The divorce agreement

SERENA POV

"Miss Vale, we don't have enough vases for all of these!"

I froze right at the entrance of my executive suite on the top floor of Vale Global Logistics. My assistant, Maya, was standing in the middle of the room holding three crystal vases, her eyes wide with total panic.

The entire office was buried in flowers.

Red roses covered my desk, pink lilies filled every corner, and rows of white orchids blocked the glass doorway to my private balcony. The sweet, heavy smell hit my nose instantly, making my head throb. It felt like walking straight into a funeral home.

"What is the meaning of this?" I asked, my voice sharp as glass. "Who brought all these here?"

Maya swallowed hard, looking down at a stack of white delivery cards in her hands. "A local flower shop delivered them at six this morning, ma'am. They said the order came directly from Blackwood Enterprises. They paid for the entire shop's stock for the day."

Jackson?

A cold surge of rage burned through my blood. Last night at the convention center, he had crashed my grand return to Los Angeles, humiliated my fiancé Nathaniel, and handed me an unsigned divorce paper from seven years ago. Now, he was playing this cheap, childish game in my own company.

"Get rid of them," I commanded cold-heartedly.

"All of them?" Maya gasped. "Miss Vale, there are hundreds of arrangements here! Some of these orchids cost—"

"I don't care if they cost a million dollars!" I snapped, walking over to my desk. I picked up a massive vase of blood-red roses and tossed it straight into the large black trash bin near the door. The glass shattered, and heavy petals scattered all over the floor.

Maya jumped back in shock.

"Throw every single one of them in the dumpster outside," I said, looking around at the rest of my scared staff who were peeking through the doors. "Give them away to strangers on the street. Dump them in the alley. I don't care what you do, but I want every stem out of this building in ten minutes. And listen to me carefully, if any package or delivery comes under Blackwood again, send it back immediately. If you accept anything from him, you are fired. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Miss Vale!" they shouted together, scrambling to clear the room.

I walked into my inner office and slammed the heavy oak door shut, resting my forehead against the cool wood. My heart was pounding like a war drum. 

“What the hell is he thinking by doing all this?” 

The next morning, I stepped off the elevator to find another sea of red and white flowers waiting for me. I ordered them thrown out again.

On the third morning, my staff turned away four delivery vans at the front gates, but Jackson simply sent a private courier to deliver a single black box of fresh white lilies directly to my car in the parking garage.

By the fourth morning, my patience completely snapped.

I didn't call Nathaniel. Nathaniel was too kind, too gentle, and he was already stressed about the unsigned divorce document. This was my mess to clean up. I grabbed my handbag, marched down to the garage, and drove my sports car straight toward the financial center of Los Angeles.

Ten minutes later, I pulled up to the massive glass skyscraper of Blackwood Enterprises.

I stormed through the double doors of the lobby, ignoring the front desk guards who tried to call my name. I took the private executive elevator straight to the top floor. When the doors slid open, Jackson’s executive secretary stood up from her desk, her face turning pale.

"Mrs. Blackwood—I mean, Miss Vale!" she stammered, stepping in front of the double doors. "Mr. Blackwood is in a very important meeting with the board of directors, you can't go in—"

I pushed right past her, grabbed the heavy handles, and threw the double doors open with a loud bang.

"Jackson!" I shouted.

The long conference table inside went dead silent. Six corporate executives in expensive black suits turned around in shock.

At the head of the table sat Jackson Blackwood or rather now Jaden Blackwood. 

He wore a dark gray suit that fit his broad shoulders perfectly. His dark hair was combed back, his jaw was set tight, and his deep brown eyes held that same arrogant, dangerous power that used to make me tremble. But when his eyes landed on me, he didn't look angry at all. A slow, dark smile spread across his handsome face.

"Gentlemen," Jackson said, his deep voice calm and smooth. "Please will you excuse me."

The executives didn't ask a single question. They gathered their laptops and folders in seconds, practically running past me out the door.

Once the heavy doors clicked shut behind them, the silence in the giant room became heavy and tight.

"You finally came to see me, Serena," Jackson said smoothly, standing up from his leather chair. He walked slowly around the long table, stopping just a few feet in front of me. The faint smell of his familiar woodsy cologne filled the air between us. "I was starting to think I needed to buy out another flower shop."

"What do you think you're doing, Jackson!" I yelled, taking a step closer to him, my fists clenching at my sides. "I came here to tell you to stop sending garbage to my office! You are disrupting my business, annoying my employees, and making a fool out of yourself!"

Jackson raised a dark eyebrow, looking amused. "A fool? For sending flowers to my own wife?"

"I am NOT your wife!" I screamed at his face. "I signed those papers seven years ago! I left my ring on top of that document in the hospital room! I walked away from you, Jackson!"

"And you thought that was enough?" Jackson asked, his voice dropping an octave, becoming low and dangerous. He took a heavy step toward me, towering over my frame. "You thought you could just write your name on a piece of paper and walk out of my life forever?"

"You abandoned me!" My voice cracked, raw pain tearing through my throat. "You left me to burn in that hotel fire! I was pinned under a wooden beam, screaming your name, bleeding and terrified! And you walked right past me to carry the love of your life out in your arms! You left me there to die, Jackson!"

Jackson’s arrogant smile vanished. A tight muscle twitched in his jaw, but his eyes remained cold as stone.

"I have built a new life," I continued, forcing my voice to stay firm as tears burned behind my eyes. "I am the CEO of my own company. I have a good man who actually loves me, respects me, and treats me like a human being. Nathaniel and I are getting married. So do the decent thing for once in your life, sign those damn papers, finalize the divorce, and mind your own business!"

I took a deep breath, glaring straight into his eyes. "Just act like you don't care about me, like you always did. After all, as far as I am concerned, my husband Jackson is dead. He died in that fire seven years ago."

For a second, the room was completely silent.

Then, Jackson tilted his head back, and a loud, dark laugh erupted from his chest.

It wasn't a happy sound. It was a chilling, arrogant laugh that echoed off the high glass walls, sending a cold shiver straight down my spine. The sound irritated every single bone in my body.

"And what is so funny?" I spat, holding my head high.

Jackson stopped laughing, but the dangerous glint in his eyes grew darker. He turned around, walked over to his massive oak desk, and pulled a key from his pocket. He unlocked the drawer, pulled out a thick black leather folder, and slammed it down on the glass desk right in front of me.

The folder fell open.

Inside lay the original divorce document I had signed seven years ago, its edges slightly yellowed with time. Right next to it sat my old silver wedding ring.

I looked down at the paper. The signature line for Jackson Blackwood was completely empty.

"Look at it, Serena," Jackson whispered, his voice dark and possessive as he walked back around the desk until he was standing inches away from me. "Look closely."

"What is this?" I breathed out, my heart dropping into my stomach.

"Seven years ago, when your lawyer brought this to my office, I threw him out the door," Jackson said, leaning down so his lips were right beside my ear. "I never signed it. I never filed it. I never agreed to let you go."

"Legally, you are still Mrs. Serena Blackwood," Jackson sneered, his eyes locking onto mine like a predator catching its prey. "You can wear Nathaniel Cross's ring, you can live in his house, and you can tell the press whatever you want. But you will never marry him. Because no court in this country will grant you a divorce without my permission. And I am never giving it to you."

"You monster!" I gasped, taking a step back in sheer horror. "I will sue you! I will fight you in court until I have nothing left!"

"Try it," Jackson smirked, reaching out a hand. His thumb gently brushed against my cheek, wiping away a rogue tear. I flinched back from his touch as if he were made of fire, but his grip on my wrist tightened, keeping me locked in place. "I own the judges in this city, Serena. Though I wonder what you will fight me as, Jackson or Jaden?” 

He continued, “You belong to me, and you will stay my wife until I say otherwise."

"I hate you!" I yelled, trying to yank my arm back. "I will never come back to you!"

Jackson leaned in even closer, his dark eyes flashing with a terrifying, twisted ambition.

"You don't have a choice, my love," he whispered softly, his voice full of dark satisfaction. "Because while you were busy playing company CEO this morning, my legal team finished acquiring fifty-one percent of Vale Global Logistics. As of ten minutes ago... I am your majority shareholder. And your first official board meeting with me is tomorrow morning.”