CH.2

Serena had never been good at controlling her temper, and this unthinkable situation was pushing her to the absolute limit.

She could feel the rage simmering just beneath the surface, begging for release.

"Don't you dare bring up mirrors," Diana scoffed with a smug look plastered across her face. "You're pathetic—"

Before the cruel taunt could fully leave Diana's lips, Serena's open palm connected with her cheek in a powerful slap that echoed like a gunshot throughout the modern bedroom.

The sharp crack reverberated in the stunned silence that followed.

Shock registered on Diana's face while she brought a hand up to her stinging, reddened cheek. "Did you just slap me?" she asked incredulously as if she couldn't quite believe Serena had dared retaliate.

"I'll do it again, you whore," Serena spat, fury blazing in her eyes as she readied herself for another blistering strike if needed.

She refused to let anyone disrespect her in such a vile way, especially not this two-faced snake who had violated the sanctity of her marriage vows.

But Diana's overinflated pride wouldn't allow her to back down from the confrontation. She lurched forward with an unintelligible cry of wrath, lifting her hand to slap Serena in return.

In one quick, instinctive move, Serena grabbed Diana's wrist and held it in an iron grip, stopping the attempted blow before it could connect. "What? Can't handle the truth?" she hissed through gritted teeth, her eyes blazing with unbridled anger.

Alex could feel the first twinges of a pounding headache coming on as he watched the two furious women bicker and trade insults.

He quickly gathered his scattered clothes from the floor, throwing them on haphazardly as he prepared to extricate himself from this rapidly deteriorating situation as soon as possible.

"You have no right to call me names," Diana seethed, her face flushed an ugly red as her rage built. "You're just another spoiled plaything of your father's, living off his fortune while your family falls apart around you. You can't even uncover the truth about your own mother's death."

Serena recoiled as if she'd been physically struck. Diana's harsh words cut her deeper than any slap could. But before she could formulate a biting retort, Alex attempted to interject and bring the volatile situation under some semblance of control.

"Enough," he said firmly, his deep voice laced with frustration and annoyance. "This has gone too far. We need to talk this out calmly."

Serena was well past the point of listening to reason, especially from the man who had so grievously betrayed her trust.

She gritted her teeth, the mention of her late mother's mysterious death like a match lighting the fuse of her already incendiary rage.

Ignoring Alex completely, Serena tossed her designer handbag unceremoniously to the floor and flexed her muscles with a look of feral intensity contorting her beautiful features. "I'm going to show you the side of me you've never met before," she growled in a low, dangerous tone.

Diana's face was clearly written in confusion as she took a few hasty steps backward, suddenly afraid of Serena's frightening transformation. "Wh-what do you mean?" she stammered, her bravado faltering.

Diana's words trailed off into silence as the raging Serena pounced without warning, her weight driving them both to the ground in a tangle of flailing limbs and furious screeches.

The two women engaged in a fierce, no-holds-barred brawl, with Serena straddling Diana's body as she rained down a series of punishing blows. Nails raked across flesh, leaving long crimson streaks, and tangled hair was pulled mercilessly.

"Enough!" Alex bellowed, quickly moving to pull Serena away by her slender waist before she could do Diana any permanent damage.

"Let go of me, you sick bastard!" Serena shrieked, struggling against his restraining hold with every ounce of her wiry strength. "I'm going to deal with her once and for all today!"

"Do you want to kill her?" Alex demanded with anger and disbelief at the vicious depths Serena had sunk to.

Serena halted briefly, her chest heaving with exertion and fury. Then her hand lashed out, colliding with Alex's cheek in a ringing slap that whipped his head to the side. "Don't you dare touch me with those filthy hands!" she raged. "I don't care, but I'm going to murder this snake today!"

Serena resumed pounding at his hard chest with her tiny fists while her feet lashed out in brutal kicks aimed at the prone, whimpering Diana.

She fought with every ounce of her wiry strength until Alex finally released her, allowing her to tumble gracelessly to the floor.

Serena didn't care if her spiked heels pierced Diana's flesh and drew blood. She didn't care if the other woman died from the vicious beating. The world would be better off with one less heartless, treacherous being to pollute it with her lies and betrayal.

Alex rushed to Diana's side and gathered her limp form into his arms to frantically for a pulse. He lifted his head, eyes wide with shock and fear as he locked gazes with the equally stunned Serena.

"W-what's wrong with her?" Serena's voice was laced with dread, her heart sinking like a leaden weight at the look on Alex's face.

"What have you done, Serena?" he yelled accusingly, cradling Diana's motionless body against his chest. "You've killed her!"

Serena flinched as if struck, recoiling from the naked fury and recrimination in his voice. She had never seen him so furious in all their three years of marriage.

"What do you mean?" she retorted, trying to project more bravado than she felt. "I'm in no mood for this pretense!"

She shrugged, feigning indifference despite the knot of dread coiling in her stomach. How dare he yell at her because of that two-timing whore? Who cared if the bitch was dead?

Serena could feel hot tears of shame and anger welling up, but she blinked them back furiously as she snatched up her discarded handbag from the floor.

Her hands trembled with a toxic mix of emotions while she straightened her rumpled clothing.

"We're done!" she spat, glaring at Alex with hurt and hatred. "I'm divorcing your cheating ass!"

With that parting shot, Serena turned on her heel and stormed out, slamming the door behind her hard enough to rattle the walls.

She hurried away, desperate to put as much distance between herself and the sordid scene as possible before the dam finally broke and the tears came.