All Chapters of Seven Years Later: My Husband wants me back : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

SERENA POVSmoke hit my lungs before I even saw the flames.The charity gala at the Grand Regal Hotel was suddenly filled with people screaming through the hallway. Fire roared through the service wing, tearing across the velvet curtains and turning the grand ballroom into an inferno.Panic exploded around me. A fleeing guest shoved past, knocking me off my feet. I crashed hard onto the floor, my hands scraping against broken glass. Pain shot up my ankle as a burning wooden beam slammed down, pinning my legs to the ground.I coughed hard, my eyes burning from the thick black smoke. I couldn't move."Help!" I cried out, my voice raspy and weak.Through the thick haze, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face. A tall man in a dark suit was charging straight toward the smoke. My heart leapt with foolish hope.Jackson.Even though he had spent the last few weeks pretending to be his dead twin brother Jaden, my eyes knew him instantly."Jackson! Over here!" I screamed, waving a hand.He didn'

SERENA POV"What?" I gasped in shock. Jackson didn't offer a single word of explanation. Instead, he just stood there, leaning back against his massive dark oak desk, letting out a loud, chilling laugh that irritated me to the core. The sound echoed off the high glass walls of his office, mocking my freedom, my hard work, and every single bit of peace I had built over the last seven years."You are completely insane, Jackson!" I spat, my voice trembling with pure rage.Without waiting another second, I turned around and sprinted out of his office. I didn't care about the shocked looks from his executive secretary or the whispers of the employees in the hallway. I threw myself into the empty elevator, slamming my hand against the basement floor button over and over again until the doors finally slid shut.The moment I reached the underground garage, I scrambled into my car, pulled the door shut, and collapsed against the steering wheel.A sharp, familiar ache flared through my lower b

SERENA POVThe funeral is in three days, Jackson," I whispered, my voice cutting through the quiet hallway like a sharp blade. "Are you really going to let them bury an empty box... or are you going to tell me why my husband is standing right in front of me?"The air between us went ice-cold.My fingers dug into his wrist, holding him tightly right where the white, jagged line ran across his skin. I knew every millimeter of that scar. I had spent five years tracing it with my fingers in the dark while he lay beside me, rigid and distant, wishing I were someone else.For a split second, a flicker of sheer panic crossed his face. His dark eyes widened, and his chest heaved as he sucked in a sharp breath. The mask slipped. For one glorious, heartbreaking second, the man standing in front of me didn’t act like Jaden. It was Jackson. My Jackson. The cold, unyielding husband I had wept over for four agonizing days.Then, just as quickly, the mask slammed back into place.He pulled his hand o

SERENA POV“What the hell?"The words escaped my throat as a breathless, ragged whisper.My eyes burned as I stared down at the documents in my hands. The divorce papers were cold enough, but the power of attorney form dated two weeks before the crash was pure poison. He had planned this. Jackson had systematically handed over his life, his fortune, and his future to Avery while leaving me with nothing but empty grief.Heavy, hurried footsteps echoed down the hardwood corridor outside the study.My heart slammed against my ribs. I shoved the paper stack back inside the crisp white folder, slid it into the hidden compartment, and pushed the secret latch shut until it gave a muted click. Swooping down, I ducked behind the heavy mahogany desk, crouching in the cramped space near the leather armchair just as the brass doorknob turned.The oak door swung open with a creak."Why is this door open?" Jackson's deep, smooth voice filled the room, sharp with immediate suspicion. "It's normally

SERENA POVThe bedroom had become my golden cage.I paced the floor back and forth, the heels of my shoes clicking a frantic, restless rhythm against the dark polished wood. My heart felt like a trapped bird beating itself bloody against my ribs. Every wall of this mansion was suffocating me, suffocating the truth. I could still hear the raw, terrifying roar of Jackson's voice echoing in my ears from the greenhouse, how he had looked at me with such venom, cradling Avery like she was made of fine glass while branding me a monster.They were turning my reality inside out. Avery’s cruel, victorious smile as she threw herself onto the cold stone tiles played over and over in my head, a nauseating loop that made my skin crawl with helpless rage."I'm not crazy," I whispered into the quiet room, pressing my trembling palms against my temples. "I know my own husband. I know his voice, his shoulders, his touch... I know it's him."Suddenly, a sharp, blinding pain shot straight through my low