CHAPTER TWO

Serena’s POV

Rain poured heavily outside the hotel as I drove through the empty road with trembling hands wrapped around the steering wheel.

I could barely see properly through the windshield.

But honestly, the storm outside felt nothing compared to the one inside me.

My chest hurt so badly it was becoming difficult to breathe.

Adrian cheated on me.

Not only that, he planned to divorce me the moment his partnership deal became successful.

A broken laugh escaped my lips before tears blurred my vision again.

Seven years of loving him like my entire world revolved around him. And somehow, I still wasn’t enough.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel as another wave of pain hit me.

I suddenly remembered all the times I defended Adrian whenever Ava warned me about how distant he had become lately. Maybe she saw everything long before I did.

My phone started ringing inside my purse.

Adrian.

I stared at the screen for a few seconds before rejecting the call immediately.

“Why is he calling me.” I’m sure he never knew I was at the hotel tonight.

A second later, it rang again.

I rejected the call again and switched the phone off.

I couldn’t hear his voice right now.

Not after hearing him stay silent while another woman discuss the fate of our marriage like I was some inconvenience standing in the way of their future.

I need to confront him directly. I need answers to a lot of questions.

Fresh tears slid down my cheeks. I wiped them off angrily. I hated crying over people who didn’t deserve it.

A few minutes later, I pulled over outside Ava’s apartment building. The warm light from her balcony glowed faintly through the heavy rain.

Ethan had been staying with her since afternoon because he loved being around Ava more than anyone else. Sometimes I joked that my son would gladly move into her apartment permanently if she allowed it.

I grabbed my bag and rushed toward the entrance through the rain. The moment Ava opened the door and saw my face, her expression changed immediately.

“Oh my God,” she whispered. “What happened?”

I tried speaking, but my throat stiffened painfully instead.

Ava instantly pulled me inside the apartment before shutting the door behind us.

Ethan sat on the living room carpet surrounded by toys. The second he saw me, his face brightened.

“Mommy!”

He ran straight toward me, wrapping his little arms around my legs. That nearly broke me completely.

I carried him immediately and buried my face against his hair while fighting back tears.

Ava stared at me carefully from across the room. “Did something happen with Adrian?”

I nodded slowly.

Her face darkened instantly. “What did he do?”

I swallowed hard before answering quietly.

“I found him with another woman.”

I fell silent for a second. “Discussing our divorce.”

Silence filled the apartment again.

Ava closed her eyes briefly like she was trying hard not to explode.

“I swear, one day I’m going to poison that man.”

Despite everything, a weak laugh escaped me.

That was Ava. Aggressive loyalty in human form.

She walked toward me carefully afterward. “Stay here tonight.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because if I stay here, then it becomes real.”

Ava’s expression softened immediately. “It is real already, Serena.”

That hurt because she was right.

I looked down at Ethan sleeping quietly against my shoulder and forced myself to breathe properly again.

“I just want to go home.”

I wondered how I could still call living with Adrian home. 

Ava didn’t argue further. Thirty minutes later, Ethan was already asleep in the backseat while I drove through the storm-filled road.

The rain had become worse, thunder echoed loudly across the dark sky while water splashed violently against the windshield.

I should’ve stayed at Ava’s place tonight. But my mind felt too restless to stay still anywhere. Everything inside me felt shattered.

Adrian wasn’t just cheating on me, he was replacing me. That realization hurt more than anything else.

I glanced briefly at Ethan through the mirror before looking back at the road.

At least I still had him. At least someone still needed me.

Bright headlights suddenly appeared behind my car closely.

My brows pulled together immediately.

The black SUV behind me accelerated aggressively.

Fear crept slowly into my chest.

Why was the car so close? I pressed harder on the accelerator instinctively.

The SUV followed.

My heartbeat quickened. I switched lanes quickly.

The SUV switched lanes too.

Panic rushed through me immediately. “What the heck…?”

Ethan shifted slightly in his sleep behind me.

I looked into the mirror again. The SUV accelerated harder. Then it slammed violently into the back of my car. 

I screamed as the steering wheel jerked sharply from my grip. The car swerved dangerously across the wet road.

“Oh my God!”

Another hit came immediately after, harder this time. The side of my car crashed against the railing near the bridge. Everything happened too fast afterward.

The tires lost control completely.

Ethan woke up crying loudly in the backseat.

“Mommy!”

My heart shattered instantly.

“Ethan!”

The car spun violently before smashing through the barrier.

Then everything disappeared.

The freezing water swallowed us whole, pain exploded through my head as darkness rushed toward me.

The last thing I heard was Ethan crying for me.