: Dianna's Visit

Dianna’s Visit.

“You can keep the house.”

“You can keep working here as the Director for Clinical Research.”

Serena stared blankly at the divorce papers in her hands while Nathaniel explained the agreement.

“You can keep the money in our joint account.”

Nathaniel calmly resumed, “My mother did not want to leave you any alimony, but I have prepared a separate check for the sake of our six-year relationship. My mother doesn’t have to know.”

“Don’t contest the divorce. I don’t have time to deal with it,” he firmly warned. “I will have my lawyers file them tomorrow, and after the cooling-off period, we can get our certificates together.”

She did not say a word, but reached out for the check, her hands shaking. She looked down at it, thinking, ‘So all those lies, the six years we had built together, the deception, were worth nothing more than five million dollars.’

The Thornes were now worth twenty billion dollars. Kline BioSolutions was worth ten billion dollars, but she was only worth five million dollars in Nathaniel’s eyes.

Serena couldn’t stop herself from looking at Nathaniel again.

He sat there, calm and distant, his strong jaw clenched, and the faint stubble on his face made him look even colder. His gray-blue eyes, once warm and gentle, now looked sharp and unfeeling. Even his perfectly shaped features, the straight nose, the firm lips, felt unfamiliar, like he had become someone else entirely.

She still couldn’t believe this was the same man she fell in love with, the same one who had doted on her for six long years. Every bit of love she once saw in him was gone, replaced by an emptiness that made her chest hurt.

Her heart broke, but anger began to rise with it. How could he look at her like that, as if she meant nothing at all?

“Sign it,” he said. “And you can leave after. I will give you another week of bereavement leave, but no more than that. You have been out of work much longer than you were supposed to.”

Serena, “???”

Still, she said nothing, but inside, she was burning with rage.

She signed every page of the divorce papers, her hands cold and sweating. After that, she stood up, took her copy of the agreement, and glanced at the man she had loved for so long.

He didn’t look at her. He was simply unbothered.

Serena turned on her heel with the check in hand. But just as she made it halfway through his office, the control she’d been clinging to finally broke.

Her hands clenched on the check. She walked back to Nathaniel, tore the check into pieces, and threw them into his face! She said, “You can keep your mother’s pity!”

She saw him startled, stunned by her sudden courage, but she did not give him a chance to speak. Instead, she slapped him hard!

“I hate you!” she shouted. “If I’d known you’d only use me, I would have wished I was never born!”

Finally, she walked away.

“Serena?”

“Serena! Get back here!”

She heard him, but there was nothing else left to say.

What for?

***

“That asshole! That scumbag! That jerk!” Alice screamed. “How could he be so heartless?”

Instead of heading home, Serena went straight to see her best friend at her office. There, she cried out all her pain.

“But I don’t get it,” Alice said, slamming her back against the chair. “I could have sworn he was so much in love with you.”

At that point, even her friend cried with her. “He can’t be such a perfect actor. Can he?”

“Apparently, it was all a lie,” Serena said, wiping her tears.

“Maybe something changed. It has to be,” Alice tried to find a logical reason for everything. “What if it’s really that actress, Vanessa Holt? Haven’t they been spending time together?”

“I don’t know,” Serena clenched her jaw. “Even my parents used to take Vanessa out for dinners, right after she became the ambassador of the company.”

“Nathan’s attack on my father was real,” Serena said. “You should’ve seen the hate in his eyes when they arrested Victor. I guess, he hates me just as much.”

Serena remembered it vividly. Her father was announcing his retirement to the board when the police entered the room with a warrant. In an instant, his pride at trusting the company to his son-in-law vanished, replaced by sheer horror.

That was when the layers of Nathaniel’s motives began to unravel. Serena couldn’t accept it at first. She was still in denial up to earlier that day. But now, everything was clear.

It was like what he said.

He never loved her.

“Serena, have you ever confessed to Nathan how Victor treated you, especially when you were a child?” Alice asked, sniffing her tears away. “Maybe he will see things differently.”

“And what will I get, Alice? Pity from him?” Serena shook her head. “That’s not what I want. I want the old Nathaniel, the one who seemed to love me, but since all of that was a lie, then there’s no point telling him.”

“But…” Alice frowned. Among Serena’s friends, Alice was the only one who knew every detail of her hardship as a daughter of the Klines.

“No. There is no point anymore,” Serena insisted.

***

The next day, Serena and Alice went to her marital home.

Serena needed to pack. She couldn’t live in a house filled with memories between her and Nathaniel. Just as she and Alice arrived, she spotted her mother’s loyal assistant, Dianna.

She was waiting outside the gates of the villa.

After rolling down the window of her car, Serena asked, “Dianna?”

Dianna was a woman in her late forties. The last time they met was at her mother’s funeral.

“Serena, can I have a moment with you?” Dianna asked.

Later, the two spoke outside the house. Dianna did not bother to go inside.

“I remember your friend. I’m glad you have her to talk to,” Dianna glanced at Alice, who was standing by the door.

“Serena, I know I never treated you well,” Dianna began. “But what Nathan did was terrible. He never should have included you in his revenge.”

“But this is the least that I can do for you,” Dianna said, hesitating. “I have a suspicion.”

“What suspicion?” Serena asked.

Instead of saying it out loud, Diana whispered into Serena’s ear.

Instantly, her skin crawled.

What Serena learned broke her heart again, but… it also made sense.

: Matrimonial Home

Matrimonial Home.

Inside the villa.

Serena used to have a very vibrant look on her face. She had fair, luminous skin and bright hazel eyes. Her long, light brown hair had perfect curls that waved down her back.

Alice used to say she became more and more beautiful after she got together with Nathaniel.

Serena supposed her friend was right, because right now, without her husband, there was nothing radiant about her. Her eyes had no life, her hair was tied into a messy bun, and her face was pale.

Dianna’s revelation left Serena completely stunned, and it was the same with Alice.

“I’ll see what I can find,” Alice said, leaning back on the sofa in the house.

Serena nodded. She looked around the living room and said, “Yeah. It’s just a suspicion. What’s important right now is for me to pack my things.”

“And I’m here to help,” Alice declared. She took a break from work just to give Serena a hand.

What Dianna said would have to wait. Some things were better kept quiet until there was proof.

Serena had decided to live with Alice for now. Her best friend had two spare rooms in her apartment, more than enough space for them.

The idea of leaving the city was lingering in her head, but Serena hadn’t fully decided yet.

Velmon City was her home. It was hard to start all over again in another town.

Serena started with her clothes, but the moment she opened her closet, memories came flooding back.

Almost all of her clothes were bought by Nathaniel.

Every month since they were married, he took her shopping. Sometimes, his assistant pre-ordered designer clothes for her. Nathaniel knew her body well. He knew what fit her and what looked good on her.

Serena couldn’t believe Nathaniel went through so much effort to make her feel so treasured, yet it was all fake.

In the end, she only took about fifteen items of clothing, four bags, and five pairs of shoes, the ones she bought with her own salary. After packing her personal items, she returned to the living room.

Alice was emptying her fridge. Since she was alone there, Serena found herself recalling the number of movie nights she had spent with Nathaniel in that same spot.

She recalled the laughter, the teasing, and the kisses they shared.

They were all lies.

Then, her eyes landed on their wedding photo mounted across the TV. Serena frowned. The sparkle in Nathaniel’s eyes looked so genuine, she almost convinced herself she was simply having a very bad dream.

Tears welled in her eyes, but she sniffed them back. She fetched a small ladder, took the portrait to the stone fire pit at the back of the house, and burned it!

But that wasn’t enough.

Serena went back inside, searched for her old wedding gown, and burned it too.

Next, she went back for their photo albums, the ones that contained her memories with Nathaniel, and set them on fire.

When Serena realized she was still wearing her wedding ring, she took it off. She was about to throw it into the burning pit when Alice grabbed her hand. “Hey!”

“Stop!” Alice said. “I hate Nathan too, but let’s be real. You could use whatever money you have left.”

“Let’s sell every damn thing he gave you,” Alice proposed. “Including this—”

Alice looked around, looking regretful of the vast estate. “Including this beautiful house?”

The villa was Nathaniel’s pre-wedding gift to Serena. It was a six-hundred-square-meter, two-story home. It had a circular driveway in front and a small backyard with a stone patio and fire pit.

Nathaniel promised they would raise a family here. It was another lie she was foolish enough to believe.

Once, the place felt warm and alive. Now, it felt empty and cold. It was still beautiful, but to Serena, it no longer felt like a home.

“Yes.” Turning to Alice, Serena agreed. “Let’s sell everything. I bet this house would easily give me around six million or seven.”

Serena did not bring much. She was planning to sell the furniture along with the house. After loading everything she had into the car, she and Alice got ready to leave.

They were using Serena’s SUV. She was about to hop into the vehicle when she felt like someone was watching her.

Instantly, she looked out the gates.

Serena felt a chill run down her spine when she spotted a car parked right outside the grilled fences. As soon as she noticed the vehicle, it drove off, as if it feared her stare.

She frowned. As much as she wanted to identify the car, it was already dark by the time she and Alice were done. Through the dim light, all she could make out was the silhouette of a black car. A BMW, she thought.

‘What if it’s another one of my father’s rivals?’ she muttered in her head. ‘Then, it’s just right that I sell the house.’

Victor Kline had many rivals. Over the past years, a few had targeted her because she was his daughter. Her nanny once told her she was almost kidnapped when she was three years old. That was why, even though her relationship with her parents wasn’t the best, she was at least thankful that they had assigned her a private car since she was young.

They never gave her the tender loving care that many children received growing up, but at least her parents protected her.

“Let’s go,” Serena said to Alice. “The house is just giving me the chills right now.”

Serena kept herself busy in the following days, selling her wedding ring and every piece of jewelry Nathaniel had given her. An agent took care of the rest, including her designer clothes, luxury bags, and even the house. She meant to sell everything until there was nothing left to remind her of the life she once had with Nathaniel Thorne.

She found a new resolve, but even then, nothing could prepare her for what would come next. It was something Serena never expected.

: The Invitation

The Invitation.

“Do you remember Milona?” Alice asked on a Saturday morning. “Our batchmate in college?”

“Of course, we used to have lunch together,” Serena answered calmly. She and Alice were having breakfast.

“She’s inviting us to her birthday at the Golden Dragon Palace later, at six p.m.,” Alice shared. “We should go. She said she feels sorry about what happened to you and Nathan, so she wanted to catch up.”

Serena gulped. Honestly, she didn’t feel like socializing. However, Alice convinced her otherwise. “You need this. You need to unwind and just… let it out. We can talk trash about Nathan."

For the first time in months, Serena laughed. Yet, tears welled in her eyes. “Yeah, I guess that’s not a good idea.”

Later, they both dressed to impress. Rarely did Serena wear revealing clothes, but that night, Alice insisted that she put on a backless dress.

“I hope there are hot guys at the party,” Alice muttered while driving, and Serena only laughed.

Well, there were, in fact, hot guys at the party, but they weren’t exactly who Serena wanted to see.

When Serena and Alice arrived, they were surprised that the gathering was quite intimate. Milona had only booked a room that accommodated twenty guests. Still, they smiled and gave their old friend a gift.

“Happy birthday, Milona,” Alice greeted. “This is from both me and Serena.”

Accepting the gift, Milona smiled. She motioned to the second table and said, “These are your seats. Enjoy.”

But just as they settled, Alice felt the need to use the restroom. “I’ll be back.”

So, Serena was on her own. She smiled politely at Milona’s guests until she saw familiar faces.

Timothy Harlow, Dennis Mercer, and Peter Wells.

They have been Nathaniel’s best friends since college. They walked into the room looking confident and successful, laughing. Their suits were neat, their shoes polished, and they carried themselves with the easy charm of men who knew they had done well in life.

Serena’s heart throbbed sharply, and as fate would mock her, two figures entered the room.

Vanessa Holt.

And… Nathaniel Thorne.

Vanessa held his arm, smiling up at him in a way that made them look flawlessly matched.

And Nathaniel? He was easily the most handsome man in the room. He always had been. But seeing him now, with another woman, felt like a knife twisting in Serena’s ribs.

“This can’t be happening to me.” Serena softly muttered, her eyes widening.

They couldn’t see her from the door, but she saw them.

Out of nowhere, Vanessa happily turned to Nathaniel. With Vanessa’s back facing Serena, she could see how they appeared to be sharing a kiss!

“Hey! Hey!” Timothy called. “You two get a room!”

“What?” Vanessa turned, blushing. “What do you mean? Nathan was just blowing something out of my eyes.”

It felt like a wound she’d barely managed to hold together was being torn wider. Serena said in her head, 'What is going on? How dare Milona invite me and Alice if she was also inviting Nathan!'

Then, Milona approached their group. “Vanessa, what a surprise! You and Nathan? You look good together!”

Serena stood up abruptly, and the chair fell behind her. Only then did she lock eyes with Nathaniel.

Seeing her, Nathaniel’s eyes widened, and he instantly put a distance between himself and Vanessa.

“Oh, Serena. You’re here too!” Vanessa said. In front of her, Nathaniel’s friends were also startled to see her.

“Look, it’s not what you think,” Vanessa said, addressing Serena. “Nathan and I are just friends—”

“Serena, I completely forgot that my husband invited Vanessa and Nathaniel. Surely, you won’t mind. I mean, we’re all adults here. Let’s just put the past behind us,” Milona said with an amiable smile, as if the situation wasn’t a big deal.

Serena was infuriated! She grabbed her purse abruptly and said, “No, thank you very much.”

She left the venue in a hurry. She searched for her phone so she could call Alice, but to her shock, it wasn’t inside her purse.

“Damn it!” she muttered. “I must have dropped my phone!”

She had no choice. Serena paced back into the conference room where Milona’s birthday celebration was held. Just before she walked in, she heard Nathaniel and his friends talking about her.

“Nathan, did you really not love Serena at all?” Peter asked. Serena was already familiar with their voices, so even without seeing them, she could tell them apart.

“No,” Nathaniel said outright. “It was all an act.”

“I could have sworn you were very in love with her,” Peter raised.

"He already said no, Peter," Timothy scolded.

“Enough. I don’t want to talk about her,” Nathaniel snapped. “It’s over.”

To her surprise, Vanessa and Dennis didn’t seem to be around. All she heard were the voices of Nathaniel, Peter, and Timothy.

“Well, you know, Serena was just a quiet girl back in college. She wasn’t really a good match for you,” Timothy said. “I always thought that way. She only became confident about herself after you two started dating. You and Vanessa are more suited for each other.”

“Didn’t I say enough?” Nathaniel shot back. “She is not worth discussing.”

“It’s just that I wished you could’ve gotten justice without involving Serena in it,” Peter said, his voice sounding regretful.

“She was innocent, sure,” Nathaniel said faintly. “But I couldn’t let that change anything. If I had, I would’ve failed my father all over again.”

The familiar sting returned the instant he spoke.

So, he did know she was innocent, but he still chose to use her and hurt her.

Serena had heard enough. She no longer cared what they thought of her. She entered, walking past them, and picked up her phone from the second table.

She meant to just walk out, but no. Instead, she turned to Nathaniel and said, “Congratulations on achieving your revenge, Nathan. I’m sure your father would be proud that you used your innocent wife to bring him justice.”

Then she echoed Timothy’s words. “That's okay. We weren’t a good match, anyway. You were too good for me. You and Vanessa are more suited for each other.”

Serena finally turned on her heel, walking away with her spirit completely broken.

She called Alice and told her to meet her at the entrance of the restaurant. It was there that she discovered it was raining outside.

“There you are. I have been looking for you."

Serena turned, finding Dennis, Nathaniel’s closest friend. He draped a coat around her and said, “It’s cold outside. Put this on.”

Dennis took a few steps back, but then he looked at her again, saying, “I’m sorry for what Nathan did.”

“Did you know?” Serena asked.

Dennis gulped, replying, “I just found out about four months ago.”

“Then you’re no better,” she said, tears finally spilling down her cheeks. “Take back your coat -"

“Keep the coat,” Dennis said. “It’s cold outside. The coat isn’t mine, anyway.”

Serena frowned. When she glanced at Dennis again, she realized he was still wearing his coat. So, whose jacket was on her?

But she didn’t have time to think about it. Alice arrived, and they left the restaurant.

***

Meanwhile, in another private room within Golden Dragon Palace, Vanessa Holt handed Milona the money. She said, "Good job."

"Thanks," Milona said. "I needed the money."

"I know," Vanessa acknowledged.

"What's your beef with Serena anyway?" Milona asked.

Vanessa laughed and said, "If I tell you, I'd have to kill you."

Seeing the fear in Milona's eyes, Vanessa laughed. "Relax. I was just joking."