Chapter 12
What stunned Serena was that Damien didn’t turn around. He walked out as if nothing had happened.
Serena shook with fury, her nails digging into her palms. She wasn’t stupid. Damien had clearly fallen for Avery.
The thought made jealousy chew her alive.
Five years ago, she had worked hard to make Damien believe she was the one who saved his life.
Out of gratitude, he gave her everything she wanted.
Later, she played sweet and pitiful, claimed Avery bullied her, and coaxed Damien into drugging Avery.
He hadn’t meant for it to go that far, but he ended up in Avery’s bed anyway.
The more Serena thought about it, the angrier she became.
If Eldon hadn’t looked down on her for being illegitimate, Avery never would have been the one to marry Damien in the first place.
Serena couldn’t swallow that, so after the wedding, she pushed Damien to spread the story that Avery had fertility issues and force her into IVF.
Every time Avery endured another egg retrieval and cried from the pain, Serena watched with delight. The more Avery suffered, the happier she felt.
But lately, something had been feeling off. Damien mentioned Avery more and more, and his eyes
softened when he did.
If that continued, it was only a matter of time before he fell for Avery.
So, Serena came up with a new plan. She told Damien to steal Julian’s sperm.
He refused flat out, so she threatened to hurt herself until he gave in.
Serena bit her lip hard. She had thought the plan was foolproof-that Avery would be humiliated and end
up at odds with Damien forever.
But if Damien actually fell for Avery, then all of it would be worthless.
Serena’s pulse thudded in her throat. She unlocked her phone and opened her chat with Avery.
“Damien doesn’t love you. Playing hard to get won’t work! He loves me! He only married you to help me get back at you!
“Avery, I’m going to take away everything you care about!”
Chapter 12
Serena fired off message after message, but Avery never replied.
She was set ablaze with fury, her reason completely lost.
“Let me tell you, the baby in your belly isn’t Damien’s! It’s Julian’s, that illegitimate bastard! Didn’t you always call me illegitimate? Now, you’re the one carrying a bastard child.
“How does it feel? It was my idea. Do you like the gift I picked out for you?”
2/2
Inside the car, Avery’s phone buzzed nonstop. She slipped her freshly issued divorce certificate into her bag and opened the thread.
So, Serena was the mastermind after all.
Avery’s eyes went cold. She screenshotted every message and sent them straight to her attorney. Good
thing she was quick-Serena had already started recalling them.
In the driver’s seat, Julian glanced over and asked in a low voice, “What do you want for dinner? My treat.
Call it a toast to your single life.”
Avery let out a small laugh. “Let me treat you. Consider it an early cheers to our partnership.”
“Come on,” Julian said with a smile. “You’re carrying my baby. Dinner is the least I can do.”
Avery was left speechless.
Meanwhile, Damien sped all the way home, killed the engine halfway, and ran inside.
But the house was empty, and Avery was gone.
He tore through the rooms, from upstairs to downstairs, but he still couldn’t find Avery. That was when
the dread finally sank in.
The familiar traces of Avery had vanished. Even the air felt cold and strange. Everything she had brought
into the house was gone.
The framed photo by the entryway-the one of them together-was missing. He used to see it every time
he left or came home.
The feather crystal lamp by the couch, the one she had made by hand and switched on for movie nights to soften the light, was gone too.
So was the rug in the living room. They had carried it back from Eubrough. Damien pressed his lips into a hard line as panic rose in his chest once again.
