Chapter 15 A Death Threat
Chris stared at Tyler, disbelief written all over his face, but a sense of smug
satisfaction bubbling inside him. “Tyler, are you telling me that I don’t have to marry Eleanor anymore?” He asked.
Tyler’s gaze was cold, his voice low and menacing. “It’s not that you don’t have to marry her. It’s that she won’t marry you.”
“Tyler, you’ve been fooled by her,” Chris said, squeezing Serena’s hand and locking their fingers together. “Eleanor is playing hard to get. She’s been pretending to be all pitiful. You shouldn’t have promised her three things. If Serena had saved you, she wouldn’t be greedy like Eleanor!”
With every word Chris spoke, Tyler’s expression darkened. When Chris finished his last sentence, Tyler laughed–an icy, knowing laugh. “You sure know Eleanor well.”
Chris thought Tyler was agreeing with him, and just as he was about to say more, Tyler spoke again, his words cutting straight through him. “The simplest, most effective way would be for Eleanor to marry me directly.”
It wasn’t a blow that hurt physically, but it was definitely insulting. Chris opened his mouth to argue but found himself unable to come up with a response.
‘Mr. Langford, that’s not right, Serena spoke up, but Tyler cut her off with a sharp glare.
“We, the Langfords, speak here. You’re an outsider. What’s your business butting in?” Tyler’s voice was cold as ice. He then turned to Chris. “If you can’t bear to let this woman apologize, you can do it yourself. Publicly, declare that your previous relationship was only about shares and that breaking up now means you’ve realized that money isn’t everything.”
in Way 1+
Chris’s face twisted in displeasure. Apologize to Eleanor? was clear now, Eleanor had played him like a fiddle. Acting like the victim, then coming to Tyler for pity, all because of this supposed “life–saving grace.”
“It’s fine if you don’t apologize,” Tyler said, his gaze turning to Serena with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Then-
“He will,” Serena said, her voice tremulous, eyes brimming with unshed tears. “Mr. Langford, Chris will definitely apologize.”
“Good,” Tyler nodded. “I’m leaving for a week. Chris, you know what to do.”
Outside the club, Chris was seething. He fixed his gaze on Serena and asked, “What did you agree to? What kind of dirt does Tyler have on you?”
Serena bit her lip, then suddenly Successfully unlocked! is’s arms, her voice breaking. What else is there? It’s about the past… I’m scared. I don’t want anyone digging up those old wounds. Chris, please… just apologize. Let’s get through this. I know you have never slept with Eleanor, right?”
Chapter 15 A Death Threat
Chris hesitated but then responded with a sarcastic smile. “Of course not. I haven’t. even looked at her in years. If I had to hold her hand, I’d sanitize it afterward.”
Serena forced a smile. “You’re so good to me. Do you really not care about what happened to me?”
Chris cupped her face gently, his tone softening. “You were framed, Serena. If I blamed you for that, it would be like rubbing salt in your wounds. That’s not who I am.”
Serena’s smile wavered. “You’re so kind, Chris. But next week, you’re supposed to get engaged to Eleanor. I don’t want people thinking I’m the other woman. Even though Mrs. Donovan is good to me, she still favors Eleanor. What should I do?”
Chris’s face darkened for a moment. Eleanor had disappeared without a trace, and no one knew where she had gone. Her phone was off, and even asking Vera had gotten him nowhere.
“We still can’t reach Eleanor,” Chris muttered, after a long pause. “If something happened to her, that would be the best–case scenario. If she’s fine, she won’t show up at the engagement. You’ll be standing in for Eleanor to save face for the Donovan family. She should be grateful.”
“But what if Mrs. Donovan pushes the date back?” Serena said anxiously. “How about I go and talk to her? You wait for the good news.
“Okay,” Chris kissed Serena on the forehead. “Are you sure you can handle it alone? Should I go with you?”
“No need,” Serena smiled sweetly. “I can handle it on my own.”
Back at the Donovan family, Eleanor’s mother, Linda, was growing
anxious. She had
been trying to contact Eleanor, but to no avail. The sense of uneous. She had
grew in her chest,
as if she might lose something important. This daughter of hers… was giving her no
peace.
As she reflected on Eleanor’s past behavior, a memory suddenly hit her–when had the relationship with her daughter started to strain?
Rubbing her temples, Linda tried to recall. It had probably started after they adopted Serena. Serena was polite and well–behaved, but Eleanor became restless. She was jealous. Little by little, Eleanor became distant, stopped smiling, and spoke less to them. When asked about it, Eleanor would just brush it off, “What do you care? Do you believe me? If not, why do you want me to explain?”
It was then that Linda started suspecting that the kidnapping incident had something to do with Eleanor. But for the sake of the Donovan family’s reputation, they had kept it quiet. Poor Serena had been caught in the middle.
Thinking of Serena, Linda felt a little better. Serena wasn’t her biological daughter, and she’d been living under their roof all these years, always quiet and overly considerate, never once complaining–even when she was clearly being treated unfairly. She
Chapter 15 A Death Threat
constantly looked out for Eleanor, too. But Eleanor? She’d been spoiled rotten since she was a kid and treated Serena like dirt.
So really, to Linda, the distance between them wasn’t because of Serena. Eleanor had always been a handful. Take now, for example–she was about to get engaged, and what did she do? Disappeared without a word.
“Madam, Miss Farrell has returned,” the maid’s voice broke through her thoughts.
Linda’s face brightened instantly. “Let her in.”
Linda believed Serena had endured so much–losing her father while trying to save Eleanor, suffering from depression because Eleanor had someone bully her, then enduring more abuse in the hospital. Yet Serena never once defended herself.
Linda couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. If only she were my real daughter… maybe i‘ d allow her to marry Chris. She thought.
“Hello, Mrs. Donovan,” Serena, timid and hesitant, stepped into the room. She looked like a frightened deer, eyes darting around, her face marked by uncertainty. “Is Eleanor home?”
Linda frowned. “Who knows where she’s hiding now?“”
To her surprise, Serena suddenly dropped to her knees in front of her. “Mrs. Donovan, please help me.”
“Serena, get up!” Linda said, her voice laced with shock as she saw Serena holding a knife to the throat. “What are you doing?”
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