The love we keep

He never trusted me

Serena returned downstairs, waiting for Jacob to join her. However, he was taking his time. Just then, Lucy approached her, a sly grin spreading across her face. "What are you trying to do with the food you poisoned?" Lucy asked, her voice laced with malice.

Serena's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean poison? Are you joking?" Lucy's smirk grew wider. "I saw you, don't lie." Lucy was aware that Jacob was approaching, and she raised her voice, "Wow, you want to kill Sir Jacob, so you can be with your lover, right?"

Serena's expression remained calm. "Lucy, you're out of your mind. I made this food, and I would never do anything to harm Jacob, let alone kill him." Jacob, who had been watching the scene unfold from the stairs, finally spoke up, his voice cold and authoritative. "What's going on here?"

Serena explained, "I don't know what Lucy is talking about. I made the food and came to call you immediately. And Lucy is accusing me of poisoning the food." Jacob turned his attention to Lucy, his eyes narrowing. "Lucy, why are you accusing Serena of such a thing, when she knows she's going to eat from the food too, along with Ma Ruth?"

Lucy's smirk faltered, but she insisted, "Sir Jacob, I swear I saw her. She mixed something into the food." Serena's eyes locked onto Jacob's, her expression pleading. "Jacob, you know I would never do that, right?"

Jacob walked towards the dining table, pointing at the food. "Umm, who knows? You can't know a person's true intentions. And the only way you can prove Lucy wrong, Serena, is to taste the food." Serena's heart beat rapidly as she looked at Jacob in disbelief. So, he never trusted her?

She saw Ma Ruth approaching and rushed to her side. "Ma Ruth, you've known me for so long. You know I would never do such a thing." Jacob's voice rose in anger. "Serena! You're prolonging everything. Just taste the food, then everybody will eat from it too, when you're fine."

Tears welled up in Serena's eyes as she slowly walked to the dining table. She took a spoon and hesitantly took a bite of the meal she had prepared. She looked at Jacob, a forced smile on her face. "Here!"

Lucy smiled to herself, thinking, "Thank God my plan worked this time. Serena will be out of the picture soon. I just knew it. At least Jacob will see how pretty I look." Ma Ruth gave Serena a concerned glance. "Lucy, you can see you were wrong, right?" Lucy looked at Serena, her expression unrepentant. "I saw her mixing something into the meal, so I felt she poisoned it."

Jacob's expression turned stern. "Lucy, this is your second strike. The third one, I swear you're out of this house."

Serena said, her voice laced with hurt, "At least you can eat your meal now, without being scared I poisoned it." She wiped away her tears and headed towards the stairs.

Lucy, trying to capitalize on the situation, said, "Umm, Sir Jacob, the meal must be cold now. I think I should make you another meal." She grabbed the food tray, but Jacob stopped her.

"What is your work here?" Jacob asked, his tone firm. Lucy remained silent, and Jacob yelled, "Answer me!" Lucy took advantage of the moment and dropped the food tray, spilling the contents onto the floor.

"I'm so sorry, sir," Lucy said, trying to appear apologetic. "But I can also cook. I can make you a meal you'll love." Jacob's expression turned skeptical.

"Don't you dare," Jacob warned. "I'm beginning to think you did this. Something is going on." Lucy protested, "No, sir, I just think the food isn't good enough for you to eat anymore. So I want to make you another."

Jacob's voice rose. "Remember, you're just a cleaner in this house? A cleaner, and nothing more. Serena is the only person to make my meal, or Ma Ruth. Leave here." Lucy felt embarrassed and humiliated as she quickly walked away.

Meanwhile, Serena was in her room, feeling unwell. She thought her stomach was just upset, but as she stood up, everything became blurry, and she fell to the ground.

Jacob heard a loud bang from upstairs and rushed to Serena's room. He knocked on the door, calling out, "Serena? Are you okay? Open the door?" When Serena didn't respond, Jacob grew worried and yelled out her name several times.

Finally, Jacob decided to enter the room and found Serena lying on the floor, her face pale. He quickly picked her up and rushed downstairs, grabbing his car keys on the way. He sped to the hospital, his heart racing with concern.

At the hospital, Jacob paced anxiously outside the emergency room. After what felt like an eternity, the doctor emerged. "What's happening?" Jacob asked, his voice laced with worry. "It's been two hours."

The doctor's expression was grave. "Thank God you brought her in early, or she wouldn't have made it. She was poisoned with snake venom." Jacob's heart burned with anger, but he asked, trying to remain calm, "Doctor, will she be fine?"

The doctor replied, "It depends on when she wakes up. We'll run some tests on her again to make sure she's okay." With that, the doctor walked away, leaving Jacob alone with his thoughts.

Jacob's anger boiled over as he thought, "Really, Serena? So you actually wanted to kill me?" But deep down, he knew that couldn't be true. Something wasn't adding up.

Hours passed, and Serena was finally moved to the ward room. Jacob sat on the couch beside her, watching over her as his mind wandered. Did she actually want to poison him? No, Serena wouldn't do such a thing.

Just then, Serena's eyes fluttered open, weakly gazing at the ceiling. She knew she was in the hospital; the bed didn't feel like her own. Groaning in pain, she clutched her belly. Jacob immediately stood up, concern etched on his face. "Are you okay?"

Serena forced a smirk, avoiding eye contact. "I'll definitely be fine, thanks." Jacob's expression softened. "You need to rest." Serena insisted, "I'm okay, I want to leave here. Why did you bring me?" Jacob calmly replied, "You need to rest, okay." He sat back down on the couch.

Serena attempted to stand up, but the nurse intervened, "Ma'am, you're still weak; you can't go now. We need to run some tests on you. You'll need to take your drip, and maybe you'll be fully well by then." Serena's smirk returned. "I don't want to stay here. Okay, if you want me to stay here, tell that man to leave."

The nurse glanced at Jacob, who was already watching the exchange. Jacob nodded, indicating he would leave. When Serena saw Jacob exit, she calmly lay back on the bed. The nurse administered an injection, and Serena's eyes grew heavy once more, drifting off to sleep.