LOGINSeven 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?
View MoreSerena’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.
Adrian’s Point of ViewThis morning.Of all mornings.Noah’s first day.I couldn’t be there when she got to work.If I’d had even the slightest chance of avoiding the meeting I’d been sitting in for almost three hours, I definitely would have.It wasn’t that anything could actually happen to her in a few hours of my absence.Not that Noah even knew who she really was to me to do her any harm.Still...I was nervous.I felt uneasy.I couldn’t give my full concentration to the meeting.I hated clients who couldn’t understand something directly and had to go around it ten times to understand one simple thing.This client was one of them and he was annoying the hell out of me.Still, he was a valuable client, and I couldn’t afford to lose him.Right after the meeting was over, I politely refused the client’s request to have a meal together, lying that I had another important client meeting, and left.On the drive back, I told myself there was nothing I had to worry about.Watson had his
Serena’s Point of View“Did you get in?”I rolled my eyes even though Adrian couldn’t see me doing that.“I said I got out in front of the building, didn’t I?”“That didn’t mean you went inside.”God!“Yes, Adrian. I’m about to go in.”“Good.”Of course.Good.The most hateful word of all.I adjusted my bag on my shoulder while trying to balance the coffee and packed breakfast in my other hand.Adrian had to visit a client this morning, so he couldn’t come to pick me up today.Knowing he wouldn’t come, I somehow overslept.And I didn’t even have time to have breakfast.I bought a croissant and a cup of coffee on the way.But I deliberately avoided mentioning that to the man who was on the phone with me.Because yesterday, when he told me he wouldn’t be able to come this morning, he specifically said,“But that doesn’t mean you can skip breakfast, Serena.”“Okay, now I have to go,” I said as I was about to enter the lobby.“I’m already inside.”“All right. I’ll see you later.”“Okay. B
Serena’s Point of View“What exactly did they say to you that day?”We were silently enjoying our food when he suddenly asked that.My fork stopped halfway to my mouth.I looked up.“What?”“Lucy. And the other girls.”Oh.He was still thinking about that?Adrian was staring at me, still waiting for my answer.I smiled, trying to brush it off.“It was nothing, Adrian. It was so long ago. Forget it.”“I want to know.”I blinked.It was rare for him to press me for anything.But right now, he clearly sounded as if he wouldn’t give up until I said something.“It really was nothing. I think they were just a little jealous.”“Jealous?”“Yes.”“Of what?”I almost laughed.“Of me.”His brows pulled together.“Why?”God.Why couldn’t this man understand something so simple?“Because you didn’t even smile at them, but you got up to shake my hand and congratulate me.”His expression remained completely serious.“Why should I smile at them?”I stared at him.“God, Adrian. Smiling at people is no
Serena’s Point of View“You remember that?”I couldn’t even believe what I had just heard.Him remembering me that well, even when we barely knew each other.“Yes.”“But...”I stared at him.“We barely knew each other.”Adrian raised one eyebrow.“We knew each other.”"Hm?"“You had already cried in my arms. You told me about that asshole. You told me about little Theo. I took you to Uncle Wang’s, a place that’s close to my heart.”His eyes stayed on mine.“So you still say we barely knew each other?”I looked down, avoiding those eyes staring into mine.Yes.What he said was right.I had done all those things before that day at Lena’s.And he had done so much for me already, including motivating me to apply to Henrix Properties.Still, in my heart, I had always felt like we were from two different worlds.I honestly believed I was just someone he sympathized with.Someone he truly felt like helping.I never thought he would pay that much attention to me.Someone who didn't even deser
Serena’s Point of ViewI shouldn’t have agreed.That was the first thought that came to my mind as I walked to the café where I was supposed to meet Rowen.Last night, I went back to that place I once called home, only to grab some of my clothes and belongings. I didn’t stay there, even when Rowen
Serena’s Point of View“Serena… can you hear me?”Rowen’s voice was the first thing I heard as the darkness slowly faded and I tried to open my eyes.I shut my eyes again as tightly as possible.I wished I could shut my ears too, so I wouldn’t have to listen to his voice. But I couldn’t move my ha
Serena’s Point of ViewAll the lies I had believed so far… all the false hopes I had clung to as if my life depended on them…How had I let myself believe this for so long?It was indeed my husband inside Room 1243, naked, without even a thread of fabric covering him.“Who the hell?!” Rowen’s voice
Serena’s Point of ViewI 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?” H
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