Chapter 1: Revenge

Serena Kline built her life around the man she called her husband, her love, her anchor, her choice. But after six years, he repaid her devotion with divorce papers and a cold dismissal. That was the moment her world broke, yet somehow she found the strength to walk away.

***

It took only two months for everything to collapse.

Serena’s husband, Nathaniel Thorne, had completely ignored her.

He became CEO of Kline BioSolutions.

Her father was arrested for patent fraud and murder.

Her mother died from the shock.

At present, Serena was at Velmon City Memorial Park, about to bury her mother, Roselind Kline.

She wasn’t grieving the way others expected her to. She had never been close to her parents, a truth she rarely voiced. Not even her husband knew just how much. Her heart had always looked for comfort elsewhere, and she thought she found it in Nathaniel, her husband… until the recent months proved her wrong.

The sun began to set, and the very few guests who attended her mother’s funeral started to whisper. They had been waiting for two hours, but there was no sign of Nathaniel Thorne.

“How long are we going to wait?”

“Will he really come? Didn’t he just put Serena’s father behind bars?”

“I saw the trending feed on social media. Nathaniel is attending the award show with Vanessa Holt, the actress. See?”

Serena’s eyes fluttered. Her hands trembled as she searched online. True enough, her husband was with Kline BioSolutions’ brand ambassador, Vanessa Holt. Together, they looked like the perfect pair.

She couldn’t deny the pictures and videos that were taken of her husband.

Nathaniel was the kind of man who drew eyes without trying. He had broad shoulders, flawless posture, and dark hair that never fell out of place. Confidence radiated from him, even through a mobile screen.

Why did she even bother waiting for him?

Despite everything, she had hoped. After all, she and Nathaniel were not just a married couple, but they were college sweethearts, at least, that was what she thought.

Nathaniel had not returned home since her father’s arrest. They had never really discussed it. All her calls went to voicemail, and because of her mother’s recent health issues, she hadn’t been able to see him at the office either. However, it was evident that her husband came after her father, Victor Kline, for revenge.

“Let’s bury her,” Serena’s voice came through, trembling.

An hour later, her mother’s coffin was fully buried. The guests offered their final respects, but only one person wept. It was her mother’s loyal assistant.

Her parents weren’t really the best people in the world, even to her, their own daughter. The Klines were good to Nathaniel because he was talented and driven, someone Serena’s parents had entrusted the company with. If they only knew, Nathaniel had meant to snatch it all away from them.

When everyone else had left, Serena finally wept, not because she lost her mother nor the fact that her father is behind bars, but because of the weight of everything that was happening around her, the lies, the humiliation, and the betrayal.

“Serena, what will you do now?” Alice Hartley, her old college friend, asked.

“I had already accepted the situation with my parents,” Serena replied.

“But what about Nathaniel?” Alice asked.

Serena looked down and softly answered, “I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t know.”

Nathaniel did not come home that night. Serena never expected him to. So the next day, she went straight to the office and finally settled the score.

On the fifteenth floor, her husband's assistant tried to chase after Serena. “Miss Kline, you can’t enter the CEO’s office.”

“Why not? Am I not his wife?” Serena snapped.

She forced her way into his office and instantly froze.

Vanessa Holt sat on Nathaniel’s lap, and he didn’t seem bothered about it.

Serena’s heart ached. She almost forgot how to breathe.

She couldn’t believe this was the same man who promised to devote his life to her!

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Vanessa, the actress, got up from Nathaniel’s lap. She flushed, explaining her side. “Please don’t misunderstand, Serena, I slipped, and Nathan caught me.”

The way her husband’s first name casually slipped out of Vanessa’s lips said it all. Nothing about this meeting between them was business-related.

“You slipped right into his lap?” Serena questioned.

“Enough,” Nathaniel said, his gaze glacial. “Vanessa, leave.”

“Okay, Nathan, I’ll see you at your mother’s house later,” Vanessa said, smiling at Nathaniel. “Aunt promised to cook me a lovely meal.”

“Mmmm.” Nathaniel just hummed, nodding in Vanessa’s way.

Serena’s stomach twisted.

It made her feel so small. Over the years, Nathan’s mother had treated Serena respectfully, but never warmly. Now she knew why.

After Vanessa left, Serena finally said, “Nathan, we need to talk.”

“We sure do,” Nathaniel said. He averted her gaze and fetched a document from his drawer. He handed her the papers and said, “Let’s get a divorce.”

Of all the things he could say… it had to be that word.

Divorce.

After two years of dating in college, and after four years of marriage, they were going to leave everything behind.

“Why?” She questioned, her voice shaking. “Are you leaving me for Vanessa?”

He stared into her eyes with no emotion at all. “Don’t drag Vanessa into this. She’s the company’s brand ambassador, even your father himself praised.”

Then Nathaniel told her the truth she had already known. “Our marriage was never real. I used it to get close enough to destroy your father.”

For a moment, her mind went blank, tears slipping down her cheeks. She said, “That can’t be true. We were together for six years—”

“I had the right motivation to be convincing,” Nathaniel said curtly.

“I told you about him. My father meant the world to me.” As Nathaniel spoke, his voice strengthened, his blue-gray eyes looking fierce. “My father developed a drug that could reverse Type 2 diabetes. Your father stole the formulation patent, filed it under Kline BioSolutions, and had him killed to erase his claim. That drug built your family’s empire.”

“But none of that was my fault!” Serena reasoned. “I had no involvement in it. My father had always been cr -”

“It doesn’t matter.” His jaw tightened. “You are still his daughter and have benefited from his crimes. From the beginning, Serena, I was never meant to love you.”

Serena’s body went stiff. She didn’t know how long she stood there, too shocked to move, before she finally found her voice. “So in all those years, you never… You never loved me? You just used me?”

Nathaniel looked at her with pure hatred. He said, “Never. It was all a lie.”

Six years ago, he swore he would love her for the rest of his life. He repeated those vows at the altar, promising forever.

Who could have known?

He hadn’t meant a single word.