Seven Years Later: My Husband wants me back

SERENA POV

Smoke hit my lungs before I even saw the flames.

The charity gala at the Grand Regal Hotel was suddenly filled with people screaming through the hallway. Fire roared through the service wing, tearing across the velvet curtains and turning the grand ballroom into an inferno.

Panic exploded around me. A fleeing guest shoved past, knocking me off my feet. I crashed hard onto the floor, my hands scraping against broken glass. Pain shot up my ankle as a burning wooden beam slammed down, pinning my legs to the ground.

I coughed hard, my eyes burning from the thick black smoke. I couldn't move.

"Help!" I cried out, my voice raspy and weak.

Through the thick haze, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face. A tall man in a dark suit was charging straight toward the smoke. My heart leapt with foolish hope.

Jackson.

Even though he had spent the last few weeks pretending to be his dead twin brother Jaden, my eyes knew him instantly.

"Jackson! Over here!" I screamed, waving a hand.

He didn't turn. He wasn't even looking for me.

A few feet away, Avery Collins was trapped near a burning bar cart, clutching her stomach and sobbing like a helpless child. Jackson didn't hesitate for a single second. He sprinted past me, threw his arms around Avery, and lifted her into his chest.

He shielded her body with his own, holding her close, and turned his back on the flames. On me.

"Jackson, please! help me!" my voice cracked, tears streaming down my ash-covered cheeks. "I'm down here!"

He walked right past where I lay trapped on the floor. His dark eyes flicked down at me for a split second, cold and unbothered, before he carried Avery toward the emergency exit.

He left me to burn.

The ceiling above me groaned, dropping a shower of hot sparks. Heat wrapped around my body like a cage. I clutched my stomach, my heart pounding with pure terror. My baby. I was three weeks pregnant with Jackson's child, a secret I had held close to my heart, hoping it would bring us back together.

Darkness crept into the edges of my sight as the smoke filled my lungs, and I finally blacked out.

When I opened my eyes, the smell of smoke was gone, replaced by the sharp, clean scent of bleach and hospital disinfectant.

The ceiling was white. Long, quiet beeps filled the room.

I tried to sit up, but a sharp, hollow ache in my lower belly made me freeze. A female doctor stepped softly into the room, holding a medical clipboard. Her eyes were heavy with pity.

"Mrs. Serena," she said gently, pulling a chair close to my bed. "I'm so sorry. The smoke inhalation... the physical trauma from the fire... we couldn't save the pregnancy."

The world stopped spinning.

"What? My baby?" my voice was barely a whisper.

"You lost the baby," the doctor said softly.

I turned my head toward the blank white wall, feeling completely empty inside. I didn't cry. I had no tears left.

In that cold room, five years of hopeless waiting finally died. I hadn't just lost a child; I had lost the last reason to stay. Jackson hadn't just abandoned me in a burning building. He had chosen Avery over me when I needed him most.

I reached over to the bedside table, pulled out my phone and dialed a number. 

“Hello, you can set it up now and bring it, I'm waiting.” 

Thirty minutes later, my lawyer walked in. “This is it, ma.” placed it on the bed and left. 

I stared at the document beside me, the title written boldly on the top, “THE DIVORCE AGREEMENT”.

I signed my name at the bottom without a single second of hesitation. I took off my silver wedding ring, laid it right on top of the paper, and walked out of the hospital into the rain.

Seven Years Later******

I stood on the stage of the Los Angeles Convention Center, blinded by a hundred camera flashes.

"Miss Vale! Look over here!"

"Serena, how does it feel to return to LA as the CEO of Vale Global Logistics?"

Another reporter asked “And a new fiancè by your side?” 

I smiled calmly, my hand resting comfortably in the warm grip of Nathaniel Cross. He was a handsome man with kind, attentive eyes and a gentle voice. For the last three years, he had showered me with quiet love, bringing me fresh white lilies every morning and building me up when I was at my lowest.

"It feels good to be home," I said smoothly into the microphones.

Nathaniel leaned down, pressing a sweet, protective kiss against my forehead in front of every reporter in the city. "You did amazing, my love," he whispered.

Then, the crowd suddenly went quiet. The reporters parted down the middle.

A man walked slowly through the center aisle. He wore a tailored black tuxedo, his jaw set like hard ice, his dark eyes fixed entirely on me.

Jackson Blackwood.

My heart didn't flutter. It turned to ice. He didn't look broken, in fact he hadn't changed a bit. He looked just as arrogant, cold, and dangerously commanding as the day he abandoned me. Standing right beside him, wrapped tightly around his arm, was Avery.

Jackson stopped at the base of the stage, looking up at me. His gaze was dark, heavy, and full of quiet, possessive ownership, as if I were still a forgotten prize sitting in his house. He looked at Nathaniel’s hand wrapped around my waist, his jaw clenching tightly.

A waiter stepped up behind Nathaniel and handed him a sealed silver tray containing our drinks. Next to the champagne glasses lay a thick, elegant envelope addressed to Mrs. Serena Blackwood.

My pulse spiked. Nathaniel frowned, picking up the envelope and opening it first. As his eyes scanned the paper inside, his gentle expression completely shattered. His grip on my hand went deathly tight.

"What is it, Nathaniel?" I whispered, pulling the paper from his fingers.

Inside was a single document. My signed divorce agreement from seven years ago, with the signature line for Jackson Blackwood left completely blank.

Underneath it, written in Jackson's bold, unyielding handwriting, was a short message:

You ran, Serena. But a contract requires two signatures. Welcome home, my wife.