He Kept Her, Refused to Divorce Me

"Miss Quinn, the papers is ready. Once you and Mr. Kane sign it, the divorce will become legally binding. After the thirty-day waiting period, the court will finalize the divorce." Serena sat quietly on the sofa with the papers resting in her hands, calmer than she had expected to feel. The tears, the rage, the humiliation from earlier all seemed to have burned themselves out, leaving behind only exhaustion and a strange kind of clarity. By the time Adrian finally returned home, it was already past two in the morning. Hearing footsteps approach, Serena slowly lifted her head. Her voice was slightly hoarse, but steady enough not to betray a trace of weakness. "Adrian, you're with Chloe now, so why are you still married to me?" He stopped mid-step, clearly caught off guard by how composed she sounded. A flicker of surprise crossed his face before he gave a short, cold laugh and loosened his tie with casual impatience. "Divorce?" he repeated. "Rena, how are you still this naive?" "The company's at a critical stage right now. Investors, media, business partners, everyone's watching me. My devoted-husband image can't collapse at a time like this." He shrugged off his suit jacket and tossed it onto the couch as though discussing something entirely ordinary. "Besides, men at my level all have women on the side. You're the wife. No one can replace your position." Then, as though he were offering her reassurance she ought to be grateful for, he added calmly, "Coco's sweet and obedient. She knows her place. She'll never threaten you." Nausea twisted in Serena's gut, and she interrupted him before he could continue. "Okay, I understand. I need to make a purchase, so I just need your signature." She set the divorce papers on the desk, carefully disguised as a standard purchase contract. Adrian barely glanced at it before signing his name with lazy indifference. "Next time, let my assistant deal with trivial things like this. You don't need my signature for every little purchase." The moment the words left his mouth, his phone rang. Adrian answered without hesitation, not even bothering to avoid Serena. Chloe's spoiled, sugary voice drifted through the speaker loud and clear. "Ade... I'm still at the hospital because of my ruptured ovarian cyst. It's your fault for being so rough tonight." She paused before continuing softly, "It's thundering outside, and I'm scared. Can you stay with me?" After hanging up, Adrian gestured toward the designer bags and jewelry piled around the room. He said they were meant to make up for what he'd done. Once he was gone, Serena packaged the signed divorce papers and mailed them to her attorney. Then she turned her attention to the gifts, studying them in silence. The shoes were in the wrong size, the dresses far too large for her frame, rings that had never once matched her measurements. For a long moment, she simply stared at the expensive collection of careless mistakes before finally letting out a quiet laugh filled with bitter disbelief. The gifts were just like Adrian himself: thoughtless, detached, and long past their expiration date. Without hesitation, she swept everything into the trash. After cleaning up the mess, Serena changed clothes, grabbed her purse, and drove straight to the largest nightclub in Northhaven. The entire place pulsed with excess. Neon lights flashed across writhing bodies while deafening music shook the walls hard enough to rattle her bones. Men and women tangled together on the dance floor beneath clouds of smoke and alcohol-heavy air, all of them chasing temporary pleasure with desperate intensity. Serena sat alone at the bar drinking one glass after another until warmth and dizziness finally blurred the sharp edges of her thoughts. Then, with alcohol burning through her veins and heartbreak turning recklessness into courage, she slammed her hand against the counter. "I've got money," she declared drunkenly. "Bring me the hottest man in this club." The words had barely left her mouth before someone caught her wrist and pulled her backward into a cold, solid embrace. Startled, Serena looked up and found herself staring into a pair of dangerously beautiful eyes. The man was Lucas Monroe, Adrian's closest friend. Unlike Adrian's polished corporate elegance, Lucas carried himself with the effortless confidence of a man who knew exactly how attractive he was and had long since stopped pretending otherwise. The corners of his lips curved slightly as he lowered his head toward her, amusement flickering through his gaze. "If you're looking for company," he said lazily, "why not choose me instead?" The alcohol left Serena's cheeks burning hot as she instinctively tried to push him away, though her strength was weak and unsteady. "Not you," she muttered. "I can pick whoever I want. I'm getting divorced today, and I'm happy." Lucas's smile deepened slightly, clearly entertained by her reaction. "Then let me introduce myself properly," he said, sounding almost as though he were delivering a business proposal instead of offering to sleep with her. "First, I'm clean. Never slept around. My romantic history is practically blank." He lifted one finger calmly before continuing, "Second, I work out every day. Eight-pack abs, excellent stamina, and I'm generously equipped everywhere that matters, so trust me, you won't be disappointed." Serena stared at him in drunken disbelief while Lucas leaned even closer, his voice lowering into something dangerously teasing. "And lastly, I happen to be Adrian's best friend." His eyes locked onto hers as a slow smile spread across his face. "Sleeping with me would be the perfect revenge against him, wouldn't it?" Serena looked at him for a moment before letting out a faint, amused laugh. He did have a point. In situations like this, a handsome man with a clean romantic history was practically a rare commodity. By the time they reached the private suite upstairs, the atmosphere between them had already shifted into something far too dangerous to stop. A little flirting turned into kissing, the kissing turned breathless, and somewhere along the way, neither of them bothered pretending to stay rational anymore. What began as reckless revenge quickly spiraled into a night neither of them held back from, and by the time it was over, Serena was so exhausted she fell asleep in Lucas's arms almost instantly. The next morning, Serena woke up to find a note Lucas had left behind. I've got to leave the country to deal with something complicated. I'll probably be gone for about a month. When I get back, don't think you're getting out of taking responsibility for this. Serena stared at the note. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Her mind immediately spiraled. Crumpling the note into a ball, she tossed it into the trash. She'd slept with Adrian's best friend to get back at him. The whole thing was insane.