Chapter 2

Serena's POV

Dad's brow furrowed.

"You'd rather go back to eating scraps than take fifty grand a month?"

Donald didn't bother hiding his disgust at my scarred face.

"I'm not qualified to protect Miss Ferrari, sir."

I sighed. Ever since I got these scars at ten trying to save Bianca, this face had been nothing but a source of revulsion for everyone.

Maybe that's why Edward treated me like garbage in our past life too.

"Donald! You can't abandon my sister!" Bianca frantically grabbed his arm, trying to pull him to his feet.

Donald looked at her with pure adoration: "I didn't come here for her."

I remained silent.

Bianca's momentary triumph vanished behind a practiced pout. "No! This is outrageous! I won't allow you to go back there!"

"Easy fix," I cut in. "Bianca can just keep both brothers. Problem solved."

Bianca's cheeks flushed. "What are you even saying?"

Both Cross brothers were gorgeous, and I knew Bianca's eyes had been glued to them since they walked through the door.

Dad looked thoughtful. "You really don't want either of them?"

"Nah, I'm not into either of those guys."

Both brothers stared at me, probably wondering what gave me the right to be so picky. Edward's expression was more complex—like there was something deeper than just confusion.

Whatever. Not my problem anymore.

"Can you even guarantee your own safety?"

"Probably can't." I shrugged.

Dad blinked in surprise.

"So just ship me off to my brother Stephen. He's got a whole security team."

In my past life, I'd poured every ounce of my being into Edward.

The family business? An afterthought.

Bianca and I weren't treated the same way at all.

Sure, Dad always said he loved us equally, but when it came to trust funds? Those were all reserved for Bianca and my older brother Stephen.

Stephen was out there building his empire, making the family trust grow by millions every year. Bianca's annual dividends alone could set up ten families for life.

Meanwhile, I had to practically beg Dad for money to cover Edward's medical bills.

If I wanted any real power in this family, I'd have to earn it myself.

Stephen hadn't even met me once and just had his assistant throw me some meaningless position and forgot I existed.

Fine by me. I wasn't here for his approval anyway.

Throwing myself into work, I shocked even myself with how good I was at this shit. After I landed that impossible Castellano account, Stephen finally agreed to see me. He threw me a belated welcome dinner and actually started giving me real projects. The company was hitting some major roadblocks, and even if he preferred Bianca, he had no choice but to acknowledge me now.

Gradually, my reputation in the business world started growing faster than Bianca's Instagram following.

Then one day, she stopped me at home.

"Serena, darling, don't you think you're being... excessive? You're everywhere these days—making headlines, doing interviews. I'm not trying to be mean, but this sudden success feels more like luck than skill. If you screw things up later, it'll lose the whole family's face. Plus, with your scars and all this attention-seeking, no man's ever gonna want you."

Then she glanced meaningfully toward Edward. "Why don't you stop bothering Stephen? I'll mentor you instead."

I cut straight to the point.

"You're just scared I'm stealing your spotlight, aren't you?"