Chapter Two: Thrown Away

I don't even remember how I got out of Jason’s office.

One minute I was looking at the man I loved handing me divorce papers the next, I was trapped inside the elevator, staring at my reflection in the mirrored walls.

The woman looking back at me was a stranger,her lipstick was smeared,her eyes were bloodshot and her left hand was completely bare.

Gone,It was all gone.

My throat was tight, I lifted my hand and touched the empty spot on my finger,a sharp, physical ache sliced through my chest. 

Twenty-four hours, that was all my marriage lasted.

The elevator doors slid open into the main lobby of Crane Global,the massive marble floor was packed with people, employees, executives, and clients. 

The usual corporate rush nobody should have cared about me but immediately I stepped out, the entire room went dead silent,conversations dropped to whispers,heads turned while dozens of eyes locked onto me.

I felt a cold, heavy dread settle in my stomach,something was wrong.

A woman near the front desk glanced at her phone, looked up at me, and nudged her coworker. The murmurs followed me like a wave, even the security guard by the door looked away, his face tight with embarrassment.

My heart began to hammer against my ribs,I pulled out my phone and the screen was a warzone.

 Thirty-seven missed calls,twenty-two messages and an endless flood of breaking news alerts, with numb fingers, I tapped the first headline and my world stopped.

CRANE HEIRESS CAUGHT CHEATING HOURS BEFORE WEDDING.

I scrolled frantically as another headline popped up.

BILLIONAIRE CEO'S BRIDE EXPOSED.

SERENITY GRAYSON'S SHOCKING BETRAYAL.

The photographs,those horrible, twisted photographs Jason had just thrown at me were everywhere,millions of people were looking at them right now.

Immediately a breathless, bitter laugh escaped me.

 The ink on the divorce papers wasn't even dry yet, and the entire country was already mocking me,whoever did this had planned it down from the start. 

They didn't just want to ruin my marriage,they wanted to destroy my life.

"Look at her," someone whispered nearby. "How could she do that to Jason Crane?"

"Shh, she's right there."

Heat rushed into my face, burning hot and humiliating. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me but I wouldn't give them the satisfaction. I lifted my chin, forced my legs to move, and kept walking. I refused to break down in front of a crowd of strangers.

The second I pushed through the revolving doors, the sidewalk exploded,camera flashes blinded me,a wall of reporters swarmed, shoving microphones directly into my face.

"Serenity! Did you cheat on your husband?"

"Did Jason catch you in the act?"

"Was this marriage just a scam for the Crane fortune?"

I froze on the steps, the noise suffocating me,I couldn't even breathe. I was just thinking of what to do next or maybe disappear.

"Do you have anything to say to the public?" a reporter yelled, thrusting a camera inches from my eyes.

My whole life was being ripped apart for entertainment, and nobody cared about the truth.

I pushed through the aggressive crowd, my vision blurring with hot, frustrated tears. I wanted to get out just as I reached the curb, a black luxury car pulled up, the door opened, and a tiny, foolish spark of hope flared in my chest. Jason. Maybe he didn't hate me,maybe he’d sent a car to rescue me from the media circus.

The driver stepped out, avoiding my gaze entirely,my hope died instantly.

"Miss Grayson," he said quietly.

Not Mrs. Crane. Miss Grayson.

The rejection tasted like ash,he walked to the back and popped the trunk. Inside it sat three large suitcases,my suitcases. Everything I owned, packed up and cleared out of the Crane estate before I’d even signed the papers.

My chest tightened so hard it physically hurt,they hadn't just divorced me,they’d erased me.

"When were these packed?" I whispered.

The driver shifted uncomfortably, looking at the pavement.

"This morning, ma'am."

This morning,before Jason handed me the papers or before he even pretended to listen to my side of the story,the verdict had been decided before I even woke up.

"Thank you," I choked out, my voice cracking.

The driver nodded tightly, got back into the car, and sped off into the New York traffic, leaving me completely stranded on the crowded sidewalk with my luggage.

I wrapped my arms around myself, a cold wind cutting through my clothes,I had nowhere to go,I had no one to call.

My phone buzzed in my hand,a message from my mother.

My chest caved in as I read it.

How could you embarrass this family like this? Sloane is absolutely devastated,

I stared at the screen, waiting for a second text, a text asking if I was okay or asking where I was.

Nothing came.

Sloane was devastated, that was all that mattered to them that old, familiar ache from my childhood flared up the painful reminder that I was always the plain sister, the bigger sister, the disappointment nobody ever chose first.

I wiped a stray tear from my cheek,no not here.

Suddenly, the phone screen lit up again. Sloane’s name flashed across it,my temper snapped, and I answered it before I could stop myself.

"Serenity?" her voice came through, 

dripping with fake, breathless concern.

“Oh my god, are you okay? I've been so worried"

"Save the performance, Sloane," I interrupted, my voice shaking with pure rage. "You should win an award for what you did today."

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end. "I don't know what you mean... I was just trying to protect Jason from being hurt."

"You knew about those pictures before today," I spat, ignoring the rush of traffic around me. "You set this whole thing up."

"I don't know why you're being so paranoid," Sloane whispered, her tone shifting into that sweet, victim voice she used to get her way. 

"You ruined your own marriage, Serenity."

A brutal, hollow laugh escaped me, "Do you want to know what the worst part is, Sloane? I would have given it to you,if you wanted Jason that badly, you didn't have to destroy me to get him. 

You've spent our entire lives taking everything I have anyway."

"Serenity, you're being crazy"

"Goodbye, Sloane."

I slammed the hang-up button, cutting her off before she could spin another lie,

I lowered the phone, and the dam finally broke standing on the dirty New York sidewalk next to my luggage, I let the tears fall.

I didn't cry because of the scandal, or the money, or even the penthouse I cried because every dark fear I’d carried since I was a little girl had just come true. 

Nobody ever chose me,not even my parents or my sister and not the man I had given my heart to last night.

I was completely, utterly alone.

I took a deep, shaky breath and grabbed the handle of my suitcase, forcing myself to move.I needed to find a hotel, I needed to hide.

But the second I took a step, a violent wave of nausea hit me out of nowhere.

My stomach twisted so hard I nearly doubled over. The world spun, and I had to grab a nearby light pole just to keep myself from collapsing onto the concrete. I squeezed my eyes shut, holding my breath until the dizziness finally passed.

Just stress, I told myself, wiping a cold sweat from my forehead, I haven't eaten all day. It's just the stress, I forced myself to straighten up, gripped my bags, and walked into the city.

I had no idea that the stress wasn't the reason my body was failing me, I had no idea that a tiny heartbeat was already growing inside me, a secret that would one day bring the entire Crane empire to its knees.

Jason Crane thought he had thrown me away but this wasn't the end of my story. 

It was just the beginning.