Serena's POV
I just wanted to have lunch with a friend. A simple, f*****g lunch. Was that too much to ask for after everything I'd been through?
But no—there he was, Ryan f*****g Blackwood, standing at our table looking like someone had stolen his favorite toy.
A toy he'd thrown away himself.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" As Julian walked away,I kept my voice low but couldn't hide the razor edge. My hands trembled slightly under the table. "Following me? Spying on me?"
His jaw muscle twitched—that familiar tension I'd seen a thousand times—but he didn't back down. Those steel-blue eyes just drilled into mine, unapologetic.
"And you came running like some jealous husband," I continued, shaking my head. My chest felt tight, like something was squeezing my lun
