ANMELDENSeven years of love are gone. Her home is gone. Her future is shattered. And then she discovered she was pregnant. Alone, jobless, and heartbroken, Serena walked away from her cheating husband. She chose to rebuild her life from scratch as a single mother. But starting over isn’t easy, especially when the world keeps shutting doors in her face. Until she meets him. Adrian Henrix Cold. Powerful. The ruthless billionaire CEO everyone fears. He is a man with one goal. He had no time to fall in love or get involved in other people’s lives. But for some reason… He keeps noticing her. Helping her. Challenging her. Watching her rise from nothing. As Serena rebuilds her life and steps into his world, she begins to shine in ways no one expected. And suddenly… The woman her ex-husband betrayed and abandoned becomes the woman any man would pray to have. But when the past she wants to forget returns… When betrayal, secrets, and ambition collide… Will Serena trust again? Or will she prove that a broken woman can reach heights that no one ever imagined?
Mehr anzeigenSerena’s Point of View
I sat outside the gynecologist’s office, staring at the clock nervously. It was almost 11:30, but Rowen was still not here.
I checked our chat again, but there was no reply; he hadn’t even seen my messages.
I called him. It took so long before he finally answered.
“Serena?” He sounded distracted. Traffic hummed in the background.
“Rowen… are you nearby? It’s almost our time,” I asked softly.
A pause.
“Oh! The appointment,”
For a second, my heart stopped.
Had he forgotten?
“Listen, baby… I can’t make it today. I’m on the way with Michela for a very important client meeting.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“But you promised even this morning,” I said quietly.
“Look, baby… I’m really sorry. This meeting is very important. I couldn’t say no,” he said.
But there wasn’t even a hint of regret in his voice.
“This appointment is important too…”
“You know how long we’ve waited to get this appointment.”
“Just go today and tell me what the doctor said. Next time we’ll go together. I promise.”
Promise.
When was the last time you kept your promises, Rowen?
“You know I can’t go alone.” My voice was getting slightly unsteady.
“Serena, don’t be so childish. Michela really needs me here. I can’t say no just because you want to see a doctor.”
Michela.
Why is it always her?
Why do all our important plans get canceled because of her?
“Rowen… you’re not the only manager working under her. “ I said. “ But here… do I have a husband other than you?”
“Serena! Stop talking nonsense. You know how much I owe her. If she needs me. I have to be there.”
Then what about me, Rowen? Don’t I desperately need you here, too?
Can you, just this once, choose me?
“I am already late. Let’s talk later.”
The call ended, just like that.
Once again…I wasn’t his priority.
“Mrs. Gilbert?”
“The doctor will see you now.”
I forced a small smile and stood up.
“Coming.”
______________________________________
The consultation lasted less than ten minutes.
But they were probably the most humiliating minutes of my life.
The moment the doctor saw me, his first question was,
“Where is your partner?”
“He… has an urgent meeting,” I replied quietly, lowering my tear-filled eyes.
“If you have something more important than meeting me, then why did you make this appointment?” he snapped.
I had heard that the doctor was an expert in his field, but also a ruthless man.
Now I was experiencing it firsthand.
“Do you expect to have a baby alone, without a partner?” he continued coldly.
Heat rushed to my face.
I wasn’t the one who made the mistake… Yet I was the one standing here alone.
I felt utterly wronged.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Do you know how many couples are waiting months to see me?” he continued. “You just wasted time that someone else could have used.”
“I’m sorry,” I repeated.
______________________________________
When I finally walked out of the room, my legs felt weak.
I don’t know how I managed to leave the hospital building and end up sitting on a stone bench in the hospital garden.
It was the middle of winter.
The cold stone felt like ice.
But I didn’t care.
When my life had lost all its warmth, what did a little cold matter?
I should have been used to this loneliness.
This humiliation.
After all…
I was an orphan.
I had always been alone. Always struggling.
But everything changed when Rowen came into my life.
He was warm. Certain. Steady in a way I had never experienced before.
For the first time, I felt like I mattered.
Slowly… deeply… I fell in love with him.
And since then, I had forgotten how to exist without him.
After we got married, we built our life step by step. Everything was going well. Until Rowen joined Henrix Properties.
One of the biggest companies in the country.
His talent was recognized. Promotions came quickly. So did the salary increases.
But he also became busier.
Late nights. Weekends.
Sometimes, he didn’t come home at all.
Last year, he convinced me to quit my job and take care of our home.
I agreed. Because I trusted him. Because I wanted him to come home to a warm meal and a peaceful space.
My phone vibrated, pulling me out of my thoughts.
A message.
My heart skipped.
This wasn’t the first time I had received messages from this number.
I didn’t know who was sending them. But they were always warning me about the same thing. Three messages in a month.
Each one confirmed the uneasy feeling I had been trying to ignore.
Telling me my instincts were right.
But until now… I had ignored them.
Because I loved him. Because he was my only family.
Because I wanted to believe those messages were lies.
But today…
Today, I couldn’t ignore them anymore.
If something was wrong… I needed to see it with my own eyes.
If I turn back now… I’ll never know the truth.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing at the reception desk of the luxurious Grand Hotel.
Maybe this was all a mistake. Maybe I was overthinking everything.
From the bottom of my heart, I prayed.
“Good afternoon,” the receptionist said politely.
I swallowed.
“I’m Serena Gilbert,” I said, just as the message instructed.
The woman handed me a key card without asking anything.
“Room 1243, ma’am. Twelfth floor.”
My heart began to race.
Holding the card tightly, I walked toward the elevator.
The ride felt endless. Room 1243 was at the far end of the twelfth floor. Each step felt heavier than the last.
I stopped in front of the door.
My hands trembled so badly I almost dropped the key card.
I scanned it. The lock clicked.
The door slowly opened.
And then,
I heard a woman’s low moan.
“Rowen… so… good…”
“Deeper…!”
“Fu**!”
Then, a voice I knew better than my own heartbeat.
Rowen.
My husband.
My feet moved before my mind permitted them.
Serena’s Point of ViewHenrix Properties.I stood in front of the tall building for a moment.The name gleamed in gold against the glass under the bright spring sun.For a second, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even breathe.This place… it felt too big. Too unreal.Far away from the life I had been living for the last two years.The cramped, cold room. The life where I had to count every cent to make it to the next day…And before that…A home that was never really mine. A marriage that ruined my dignity… my happiness.I took a deep breath.It’s all in the past. A past I am going to walk away from.“This is where our new lives begin.”My hand moved instinctively to my stomach.“We’re going to be happy.”Then I stepped forward. I walked inside the tall building.The place was pure sophistication.Glass walls. Open spaces. Light poured in from every direction.It wasn’t just an office.It was… a world I couldn’t even imagine myself in.But today...______________________________________“S
Serena’s Point of View“You know what?”I turned around and looked at them. My voice was unexpectedly calm and steady.“I’ve heard far worse things from people who mattered to me way more than any one of you ever will.”The smiles on their faces faded. Their expressions darkened.“But what you just said about him…”I paused and took a deep breath, letting the silence stretch.“Has he ever made any unwanted comments to any of you, as other customers do?” I asked quietly.No one spoke.“Has he ever touched any of you like those customers who think touching a waitress is part of the service?”Their faces stiffened.“He comes. He eats. He pays. And he leaves.”“Nothing else.”My gaze moved across each of them and stopped at Lucy’s face.“So why did you want to drag him into this?”Another pause.“Because he helped a poor waitress he hadn’t even met before, just because it was the right thing to do?”My heart was beating faster. My whole body was warming up. Still, my voice remained calm,
Serena’s Point of View“You look different.”That’s what he said, after his gaze lingered on me longer than usual.My smile widened.I didn’t know if it was because I got the job or because someone had noticed the difference between my sadness and this quiet, proud happiness.“I got the job at Henrix Properties,” I said, unable to hold it anymore.A pause.Then...“Congratulations.”He stood up and extended his hand.“I had no doubt,” then he added.I blinked.He wasn't the kind of man who said things to make people feel better. Which meant he actually believed it.For a second, my chest tightened with a feeling so overwhelming, yet filled with warmth.I placed my hand in his.His grip was firm. Steady.And warm.Warmer than I remembered.Or maybe… it was just my imagination.After a brief second, he sat back, his eyes still focused on me.“I applied for a junior analyst position,” I continued, my voice carrying a hint of pride I hadn’t felt in a long time, “but based on my performanc
Serena’s Point of View“Hello…”I answered the call quickly, my fingers tightening slightly around my phone.My heart was beating faster. Hope began to bloom again in my mind."This is it," I thought."This has to be it."But....“Hello, Ms. Serena Gilbert? This is from City Care Hospital. We’re sorry, but we have to reschedule your appointment because…”My heart dropped.An unexplainable ache spread through my body.The woman was explaining something, but my mind failed to register most of it.“I will send you an email with the updated details,” she said at the end.“Okay… thank you,” I replied. My voice sounded small. Faint.I lowered my phone slowly.That was it.No call from Henrix Properties.Even my final hope… shattered just like that.I let out a quiet breath.It hurt.So much more than it should.In my whole life, losing hope at the last moment had become something usual. Still… it seemed like I wasn’t fully used to it.I felt foolish.I felt lonely.My throat tightened.For






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