Serene’s knuckles turned white from gripping her phone. The more Crystal talked, the tighter her hand closed on it.
Her hands shook from the anger she felt. That asshole Justin had to target Mary to get what he wanted. After hearing what Justin did at Mary’s boutique from Crystal, she had an inkling that he must have asked her something else besides creating a dress in a short time. And that something definitely involved her twins.
Her tears automatically fell from her eyes. She did not need to guess what Mary’s decision would be. For as long as it involved her, or the twins, she would be willing to sacrifice. Why does Mary always have to sacrifice for her? She gave up Dylan to protect her and the twins five years ago. Five years later, she needed to give up the career she loved and built through sweat and blood to protect them. She could not
Don’t confuse your guilt with love. Justin squeezed his eyes shut. Was he just feeling guilty? Was the pain he felt in the past five years just guilt? He felt a tear drop from his eyes. Fuck her for confusing him!He rushed out from his room but no longer saw her.“Follow her!” he barked to his secretary, who immediately sprung to action.Serene heaved a sigh of relief when she entered a familiar restaurant and sat on a chair. A server approached her as soon as she settled in. She gave her order from the top of her head while her eyes scanned the place. She caught sight of Joseph, Justin’s secretary from her peripheral vision.“Can I also have the bill?” She gave a polite smile to the server and continued to search the rest
Serene felt an arm hug her from behind and a chin rested on her shoulder. Definitely not one of her twins. She sleepily turned around to look at the person and saw Mary’s clear face.She had not been answering her calls for the past week; it drove her crazy.As if knowing what was in her mind, Mary softly said, “I’m sorry, Mama Bear,” and she hid her face on her neck.“I’m the one who should be sorry. You received all that shit from protecting me and my children. Forgive me?” she pulled her friend away to look her in the eyes.“Shen, you don’t need to apologize. Yes, Justin was a big and mean bully for doing that to me, but I don’t regret protecting you and those adorable munchkins.” she smiled up at
Crystal racked her brains to find out the person who betrayed her, but to no avail. While she admits to doing those things out of her own volition, these are things she kept hidden to everyone, including her family. The people in her kink parties always signed a nondisclosure agreement. The leaked photos and videos came to her as a surprise. To this day, her team still has not found the person behind the leak.And while she continued to search for the culprit, people had a field day tarnishing her reputation. She became the press’ darling to a PR nightmare overnight. She thought that the news would eventually just die a natural death as long as she kept to herself and avoided the media, but it had dragged on. And as time passed, the more vicious they became. Their words did not only sting but slashed her to bits. Comments ranged from the truth, to an interpretation of the truth, and to utter li
Serene stared slack-jawed at the television. A breaking news interrupted her daily dose of morning show. She could not believe what she just heard. Crystal jumped off from the rooftop of her apartment and plunged to her death. Her fingers gripped the remote.She had been in constant communication with Crystal for the past two weeks. She knew the feeling of being alone amid a storm. It’s a dark, scary and lonely place to be. She did not wish for anybody she knew to find themselves in such a situation.Serene touched her left wrist subconsciously. Four years ago, when she just gave birth to the twins, she suffered from postpartum depression. All the sadness, loneliness, and stress she felt were magnified. She never felt so helpless, sad and lonely in her life. The darkness in her ate the spark of life her children brought. That place felt so depressing she
Serene’s vibrating phone cut off the staring contest between her and Justin. Her brows furrowed as she looked at the unidentified number flashing on her screen. “Hello?”“Serene Ellis” a raspy man’s voice spoke on the other end of the line. From the background, Serene could hear children crying.“Yes.” she answered, her voice trembling. Her heart tightened and the angry flush on her cheeks drained.“We have your children --”“Please, please, don’t hurt them. Don’t hurt my babies,” she whimpered. She felt her phone snatched from her hand. Justin put the phone on speaker, not making any sound. The entire room listened in silence.“We won&r
Justin picked Serene up from the hotel she stayed in. There was no longer a need to hide from him since she needed to work with him to rescue her children. She sat in the front passenger seat while he drove.Justin looked concentrated on his driving, but he’s biting the inside of his cheeks from anger. The hotel where she and her children stayed was only a couple of blocks away from Hotel Le Grande. She always hid in plain sight, it made him look stupid already.He pushed his anger aside and concentrated on the issue at hand. The kidnappers gave him the location of the meeting. It’s an abandoned warehouse near the pier. They instructed them to leave the money beside a trash can near the entrance.Justin got off the car and did exactly that. After dropping a huge duffle bag beside the trash, he walked awa
As their car entered his Villa, Serene felt a tug in her heart. This place contained some of her happiest and her most painful memories. She clutched Pax closer to her chest and looked at the sleeping Felicity in Justin’s arms. She looked so peaceful and at home in his arms.Jane, Justin’s helper, could not hide her surprise at the sight of Serene. Her eyes were as wide as her open jaws. It’s been years since she last saw Serene. And it was when Justin ordered her to send Serene away. It broke her heart to see her pitiful condition then. But she was a mere helper, and her master forbade her to help Serene.“Ma-Madam!” Jane could not help but cry at the sight of her. Her smile almost reached her ears.“Jane, good evening,” Serene said, smiling at Justin’s helper.
Serene’s incoming call cut off their conversation. “Al,” Serene answered her call while getting up from her seat and walking away from the dining table. “How are the twins? Bryan told me what happened.” “They’re safe now, a little shook but safe.” “That’s good. Are you at Justin’s?” “Um…” “That’s fine, Shen. He’s the children’s father. After all these years, and all that has happened, don’t you think it’s time for the twins to know him?” “I don’t know, Al.” “Hey, it’s just my ten cents, Shen. In the end, it’s your call. By the way, if you have time, come down to Pine City. Susie tho