Chapter 2 : I’ll have my chance sooner or later

Back then at the city hall, Alexander didn't show up. However, with Cornelius' help, she managed to obtain the certificate in Alexander's absence.

This was the first time she had opened them and faced the man who shared the same certificate with her. After just one glance at it though, she threw everything back into the drawer. She then set off to visit her sister Valentina Morales instead.

When Serena arrived at the hospital at noon, Valentina was left alone in the ward as her nurse was on a lunch break. Valentina looked pale in bed, yet when she saw Serena, her pretty face was filled with joy and surprise.

"Serena! What brought you here?" Valentina sat up eagerly upon seeing Serena come through the door, "Dad is being paranoid again, isn't he? Oh, come on! I'm totally fine! I told him not to let you know that I'm here! How could he spill the beans?"

Serena sat down beside Valentina's bed and handed over some water to her. "Dad is worried about you."

Valentina had been susceptible to illness ever since she was born.

When her condition worsened, she would have to stay in the hospital for a few days at a time. Thus, James had always paid extra attention to her.

"But I really hate being hospitalized! Mom is always watching me like a hawk. I can only have some milk as food." Valentina pouted pitifully while licking her lips. "The nurses were talking about this new burger shop that just opened up nearby for a few days. It's driving me crazy!"

She grabbed Serena's hand excitedly with doggy eyes.

"Serena, you're the best! Can we go there together? Just one bite won't hurt."

Valentina was so thrilled that Serena couldn't resist buying some burgers on their way back.

"You can only have a taste but you can't swallow it," Serena reminded her repeatedly as she handed Valentina the burger. Yet suddenly Araminta Morales's voice came from outside the door. 

"What are you doing?!" Araminta looked shocked and angry as she walked quickly towards them. She then snatched away the burger and binned it. "You wanna kill your sister while I'm gone? I always knew you had bad intentions!"

Serena was pushed aside by Araminta. She then glanced at the burger in the trash bin, feeling somewhat self-mockingly bitter inside.

"What else did she feed you? Are you feeling unwell?" Araminta looked at Valentina angrily while considering calling James to complain about what happened.

However, Valentina pulled on her arm anxiously, trying to explain,

"Mom, don't get Serena wrong! It was my fault."

Araminta paused for a moment but didn't feel embarrassed or awkward at all. She said coldly, looking over towards Serena,

"Valentina doesn't know what could happen, yet you must do, right?

Then why did you listen to her?" She then turned to Alicia and continued, "If it weren't for her, how could your dad ignore us for such a long time? You wouldn't have suffered that much!" 

"Mom, please stop. Serena is busy with work and she came all the way here just to visit me," Valentina said.

Araminta snorted while looking at Serena, who remained silent beside them.

She didn't have much affection towards Serena as she was the daughter of her husband's ex-wife.

'I only bear with her because the chick could still be of use to our family.' Thinking of it, she glanced over Serena's neck where there were no marks or signs. 'I wonder if my plan has worked out last night. If it weren't for Valentina's physical condition, I wouldn't have yielded such an excellent young man to her!'

Araminta was even more annoyed and her tone became even worse. "Alexander has returned to New York now. You are his wife. Don't just think about yourself. You need to think about how to get support from the Vanderbilt family for your father's sake."

Having heard that, Serena smiled faintly and said, "It sounds like you’re blaming me for not helping my dad enough. Is this what you think or is it what Dad thinks?"

Araminta was speechless while Valentina quickly interjected, "The doctor prescribed some medicine for me. Serena, can you go get it for me please?"

As she left the ward, she could hear Araminta's reproachful voice coming from behind. "It’s been years! James doesn’t owe her anything now! She has a grudge against me! Her mother died of overwork, but it was not my fault! I think she’s blaming me for what she used to suffer. How could she do that? It was her mother who didn’t have the luck. How does that have anything to do with me?”

Serena frowned slightly. In fact, she was hurt quite badly last night. Araminta couldn't tell it only because she tried hard to endure her pain.

After queuing up for a long time to collect Valentina's medication, Serena went to the OBGYN.

Her vagina had been slightly torn apart. After examining her carefully, the female doctor asked, with a serious expression on her face, hesitantly, "Miss, do you want us to call the police for you?"

Serena didn't see this coming.

She suddenly understood what the doctor was implying. Feeling embarrassed, she replied, "That won't be necessary... It was just my husband. You know, after we've been parting for quite some time.."

Just as Serena walked out of the office, holding her medicine tightly in hand, she saw Josh Morales, Valentina's elder brother.

He looked up and his gaze fell on the bag of medicine in Serena's hand. A strange expression flashed across his eyes as he asked, "Serena, are you here to see Valentina? But... are you feeling unwell?"

Josh was smiling and he was neatly dressed. But still, Selena felt uncomfortable under his gaze. She replied coldly while handing over Valentina’s medicine to him. “I’ve already seen her. Please give it to Araminta.”

Josh raised an eyebrow and said meaningfully, "Why not go upstairs together with me? It has been so long since we last met."

"Sorry, but I'm kind of in the middle of something urgent." Selena handed over the medicine before turning around and leaving the lobby directly.

As Josh saw her off, he couldn’t help but smirk, 'A young woman with anti-inflammatory drugs at the OB-GYN? What a slut! Well, it makes sense since her husband has been away for three years. ‘I’ll have my chance sooner or later.’