Chapter 66
Serena returned to Crestview Bay, She’d already arranged for someone to carry her things upstairs, leaving herself free to take a slow, unhurried walk before heading home.
As she approached her building, she saw a familiar figure standing beneath the streetlamp.
Zach was dressed in a suit, but he looked disheveled and worn down. His eyes were dull and lifeless. But the moment he saw her, they lit up.
“Rena, you’re finally back! The last time at Larson Group, I let my emotions get the best of me. I said things I shouldn’t have and upset you. This time, I came to apologize. I—”
Before Zach could finish, Serena raised a hand, cutting him off.
“I already got my revenge back then. We’re even now. You don’t owe me anything, so do us both a favor by shutting up and leaving.”
With that, Serena walked past him. She’d barely taken two steps when Zach called out behind her. His voice was laced with desperation.
“I know you don’t want to see me, but I mean it. I came to apologize. If we can’t go back to the way things wete, can’t we at least start over as friends? Like how we used to be?”
That voice—low and gentle—stirred the memories within her. She remembered how their fingertips had brushed under dappled sunlight, the hum of cicadas on a sweltering summer day‘, and how the snowflakes had melted against their warm skin.
But memories were just that—memories.
The past still left an ache in Serena’s chest, but her mind remained sharp and unwavering. She took a steady breath and turned back, shattering the hope in his eyes with a single sentence. “You’re not here because you feel guilty for letting me down. You’re here because you’re afraid of losing the deal with Larson Group.”
She knew Zach too well. Even now, standing under the dim glow of the streetlamp, she could see it–the flicker of greed in his gaze and the way his pinky stiffened ever so slightly because of guilt.
She could read him like an open book.
“Even your apology comes with a price tag. Don’t insult what little sincerity you have left. And let’s not forget that you were the one who looked down on me.
You were the one who thought I was just Hugh’s mistress. But now, you’re the one groveling for a project. It’s only been a few days, Zach. Did you lose your pride that quickly?” Her words hit like a blade. blade.
Zach’s face twisted, cycling through shades of pale and red, but he couldn’t refute a single thing. His spine, once straight, seemed to curve under the weight of her accusations. The cold streetlamp cast sharp shadows between them.
Serena’s hair whipped in the wind as she turned to leave.
“Serena, how can you call Zach shameless when you’re the one playing the mistress?”
Wendy stepped into view abruptly and positioned herself in front of Zach like some kind of shield. Her eyes were red–rimmed and brimming with unshed tears.
She continued, “Zach just wanted to honor the 13 years you two shared and part on good terms. How could you twist his intentions like this?”
It was one problem after another. Was tonight some kind of cursed reunion for her past mistakes?
Serena’s head throbbed. She couldn’t even be bothered to argue.
“He knows exactly why he’s here, whether it’s to cling on to wealth or not.”
With that, Serena swiped her keycard and stepped inside.
Behind her, Zach averted his eyes guiltily.
Halfway to the elevator, she heard a beep behind her. Zach and Wendy had followed her inside. Serena frowned in confusion.
Wendy, however, lifted her chin smugly. “We’re not following you. Zach just really likes this neighborhood, so he bought me an apartment in this very building!”
That kind of bragging was just petty. Serena didn’t spare them another glance and walked straight into the elevator.
How disgusting, Zach was here begging for her help, yet he still let Wendy flaunt their relationship just to get under her skin?
Seeing Serena’s silence, Wendy felt like she had thrown a punch into thin air. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something else, but Zach grabbed her hand to stop her.
