5

Serenity Jones

"Why did you decide to marry Williams?" He asked, his question piercing the air like a challenge.

All eyes snapped to me, and I felt a surge of discomfort. It was clear that I wasn't welcome here. I tried to respond, but my words caught in my throat.

"I... I..." I stuttered, but he cut me off before I could complete my words.

"Stop stuttering and tell us why you're really here!" He bellowed, his voice making me tremble with fear. My anxiety spiked, and I felt like I was under attack. The fact that I wasn't the type to easily get intimidated by people, but I don't know what's going on presently.

Why am I suddenly scared of these people. I've stood up to rich and powerful men before, I've always give presentations in the board meetings. I was always confident. But now, I felt overwhelmed by all these people questioning me.

Just then as many thoughts were still going through my head, Mr. Smith spoke up for me. "Let her be, Andrew. You're asking too many questions and making her uncomfortable."

I felt grateful for his support. He was the only one here who seemed to want me around.

"But, Dad, it was just a harmless question." Andrew said, with a shrug whilst rolling his eyes at Mr. Smith.

"Maybe it's because she's too shy to admit that she married him for his wealth." Brenda said, mocking me with her words.

An evil smile crept out of the corner of their lips as she said that.

I rolled my eyes and let out a deep sigh. I just realized that I was surrounded by evil people. Much more worse than Janet and Alexandra. "I didn't marry him for his money, okay? If I had a choice, I wouldn't be here!" I said, throwing them a hard glare.

"Then why are you here if you don't want to be with him? Just admit it, all you're after is his money." Another guy sneered.

I stared at him and scoffed. Before I could reply him. Mr. Smith slammed his hand on the table and his face red with anger. "Enough! Have you all forgotten the principles of this house?!"

The room instantly fell silent, and the others muttered in unison. "Sorry, Dad... Sorry, Grandpa."

Despite my initial reluctance, Mr. Smith still invited me to join them, and I found myself walking towards the table and taking a seat. As I sat down, I stared at the food in amazement. The table was laden with a vast varieties of dishes, more like a party spread than a breakfast.

Maybe it's because they're many in their family- A thought in my head said.

•

After finishing our meal, Mr. Smith decided to introduce me to his family properly.

"Everyone, meet Bryan's wife, Serenity Jones. The lady with a remarkable business spirit, I'm sure you've all heard of her before. Her achievements over the past few years have topped the charts in the business world." Mr. Smith said, beaming with pride.

But before he could even finish the introduction, the family members were already shooting me daggers with their eyes. I'm not surprised though, I had anticipated a reaction from them, given their earlier hostile glares.

"Alright, everyone needs to introduce themselves to Serenity. She needs to get to know all of you." Mr. Smith announced.

"Dad!!! Is this really necessary?!" Brenda let out an annoyed shriek.

"Yes, it's very important to me. Now, let's proceed with the introductions." Mr. Smith firmly replied.

The guy sitting opposite me, dressed like an artist and likely in his early 20's, spoke up first. "Hey, I'm Bob Smith, one of the grandsons of the prestigious Smith family."

"I'm Samantha, but you can call me Sam." Next, the lady sitting beside him, with a classy yet spoiled demeanor introduced herself. She tucked her long black hair behind her ear, revealing a hint of attitude.

"A young, spoiled brat" I mentally rolled my eyes as I took in her appearance.

"And here are my grandchildren- Johnson, Christopher, Tyler, Chloe, Lucas, Leon, Jessica, Julia, Leon, Katherine, Nathalie, Ethan, Samuel, and lastly, Williams, your husband." Mr. Smith continued with the introductions, making my eyes widened.

I am overwhelmed by the sheer number of names. I'm even struggling to remember them all.

"And my children- Andy, Rebecca, Brenda, and Frank." Mr. Smith added, again. When I've not even recovered yet from his grandkids.

"Nice to meet you all." I forced a smile and said to them, despite sensing their displeasure of my presence. Not that I have a choice, after all.

Brenda scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Like you do."

Rebecca abruptly stood up, grabbing her bag. "Let's just maintain our boundaries in this house. I'm off to work." She said and walked away, followed by the others who all got up one by one.

Soon, only Mr. Smith and I were left at the dining table. "I... I will also go to my room." I said as I stood up, I just felt awkward and unsure of what to do next. It felt uneasy sitting next with him, despite his kind gesture towards me. He wasn't intimidating, but I couldn't shake off the discomfort away.

As I tried to leave, he called out my name, "Serenity." His voice stopping me in my tracks.

I turned to face him, meeting his gaze and waited for him to speak. His expression was serious, the same look he had the previous night when he mentioned needing to talk to me.

"I want us to talk." He said, his tone solemn. "Now that everyone is gone, it's more convenient, right?" He teased. He got up from his seat and gestured for me to follow him, which we left the dining area for his room.

Upon arriving there in his room, he asked me to sit beside him on one of his couch, and I complied, wondering what he wanted to discuss with me. His serious expression only added to my curiosity.

Out of the blue, Mr. Smith held my hands and began to speak, his eyes locked intensely on mine. "Seren, what I'm about to tell you is extremely important, and I implore you, please, let's keep this between us." He paused, his grip on my hands gentle but firm. "I don't want you to think I forced you into this relationship with my grandson. The truth is, William is a kind and sweet boy. Among my children and grandchildren, he's the only one who genuinely cares about the prosperity of my businesses and the empire I've worked so hard to build. He's the only one who can manage my wealth wisely." He added while I just sat down there staring at him, confused.

Mr. Smith's expression turned somber, and a heavy sigh escaped his lips. "It's unfortunate that something so terrible happened to him." His words were laced with a deep concern, and I sensed a hidden meaning behind them.

His eyes bore into mine as he continued, "That's why I chose someone like you for him."

I felt a shiver run down my spine, sensing a deeper meaning behind his words. It was as if he was sharing his last wishes, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why I felt that way.

"Mr. Smith, I... I really don't understand what you're trying to say." I admitted, feeling a growing sense of unease.

He grasped my hands tighter, his gaze now intense than before. "Seren, you're my only hope now. Please, you have to be there for him at all times." His words were laced with a sense of urgency.

"Before anything, you have to make a promise to me." He said, his eyes locked on mine.

I let out a nervous chuckle. "I don't even know what you want from me, so how can I make a promise?"

Mr. Smith's expression turned grave. "Just promise me that even if I'm no longer here, you'll always be there for my grandson. He's surrounded by people who don't love him and want him dead. If he dies, my empire, everything I've built over the years will crumble too. I don't want that to happen."

"Despite that your words are confusing right now, I'll make the promise. I'll always be there for your grandson. Are you happy now?" I asked, trying to mask my bewilderment.

He nodded his before and then handed me a stack of documents. "Here." He said, his expression unreadable.

I took the papers, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Go through it, dear." He urged, his voice low and mysterious.

As I opened the first page, my eyes widened in horror. The bold text seemed to leap off the page, sending a chill down my spine. "What?!!!" I shrieked, my head snapping up to face Mr. Smith.

"What is this?!" I demanded, my voice shaking with shock and fear.