Serena Moved Out

POV: Harper

“Fine, Harp. Since you have decided to head back home, I’m so happy for you. But what about the job offer? Are you still interested?” Liam asks me, sounding his usual cheerful self again. I wondered where the other grumpy Liam came from, the one who was just scolding me and acting like a dumb jerk.

“I’ll think about it and get back to you, Liam,” I responded, making him chuckle loudly.

“Oh, so now you want to think?” He asked in a mocking tone, laughing hard.

“Of course, I need to think about it. I’m following your advice, Liam. You did say I should think before making decisions, didn’t you?” I asked him, earning a peal of laughter.

Liam helped me get my stuff together, and he offered to stay back and wait for Kate while I headed home to settle back in. He walked me out of the room, and this time, he didn’t give Ethan that hostile vibe he showed him when he first came in. He smiled and shook his hand, introducing himself as my friend.

“Let me know if you need me, Harp. I’m just a phone call away. And get back to me as soon as you can. I’m serious about the job offer; we need someone smart like you on our team,” he told me as he walked me back to Ethan’s car.

“Take care of her, man; she needs you now more than ever,” he advised Ethan, smiling at him. Ethan squinted his eyes in thought because he didn’t understand what Liam meant by that. Who would blame him? He has no idea that I’m carrying his child; I still haven’t found the right time to tell him.

I hugged Liam and bid him farewell before getting into the car. Ethan couldn’t stop talking about his plans to make it up to me and how he was going to do better. I smiled often at his kind thoughts, but I still had a lot on my mind—like how do I bring it up to Ethan that Serena is not the nice, cute little girl he used to know? She is all grown up and mean.

So mean!

“Are you okay, my love?” he asked me when I didn’t move an inch, even after he parked the car in the parking lot. I was so lost in thought that I didn’t realize we were home already.

“I’m fine... I just have a lot on my mind right now. A hot bath and a little rest will do the trick,” I assured him, smiling warmly. We walked into the house, and the maids welcomed me back with smiles and hugs. My bags were taken inside, and Ethan offered to prepare a warm bath for me, so I watched him go up the stairs while I went to the kitchen for a snack.

I noticed that Serena did not come out to say hello; she hadn’t stepped out of her room since I got back. I was expecting her to show up and make cynical comments like she always did. But I didn’t see her, and I wondered if she felt offended that I went to see her sister without telling anyone.

“Estel, where is Serena?” I called out to the maid, my voice betraying me with a tremor of anxiety.

“She... she moved out, madam,” she replied, her voice muffled from the kitchen where she was putting together something warm for me to eat. She sounded distant, and as much as I wanted to believe it was just her nerves or the distance between us, something inside whispered that it was more than that.

“Moved out? Just like that?” My brow furrowed in thought as I tried to imagine her leaving and the thoughts in her head as she did. Serena had always been like a sister to Ethan; she is now a part of their lives that I’ve come to accept. I may not like her or even understand why she chose to be here in the first place, but her sudden absence sent a pang of unease through me, making me feel like it's my fault. Does Ethan know that she has left his house already?

If he does, why didn't he say something about it to me?

“What do you mean by ‘moved out?’ Are you saying that she stepped out to hang out, or she went to get something? What do you mean by moved out?” I asked again, looking fixedly at her. Estel is my favorite maid in this house, and I’m pretty sure that she will not lie to me. She peeked back into the hallway, concern etched on her features as she looked around for anyone listening in on our conversation.

“I think she felt overwhelmed by the situation... with, um...” she paused, using her eyes to convey the rest. I totally understood what she meant, and I was surprised, just wondering if Serena really left because of me. Does she hate me that much?

“I’m sorry, Harper. I think... she just needed some space to think for herself and live her life as she desires,” she added, trying to convince herself as well. The knot in my stomach tightened. The last thing I wanted was for my return to stir up more chaos in the lives of the people I cared about. Ethan would be devastated by this new development.

He already promised to take care of her, and now that she is no longer here, there is no way he can fulfill his promise and make up for all his mistakes in the past.

“Did she redecorate the guest room? Can I see her room?” I asked, feeling a wave of cold dread wash over me. What if she redecorated like she said she would? What if she is just trying to get me pissed off again? Will I be able to control my anger this time?

“Sure, ma’am, but I must warn you, the room has not been cleaned yet and—” Before she could finish, I was already moving down the hallway, drawn by a powerful instinct. I opened the door to the guest room, and what I saw confirmed my fears. It was empty; the faint smell of perfume lingered in the air, but there was nothing left—no trace of Serena’s presence.

Oh, and she didn’t redecorate like I thought; she left everything exactly the same. A chill crept down my spine as I stepped inside, my eyes scanning the room for anything she might have left behind that would tell us where she was heading. It seemed like she cleaned out the room because I couldn’t find anything.

I took a deep breath as I sat on the bed, thinking about her little mind games and the arguments we had while she was here. I was beginning to feel guilty for being the reason why she left. I thought I was a bad person until I spotted something underneath my feet.

Something glimmered against the wooden floor, so I bent down to pick it up. It was a frame, and it was mine, not Serena’s. What was it doing here?

With my heart racing, I turned it over to find my wedding photo with Ethan, the moment frozen in time when we had pledged our undying love to each other. But now, the image was grotesquely altered. My face had been sliced away, leaving only Ethan smiling brightly beside a flat, vacant space where I should have been. Only my body could be seen; my face had been cut out of the picture.

“Who would do something so despicable?” I thought to myself. What did I ever do to deserve such hate? I never did anything to hurt her; why would she destroy something so precious to me?

“There you are! I was looking everywhere for you. What are you doing in Serena’s room?” Ethan asked, snapping me out of my reverie.

“Harper?” he called out again, his voice breaking through my haze. But I was already feeling dizzy, a whirlwind of emotions swirling within me. How could I show this to Ethan? How could someone he once trusted do this?

He would never believe that she was capable of hurting anyone. Because there had always been a rivalry between Serena and me, he might think that I was just accusing her falsely.

“Ethan, look!” I held the frame up, my voice barely above a whisper. His face paled as his eyes widened in horror.

“Oh God, who did this… Who did this! Call the guards and the maids! Who did this to our wedding frame?” he asked in anger, grabbing the frame from me and going out to ask the maids about it.

“She is gone, Ethan! She left the house before I got back here. Are you aware that she was leaving? Did she tell you she had plans to leave before I got here? Why didn’t you tell me she was leaving so soon?” I asked him, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around and came back to the room, looking at me in confusion.

“What are you talking about? Who left this house? When?” he asked in shock, looking around as if he was just entering the room for the first time. I guess he hadn’t looked around properly the first time. He came in this time and checked the wardrobe, finding it completely empty.

“Where the hell is Serena, and how did you know that she left?” he asked in a panic, disregarding the frame I had shown him earlier. He called the cops and everyone on his payroll, requesting support in finding her.

“She is new to this town; she doesn’t know anywhere to go. She has no friends or family in this city. Where could she be?” he kept asking himself, making a series of calls in an attempt to save her as he claimed that she must have been abducted by kidnappers. I ignored him and left him to his blind trust in Serena.

He followed me upstairs, but he still couldn’t concentrate because he was calling several hotels to ask if they had a client that fit her description. It was after a while that he decided to check his messages and voicemail too. He went through his phone and found a message from her that proved she wasn’t missing like he thought. She had decided to check into a hotel because she wanted her privacy.

“I have to protect my sister and myself, Ethan. Boundaries have to be set for us to have our privacy and live a quiet life like we always have. I’ll contact you when I check in,” she told him, making it look like she left the house because I didn't respect her privacy.

How ironic!

She may have left, but she still hadn’t given up her plans of causing disunity in my house. Now that I knew the truth about Ethan's relationship with her, I couldn’t send her away when I knew he was trying to ease his conscience and move on from his past mistakes. I would just have to stay the hell away from her.