“Who?” Serena and Shawn asked at the same time.
“You know… her.” Lily dropped her voice. “The Boss’ ex-wife.”
Serena froze. Lily meant Eugene’s ex.
Only then did she remember her phone was still on the floor.
She picked it up and turned it over, and her mind stalled.
Her fingers trembled around the screen.
Someone please explain why I have been on a WhatsApp call with Sebastian for ten full minutes…
Panic surged through her, and she slammed the end-call button.
The moment she did, something felt very wrong.
Now it looked like she had called Sebastian on purpose-listened in on everything-and then hung up deliberately.
Serena did not know what to do.
At that point, she felt like a calculating villain straight out of a bad drama.
Hands shaking, she cautiously reopened the chat window with him.
‘Mr. Sebastian, I apologize. If I said everything earlier was pure accident… would you believe it?’
‘Accident? You mean you happened to open our chat, stared into space for half an hour, then somehow pressed the call button – and coincidentally allowed me to hear your entire office conversation?’
Serena nearly teared up. She typed a single word. ‘Yes.’
‘That’s quite the coincidence. Even better timing-I’m passing by your office soon. Dinner tonight? We can talk in person.’
There was no graceful way out of this. Could she refuse?
She couldn’t.
‘Alright, Mr. Levine.’ She even added a smiling emoji at the end.
Sebastian lowered his lashes slightly at the stiff ‘Mr. Levine’ and then let out a quiet laugh.
Heartless little thing. He’d told her not to call him ‘Mr. Sebastian,’ and she’d responded by switching to something even colder.
‘See you tonight, Ms. Steele.’
Serena nearly blacked out when she read that.
Before she could spiral further, Eugene stormed out of Adam’s office, his expression dark.
“Boss, how did it go?” All three of them turned toward him at once.
Eugene clearly wasn’t in the mood. “Nothing settled. He said whoever lands it first keeps it.”
“No restrictions.”
Serena and the others went pale. The air instantly turned heavy.
As they passed, Poppy Farlane smiled faintly. “Mr. Beaumont… you look like you’ve had a rough day.”
Eugene didn’t reply. He only cast his ex-wife a long, unreadable look.
With no response from him, Serena and the rest returned to their desks and buried themselves in work.
When her provocation earned no reaction, Poppy lost interest and walked away.
Serena felt miserable. This industry worked exactly like this-connections decided everything. The stronger your backing, the better your cases.
You were expected to be skilled and protected.
Unfortunately, Eugene-like her-had neither.
…
When the time came, Serena slipped out about ten minutes early.
Mostly, she didn’t want anyone to see her leave with Sebastian. That kind of gossip would spiral fast.
Sebastian watched her slide into his car like a thief in the night and raised an eyebrow. “What’s this? Running from the law?”
Serena stiffened. “No. You can drive, Mr. Levine.”
Seeing how tense she was, Sebastian deliberately took his time before starting the engine.
“Ms. Steele, what do you feel like eating?”
Serena thought briefly. “Vermillion Restaurant. We didn’t get to finish our meal last time.”
She laughed awkwardly.
Sebastian’s smile flickered, then settled. “Alright. Let’s go there.”
The entire drive, Serena wanted to ask how much he’d heard earlier.
But she chickened out and stayed completely silent.
Same private room as before. Same dishes he ordered. Serena felt distracted, still unsure why Sebastian had invited her out.
She made herself speak. “Did they tell Old Mr. Levine? About the engagement being called off.”
Sebastian poured her a glass of water at an unhurried pace. “I don’t know. I haven’t been back these past few days.”
His eyes were dark, sharp, like a night without stars. “Do you want me to tell him?”
Serena shook her head. “No.”
What would that even look like? If anyone is going to say it, it should be Trevor.
“Mmm. Then we’ll leave it. Did your father agree to the breakup?”
Serena’s lips curved into a bitter smile. “Whether he agrees or not doesn’t matter. I’ve already informed him.”
She had notified both families. If they chose to pretend nothing had changed, the embarrassment later would be their problem.
Sebastian’s mouth curved faintly. “Mm. Understood.”
After that, they truly did nothing more than eat. Neither of them brought up the call from earlier in the day.
Serena acted as if she knew nothing at all. Once dinner ended, she called a ride and went home.
Sebastian, on the other hand, casually dialed Daniel.
“Yes, Mr. Levine?” Daniel answered. At this hour, he had no idea why the CEO was calling.
He had just finished a social engagement, had a few drinks, and his thoughts were still sluggish.
“The acquisition your team is handling,” Sebastian said evenly. “Have you finalized legal counsel?”
Daniel snapped alert. “We were leaning toward Beaumont Legal, but the two partners proposed different fee structures. We’re still weighing the options.”
Sebastian hummed. “Since when does our group pick lawyers based on cost?”
Daniel’s back chilled instantly. Even seated in his car, sweat slid down his spine. “Mr. Levine…”
“Think carefully,” Sebastian said. “Bring me your decision tomorrow.”
The call ended abruptly.
Daniel stared ahead, confused and uneasy. How does he even know about this?
Reading between the lines, Sebastian clearly favored Eugene.
Only then did Daniel recall that night.
Right. Serena-the woman Sebastian had taken with him-was anything but simple.
…
Trevor stood staring at the calendar for a long time before showing up at Serena’s place with jewelry worth millions.
He rang the doorbell repeatedly. No one answered.
She had blocked him on WhatsApp.
He tried calling instead. Again and again, the call ended in the same cold automated message.
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