, a complete mess.
The memory was unbearable. She wished she could erase it from her mind.
At the same time, she prayed she would never see Sebastian again for the rest of her life.
The door to the reception room was only half closed. Passing employees didn’t notice anyone inside and whispered outside.
“Hey, did you see the woman in Mr. Trevor’s office? Is that his fiancee? So sweet-he’s making coffee for her himself.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. That’s Mr. Trevor’s sister. You new hires don’t know-he’s famously protective of her.”
“Huh? Didn’t I hear she’s not his biological sister? Interesting. With the beloved foster sister at home and the bride coming in at the end of the month, it looks like there’ll be plenty of gossip to enjoy.”
Serena put her phone away, her fingers tightening slowly.
So that was it. He had left her waiting for half an hour just to entertain a beauty in his office.
She stood, pushed the door open, and headed straight for Trevor’s office.
Dakota had just finished sending an email when she saw Serena, clearly furious, marching straight toward Trevor’s door.
She hurried to step in front of her.
“Ms. Steele, Mr. Trevor is with a guest right now. Please wait a little longer.”
Serena shot the secretary a cold, sideways look. “Didn’t you just say he was in a meeting? Now it’s a guest? Mr. Trevor must be a real master of time management.”
Her patience snapped. She brushed past the secretary and shoved the office door open.
The sudden intrusion made Trevor pause.
Just moments earlier, he had been holding a tube of burn ointment, carefully and gently applying it to the woman sitting on the couch.
Dakota’s scalp went numb. “Mr. Trevor, it was Ms. Steele. She insisted on coming in. I couldn’t stop her.”
She glanced at Serena with quiet resentment, already holding a grudge.
Trevor frowned, clearly displeased. He looked at Serena, then waved his hand. “You can leave, Dakota. Since you’re already here, Ms. Steele, come in.”
Perfect timing. Right in front of Amber, he was going to settle yesterday’s score once and for all.
Serena crossed her arms, her lips curving into a half-smile. “Sorry to interrupt your time in bed-oh, my mistake. You were applying medicine. But since you dragged me here so urgently, I doubt it was just so I could admire you treating your dearest little sister.”
Trevor and Amber’s expressions both changed.
“Serena, you misunderstood,” Amber said quickly. “Mom asked me to bring Trevor some soup today. He was in a car accident the day before yesterday, and she wanted him to nourish himself. I didn’t know Trevor had also asked you to come…”
What a considerate foster sister. So considerate it made Serena want to throw up.
“Amber, when you come to the company to see me, you don’t need to explain yourself to her,” Trevor said gently.
Then his gaze turned icy. “As for you, Serena, I haven’t even settled things with you from yesterday. Look at what you did. Amber almost got blisters from that burn! This was deliberate harm to my sister. I order you to apologize to her right now.”
Serena gave a soft scoff and glanced at Amber’s so-called injury. The red patch, no bigger than a fingernail, didn’t even compare to the marks still visible on her own neck.
“Oh, Mr. Trevor, let me give you a quick lesson in law,” she said calmly. “Deliberate injury requires intentional harm that results in at least a second-degree minor injury before a case can even be filed. Why don’t you take Ms. Jacobs to get examined right now? If you wait any longer, I’m afraid her injury will already be healed.”
She continued coolly, “What happened yesterday, at most, counts as disturbing public order. And let’s be clear-those who provoke first deserve what they get. If your precious Ms. Jacobs and her best friend hadn’t gone out of their way to provoke me, there wouldn’t have been any conflict at all.”
She tilted her head. “Or maybe you should advise your darling to stay far away from me in the future?”
When she finished, the air across from her grew heavy.
“Serena Steele!” Trevor’s handsome face froze over. “You’re something else. You splashed Amber with hot water. How can you be so vicious?”
A flicker of triumph flashed through Amber’s eyes before she quickly replaced it with a timid, pitiful look. “Serena, I know you don’t like me, but please don’t be angry at Trevor. I swear I’ll never appear in front of you again…”
“Then swear it!” Serena snapped sharply. “Swear that if you ever show up in front of me again just to get attention, you’ll get breast nodules, uterine fibroids, and ovarian cysts.”
She turned to Trevor and asked sincerely, “Do you want to swear too? I’ll even help you with the wording. If you bother me again, you’ll be constipated for eighty-one days, then grow one hundred and eight hemorrhoids. Erectile dysfunction-can’t get it up at all. And even if you do, it won’t last more than three seconds. Not one second more.”
After saying all that, she felt refreshed, body and soul. “So? I’m such a vicious woman, asking the two of you to swear to stay away from me. That’s not too much, is it?”
Trevor and Amber were left completely stunned, cursed into silence.
Trevor was the first to snap out of it. “Serena, are you really a well-bred heiress? Why would we swear anything? Why don’t you swear first?”
Serena blinked, all innocence. “I did. What, are you a goldfish? Seven-second memory? I already said it that day-I will never register a marriage with you. If I break that vow, may you, Trevor, be childless for life. There, I’ve said it again. Now it’s your turn.”
Amber bit her lip, her face flushing. How could she possibly bring herself to say something so crude and vulgar?
Trevor was grinding his back teeth so hard they were about to crack. How dare she say he only lasted three seconds?
How dare she!
Serena gave a light snort and rolled her eyes. “Tsk. A pair of cowards. I’m leaving.”
Trevor’s office was soundproof. Serena’s sharp, ringing words inside hadn’t leaked out at all.
She strode out with her head high and her shoulders back, so composed that Dakota, standing outside, nearly froze in shock.
That was it?
Serena didn’t look defeated at all.
Didn’t Trevor yell at her? Was he really that good at holding back?
What Dakota didn’t know was that Trevor wasn’t holding back-he just couldn’t win.
While waiting for the elevator, Serena finally felt the burn again where her neck had been scalded. It had eased earlier, but now it flared hot and sharp.
She cursed him silently. What kind of eyes did Trevor have?
Blind, clearly.
Her lips curved into a bitter smile. And wasn’t she blind herself? Chasing after someone who never loved her for so long-wasn’t that blindness too?
…
After Serena left, Trevor’s office was so quiet they could hear a pin drop.
Only after a long while did Trevor finally let out a breath. “Amber, don’t be upset. She’s always been like that-sharp-tongued and vicious. Don’t worry. I won’t let you suffer for nothing. This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.”
As he spoke, he dialed Donald’s number.
But he didn’t even need to say anything.
By then, Kyana was already crying hard at her father’s company.
“Dad, are you even going to do anything about Serena? Look at me-my neck, my collarbones, they’re all red! Dad, look here, there’s such a huge blister! The doctor said I need at least half a month to recover!”
Yvonne’s heart ached at the sight.
Was Serena trying to ruin her daughter’s face?
“Donald,” she said, her tone heavy with implication, “every time Kyana and Serena had small arguments in the past, I always sided with Serena. But this time, she went too far. Kyana is a girl-she still has to get married someday.”
Every word painted Serena as malicious and cruel.
Donald’s expression darkened. “That brat. I’ll call her myself.”
He dialed three times. No answer.
Donald then directly called the nursing home. “Hi, it’s me. I want to take my mother home and discharge her. Can you arrange that?”
“Well… didn’t your daughter just renew another month’s fees a few days ago?” the director said carefully. “Mr. Steele, are you sure you want to take your mother home?”
Donald narrowed his eyes slightly. He hadn’t expected his daughter to have saved up that much money.
He gave a cold snort. “My daughter has been having conflicts with us lately. But if my mother wants to come home, surely we can’t go against her wishes. How about this-I’ll come by the nursing home tomorrow and ask my mother myself. Does that work?
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