She had no choice. Serena paced back into the conference room where Milona’s birthday celebration was held. Just before she walked in, she heard Nathaniel and his friends talking about her.
“Nathan, did you really not love Serena at all?” Peter asked. Serena was already familiar with their voices, so even without seeing them, she could tell them apart.
“No,” Nathaniel said outright. “It was all an act.”
“I could have sworn you were very in love with her,” Peter raised.
“He already said no, Peter,” Timothy scolded.
“Enough. I don’t want to talk about her,” Nathaniel snapped. “It’s over.”
To her surprise, Vanessa and Dennis didn’t seem to be around. All she heard were the voices of Nathaniel, Peter, and Timothy.
“Well, you know, Serena was just a quiet girl back in college. She wasn’t really a good match for you,” Timothy said. “I always thought that way. She only became confident about herself after you two started dating. You and Vanessa are more suited for each other.”
“Didn’t I say enough?” Nathaniel shot back. “She is not worth discussing.”
“It’s just that I wished you could’ve gotten justice without involving Serena in it,” Peter said, his voice sounding regretful.
“She was innocent, sure,” Nathaniel said faintly. “But I couldn’t let that change anything. If I had, I would’ve failed my father all over again.”
The familiar sting returned the instant he spoke.
So, he did know she was innocent, but he still chose to use her and hurt her.
Serena had heard enough. She no longer cared what they thought of her. She entered, walking past them, and picked up her phone from the second table.
She meant to just walk out, but no. Instead, she turned to Nathaniel and said, “Congratulations on achieving your revenge, Nathan. I’m sure your father would be proud that you used your innocent wife to bring him justice.”
Then she echoed Timothy’s words. “That’s okay. We weren’t a good match, anyway. You were too good for me. You and Vanessa are more suited for each other.” Serena finally turned on her heel, walking away with her spirit completely broken.
She called Alice and told her to meet her at the entrance of the restaurant. It was there that she discovered it was raining outside.
“There you are. I have been looking for you.”
Serena turned, finding Dennis, Nathaniel’s closest friend. He draped a coat around her and said, “It’s cold outside. Put this on.”
Dennis took a few steps back, but then he looked at her again, saying, “I’m sorry for what Nathan did.”
“Did you know?” Serena asked.
Dennis gulped, replying, “I just found out about four months ago.”
“Then you’re no better,” she said, tears finally spilling down her cheeks. “Take back your coat -“
“Keep the coat,” Dennis said. “It’s cold outside. The coat isn’t mine, anyway.”
Serena frowned. When she glanced at Dennis again, she realized he was still wearing his coat. So, whose jacket was on her?
But she didn’t have time to think about it. Alice arrived, and they left the restaurant.
Meanwhile, in another private room within Golden Dragon Palace, Vanessa Holt handed Milona the money. She said, “Good job.”
“Thanks,” Milona said. “I needed the money.”
“I know,” Vanessa acknowledged.
“What’s your beef with Serena anyway?” Milona asked.
Vanessa laughed and said, “If I tell you, I’d have to kill you.”
Seeing the fear in Milona’s eyes, Vanessa laughed. “Relax. I was just joking.”
Six years ago.
“Serena Kline, please be mine. I promise to love you for the rest of my life,” the young Nathaniel Thorne said, kneeling before Serena at the College of Science.
Serena, although coming from a wealthy background, never had full confidence in herself. She was beautiful, tall, slender, and had a smile that could outshine the sunrise. Yet she never really thought of herself as someone desirable.
In class, she was often quiet, minding her own business. Every day, she hurried home because she had so many chores to do. She was rich, yes, but her parents made her work hard for her allowance. After school, she helped clean their mansion. At night, she studied relentlessly. She only had two best friends in college, Alice and Xavier. They all took Biochemistry at Velmon State University College of Medicine.
With a life like hers, she never imagined that someone smart and good-looking like Nathaniel Thorne would pursue her.
Nathaniel, tall, with an athletic body and striking blue-gray eyes, was the top student of the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, two years older than Serena. At that time, his mother owned over fifty pharmacies across the country, hence his choice of degree.
Nathaniel had been pursuing her for a year. He waited for her outside the classrooms, walked her to the car, helped her carry her books, and always showed up with warm drinks on exam days. He even learned her favorite snacks and slipped them onto her desk when she wasn’t around. Every small gesture, every smile, and every quiet moment they shared made it harder for Serena to believe he was real.
“Please, Serena, I really love you,” Nathaniel said, pleading.
“Yes!”
“Say, yes, Serena!”
Her classmates encouraged her. “Don’t reject him.”
Back then, Serena was certain the jerk would break her heart, but she said yes anyway, and everyone at the College of Science cheered for her. Even Alice gave her a thumbs-up. Only her other friend, Xavier, refused to accept Nathaniel.
After being a couple, everything went unexpectedly smoothly.
Nathaniel introduced her to his mother.
He waited for her almost every morning in the parking lot, leaning against his car with two cups of coffee in hand. He said it was their small routine, even when he had early lab sessions on the other side of campus. He made time.
During exam weeks, they studied in the library together.
When Serena couldn’t attend certain events because of her strict parents, Nathaniel showed up outside her house anyway, honking lightly until she came out to talk to him through the gate. Sometimes he waited an hour just to see her for five minutes.
He never let her feel alone, not even once. If she texted that she was stressed or upset, he drove to wherever she was. If she cried, he stayed with her until she stopped, always patient, always gentle.
He defended her to classmates who whispered she was too quiet for someone like him. He shut them down without hesitation and made sure she heard none of it.
With Nathaniel, she became a better person, confident and loved.
One of her best nights together with Nathaniel was on her twenty-second birthday. He took her on vacation to a private resort. He lit up the skies with fireworks and held her hand all through the night, laughing and cuddling with her.
That was also the time Serena gave her first to Nathaniel.
After that romantic night, Nathaniel kept staring at her face, brushing his knuckles against her cheeks. He said, “What am I going to do, Serena? You are so beautiful. How can I not fall in love with you?”
His words brought warmth to her cheeks. It wasn’t just what he said; it was the way his eyes held hers with such certainty. Who would have thought none of it was real?
“Why?”
“WHY!”
Serena woke up with an aching pain in her chest, having dreamed about Nathaniel. She panted heavily, her hands trembling as she reached for a glass of water on her bedside table.
Remembering the past, all the nights she shared with Nathaniel, she could not help but cry in anger.
“I hate you!” she said, sniffing her tears. “I hate you. I hate you, Nathaniel Thorne!” “Serena!” Her door suddenly swung open. Alice stood there, panting and looking at her with fear. “What happened?”
It was never easy to forget. No matter how Serena tried to put up a tough front, she was still in pain. She broke down in tears, hugging herself.
“Oh, Serena,” Alice walked over and embraced her tightly. “I hate him too. I hate him for doing this to you, and I hate his mother too!”
“Everything will be okay. I know you too well. If you had survived all these years living with your parents, you can get through this too,” Alice said, also weeping.
“Alice, I don’t think I can do this. I don’t think I can work for Nathaniel.” Serena let out a sigh. She was meant to return to work the next day at Kline BioSolutions. “After everything he did to me, I don’t think I can stand watching him every day.” “Then don’t. Quit your job,” Alice suggested. “We could contact Xavier and see if he is willing to hire us.”
Their other friend, Xavier Dorian, was working for a Medical Equipment Technology Firm in Rexam City, in another state. Alice suggested, “He could give us a job. I think my parents can live with me moving.”
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.