CHAPTER3
1061 Words
“Get married to Adrian Calloway.”
Serena nearly dropped the glass of crystal she was holding. “You're not serious.” Serena's tone was piercing and filled with disbelief.
Anger and disbelief rippled through her. As she glared at her godmother, Evelyn. After the death of her mother, Evelyn raised her.
Evelyn sipped her tea slowly while sitting elegantly on the couch covered in silk. “Yes, I am.”
While pacing her penthouses' luxurious sitting room Serena sneered. The weight of those words was all she could feel even as the chandeliers' golden glow reflected off the marble floors.
Serena let out a bitter laugh ant then, asked, “ You want me to marry into the Calloway family? Are you insane?”
With a sigh Evelyn carefully placed her teacup down. “Please sit down, Serena.”
“ No,” Serena said firmly. I won't. Because what you're saying doesn't even make sense.”
Evelyn watched Serena with the patience of a skilled manipulator, her hands folded in her lap. “Really?”
Serena's fists clenched together. “I despise the Calloways. All of them.”
“ Good,” Evelyn uttered with ease. “This makes it perfect.”
Serena stopped pacing. Her heartbeat pounded.She shook her head. I won't marry him. Never. I'd rather die!”
With an unreadable expression Evelyn c****d her head. “If you had to choose, would you rather see Moreau Enterprises crumble?
Silence filled the penthouse as thick suffocating words hung between them.
Serena's heartbeat accelerated. I Moreau Enterprises was dying. No it was already dead.
She had worked for weeks to try to keep everything together and fix it. But the figures were honest. All of the investors had left.
The amount of debt was increasing. There was nothing she could do to stop her mother's empire from slipping away from her.
Except from this. Except from getting married to Adrian Calloway. It made Serena's stomach turn.
“You know as well as I do,” Evelyn added in a silky voice. “ That the business won't survive another month. Despite your efforts, you have no other choices. And Richard Calloway—
As she said her voice venomously smooth —has given you a lifeline.”
Serena swallowed forcefully. Richard Calloway. The man she hated the most in the world.
The man she had blamed for her mother's dead.
Serena pressed as tears slipped down her face. Do you think it's easy?”
Evelyn leaned forward her eyes gleaming. “You want revenge. Don't you?”
Serena stiffened.
Evelyns voice grew softer. “Serena you lost your mother to Richard Calloway. She would still be alive if it weren't for him.”
Anger blazed in Serenas chest. Isabelle Moreau, her mother passed away in the most questionable circumstance leaving her behind.
Serena had hated Richard Calloway because of it for years.
Evelyn smiled thinly. “ And now you have the perfect opportunity to cause him pain. Marry his son. Gain their trust.”
Then she paused allowing the impact of her words to sink in. “Take them out from within.”
Serenas breathing became hard. She found herself agreeing to her words.
Perfect payback. Slow. meticulous. Perfect.
She shuddered but not out of fear, from the excitement of it.
She exhaled sharply. “And Adrian? What if he suspects something?”
Evelyn laughed. “ Adrian Calloway is merely a puppet in his father's hands. He will follow Richards instructions. He won't see it coming.”
Serena averted her gaze as her thoughts raced. Was this really happening?
Can she do this?
“By getting married to him you can secure your mother's company and make the man responsible for destroying your family pay,” Evelyn's voice was smooth and hypnitic.
Serena paused. She had hated Richard Calloway for years. Blaming him, dreaming that one day she might inflict pain on him.
Suddenly the opportunity was in front of her.
A sly smile slowly appeared on Evelyn's lips. “Your eyes says it all. You want this.”
Serena took a deep breath. “It will not be a real marriage.”
Evelyns smile kept spreading across her face. “Certainly not.”
There was silence. Then Serena gave a nod. “All right, I will do it.”
A triumphant smile slowly appeared on Evelyn's face.
Serenas chest tightened.
This was not a true marriage.
This was war.
***
The cemetery was quiet. As the tall trees danced to the gentle breeze rustling through them.
Serena remained still and gazed at the headstone in front of her. The named carved into the marble was one she whispered everyday.
Moreau Isabelle. Mother.
Putting down a bouquet of white lilies Serena knelt. The delicate yet stubborn petals trembled a little in the wind.
As her mother had been. Just as she needs to be now .
Her throat tightened as she rubbed her fingers across the cold stone.
She whispered in tears. “ I'm getting married. Mom.”
The words strange and foreign.She swallow hard. “ To Adrian Calloway.”
Silence.
She laughed bitterly. “The son of the man who took you from me—can you believe that? I vowed never to forgive that man.”
She dug her fingernails into her palms.
Richard Calloway had been arrested after the death of her mother.
An investigation was carried out.A long public trial.
In the end, they found nothing. No proof. There was no evidence.
He walked away innocent.
But Serena never believed it.
She had allowed that anger to fuel and harden her for years. She had to accept his help. Moreau Enterprises was dying. She was losing her mothers legacy.
And she had to join the family she hated the most in order to save it. She let out a trembling breath wiping the a lone tear from her eye.
“I never wanted this,” she muttered. “But I have no choice.”
Her fingers curled into fists as she clenched her jaw. “Yes mom. I will. I will marry him. I will get close to them. I'll earn their trust. And then I'll make them pay!”
She kissed her fingers and touched the headstone with them. She turned and left after taking one final glance at the grave.
It's going to be a brutal revenge.
- Writer
