Every month since they were married, he took her shopping. Sometimes, his assistant pre-ordered designer clothes for her. Nathaniel knew her body well. He knew what fit her and what looked good on her.
Serena couldn’t believe Nathaniel went through so much effort to make her feel so treasured, yet it was all fake.
In the end, she only took about fifteen items of clothing, four bags, and five pairs of shoes, the ones she bought with her own salary. After packing her personal items, she returned to the living room.
Alice was emptying her fridge. Since she was alone there, Serena found herself recalling the number of movie nights she had spent with Nathaniel in that same spot.
She recalled the laughter, the teasing, and the kisses they shared.
They were all lies.
Then, her eyes landed on their wedding photo mounted across the TV. Serena frowned. The sparkle in Nathaniel’s eyes looked so genuine, she almost convinced herself she was simply having a very bad dream.
Tears welled in her eyes, but she sniffed them back. She fetched a small ladder, took the portrait to the stone fire pit at the back of the house, and burned it!
But that wasn’t enough.
Serena went back inside, searched for her old wedding gown, and burned it too.
Next, she went back for their photo albums, the ones that contained her memories with Nathaniel, and set them on fire.
When Serena realized she was still wearing her wedding ring, she took it off. She was about to throw it into the burning pit when Alice grabbed her hand. “Hey!”
“Stop!” Alice said. “I hate Nathan too, but let’s be real. You could use whatever money you have left.”
“Let’s sell every damn thing he gave you,” Alice proposed. “Including this-“
Alice looked around, looking regretful of the vast estate. “Including this beautiful house?”
The villa was Nathaniel’s pre-wedding gift to Serena. It was a six-hundred-square- meter, two-story home. It had a circular driveway in front and a small backyard with a stone patio and fire pit.
Nathaniel promised they would raise a family here. It was another lie she was foolish enough to believe.
Once, the place felt warm and alive. Now, it felt empty and cold. It was still beautiful, but to Serena, it no longer felt like a home.
“Yes.” Turning to Alice, Serena agreed. “Let’s sell everything. I bet this house would easily give me around six million or seven.”
Serena did not bring much. She was planning to sell the furniture along with the house. After loading everything she had into the car, she and Alice got ready to leave.
They were using Serena’s SUV. She was about to hop into the vehicle when she felt like someone was watching her.
Instantly, she looked out the gates.
Serena felt a chill run down her spine when she spotted a car parked right outside the grilled fences. As soon as she noticed the vehicle, it drove off, as if it feared her stare.
She frowned. As much as she wanted to identify the car, it was already dark by the time she and Alice were done. Through the dim light, all she could make out was the silhouette of a black car. A BMW, she thought.
‘What if it’s another one of my father’s rivals?’ she muttered in her head. ‘Then, it’s just right that I sell the house.’
Victor Kline had many rivals. Over the past years, a few had targeted her because she was his daughter. Her nanny once told her she was almost kidnapped when she was three years old. That was why, even though her relationship with her parents wasn’t the best, she was at least thankful that they had assigned her a private car since she was young.
They never gave her the tender loving care that many children received growing up, but at least her parents protected her.
“Let’s go,” Serena said to Alice. “The house is just giving me the chills right now.”
Serena kept herself busy in the following days, selling her wedding ring and every piece of jewelry Nathaniel had given her. An agent took care of the rest, including her designer clothes, luxury bags, and even the house. She meant to sell everything until there was nothing left to remind her of the life she once had with Nathaniel Thorne.
She found a new resolve, but even then, nothing could prepare her for what would come next. It was something Serena never expected.
The Invitation.
“Do you remember Milona?” Alice asked on a Saturday morning. “Our batchmate in college?”
“Of course, we used to have lunch together,” Serena answered calmly. She and Alice were having breakfast.
“She’s inviting us to her birthday at the Golden Dragon Palace later, at six p.m.,” Alice shared. “We should go. She said she feels sorry about what happened to you and Nathan, so she wanted to catch up.”
Serena gulped. Honestly, she didn’t feel like socializing. However, Alice convinced her otherwise. “You need this. You need to unwind and just… let it out. We can talk trash about Nathan.”
For the first time in months, Serena laughed. Yet, tears welled in her eyes. “Yeah, I guess that’s not a good idea.”
Later, they both dressed to impress. Rarely did Serena wear revealing clothes, but that night, Alice insisted that she put on a backless dress.
“I hope there are hot guys at the party,” Alice muttered while driving, and Serena only laughed.
Well, there were, in fact, hot guys at the party, but they weren’t exactly who Serena wanted to see.
When Serena and Alice arrived, they were surprised that the gathering was quite intimate. Milona had only booked a room that accommodated twenty guests. Still, they smiled and gave their old friend a gift.
“Happy birthday, Milona,” Alice greeted. “This is from both me and Serena.”
Accepting the gift, Milona smiled. She motioned to the second table and said, “These are your seats. Enjoy.”
But just as they settled, Alice felt the need to use the restroom. “I’ll be back.”
So, Serena was on her own. She smiled politely at Milona’s guests until she saw familiar faces.
Timothy Harlow, Dennis Mercer, and Peter Wells.
They have been Nathaniel’s best friends since college. They walked into the room looking confident and successful, laughing. Their suits were neat, their shoes polished, and they carried themselves with the easy charm of men who knew they had done well in life.
Serena’s heart throbbed sharply, and as fate would mock her, two figures entered the room.
Vanessa Holt.
And… Nathaniel Thorne.
Vanessa held his arm, smiling up at him in a way that made them look flawlessly matched.
And Nathaniel? He was easily the most handsome man in the room. He always had been. But seeing him now, with another woman, felt like a knife twisting in Serena’s ribs.
“This can’t be happening to me.” Serena softly muttered, her eyes widening.
They couldn’t see her from the door, but she saw them.
Out of nowhere, Vanessa happily turned to Nathaniel. With Vanessa’s back facing Serena, she could see how they appeared to be sharing a kiss!
“Hey! Hey!” Timothy called. “You two get a room!”
“What?” Vanessa turned, blushing. “What do you mean? Nathan was just blowing something out of my eyes.”
It felt like a wound she’d barely managed to hold together was being torn wider. Serena said in her head, ‘What is going on? How dare Milona invite me and Alice if she was also inviting Nathan!’
Then, Milona approached their group. “Vanessa, what a surprise! You and Nathan? You look good together!”
Serena stood up abruptly, and the chair fell behind her. Only then did she lock eyes with Nathaniel.
Seeing her, Nathaniel’s eyes widened, and he instantly put a distance between himself and Vanessa.
“Oh, Serena. You’re here too!” Vanessa said. In front of her, Nathaniel’s friends were also startled to see her.
“Look, it’s not what you think,” Vanessa said, addressing Serena. “Nathan and I are just friends-“
“Serena, I completely forgot that my husband invited Vanessa and Nathaniel. Surely, you won’t mind. I mean, we’re all adults here. Let’s just put the past behind us,” Milona said with an amiable smile, as if the situation wasn’t a big deal.
Serena was infuriated! She grabbed her purse abruptly and said, “No, thank you very much.”
She left the venue in a hurry. She searched for her phone so she could call Alice, but to her shock, it wasn’t inside her purse.
“Damn it!” she muttered. “I must have dropped my phone!”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.