Chapter 46
She’d always assumed that even if the once-proud Seren ever returned to Seaside City, she’d come back with her head hung low, humbled and disgraced.
Especially after what happened with Sheridan-surely, marriage would be out of the question for her now. Seren would become nothing more than a laughingstock.
But to her shock, Seren returned to Seaside City with her pride wholly intact, just as untouchable as before. And now, she was married to Lennon-the one man Carla had never dared to dream of.
Seren caught Carla’s stunned expression and smiled.
Carla was her younger sister.
Once upon a time, Seren had cherished Carla with all her heart. If Old Mr. Rutledge gave Seren a sweet, she’d save it for Carla. Even her pocket money- half would go straight to her little sister.
And what had she gotten in return?
Betrayal, when she was at her lowest.
When Seren left for Riverbend City, the Bradley family treated it as a shameful secret; no one dared speak of it. But somehow, the story got out, twisted and embellished, and soon everyone in Seaside City was whispering about her.
The one who spread those rumors-the one who poured gasoline on the fire- was Carla.
“Seren is so shameless,” Carla had said. “That guy didn’t even like her, but she kept throwing herself at him. Even without a title, she clung on. My parents tried to talk sense into her, but she just wouldn’t listen p>
“She’s got a one-track mind for romance. Even my brother says there’s no hope for her p>
“I’m honestly embarrassed to have a sister like her. Why couldn’t she be someone else’s sibling instead of mine p>
These were Carla’s actual words.
When Nadine told her, Seren could hardly believe such spiteful things had come from her own sister’s mouth.
To this day, she couldn’t understand how someone so close could speak about her with so much malice.
It was like being stabbed in the back by the person she trusted most.
Seren looked at Carla quietly. Now, she finally saw her for who she truly was.
“That’s right. Sorry to disappoint you,” Seren said, her voice calm. “I suppose you were hoping for a good laugh at my expense. But now you won’t get the chance. That must really upset you, doesn’t it p>
“Sis, that’s not it-I’m just so happy for you,” Carla stammered, shaking her head and scrambling to recover.
But she wasn’t trying to save face with Seren. She was only worried about maintaining her sweet, innocent image in front of the others.
“Enough. Don’t bother pretending in front of me p>
Once, Seren might have spared Carla some dignity in public-after all, this was Carla’s birthday party.
But now, she realized Carla didn’t deserve any such courtesy.
Just thinking about all those rumors made Seren’s blood boil; she had the sudden urge to slap Carla hard across the face.
Those venomous words had
haunted her for three years. She’d even started to believe she could never show her face in Seaside City again. –
And Carla had been the ringleader.
“Let’s go. Don’t waste your energy on people who don’t matter, Mrs. Crestwell p>
As if sensing her turmoil, Lennon spoke softly at her side, his warm hand tightening reassuringly around hers.
His gentle tone cut through her anger, soothing her like a calming breeze.
Seren instinctively turned to look at him.
Lennon had no idea of the history between her and Carla, but his eyes held nothing but unwavering support for her.
Seren’s heart settled.
“Alright,” she replied quietly, casting Carla a cold, dismissive glance before turning to leave without looking back.
Behind her, Swain watched Seren’s resolute figure disappear, his eyes vacant.
Seren didn’t need his protection anymore. In fact, she hadn’t even looked his way the entire evening.
He remembered when Seren first came back to the Bradley family,
how she used to chatte net
him about things he barely cared about.
She was always quiet around strangers, but with him, she’d talk about everything-where she’d been, what she’d eaten, who she’d met. All these fittle things, she’d share them tirelessly.
Back then, he’d found her annoying.
But as time passed, Seren spoke to him less and less. She stopped clinging to
him, and he’d thought the world was finally peaceful.
Now, even something as monumental as her marriage happened without a word to him, her big brother.
Only now did he realize-everything had changed because Seren no longer cared about him.
Or maybe, in her eyes, he was just another outsider now—someone who didn’t matter.
Swain buried his face in his palms, a profound ache taking root in his chest-a slow torment eating him alive from the inside out.