Chapter 8

Three days remained until the court summons would be formally served to Carter. He still hadn't come home.

Serena watched Vivian's taunting messages roll in, one after another, and simply set her notifications to "Do Not Disturb."

Her legal team had already moved quickly to freeze some joint accounts. She didn't need to gather any more evidence.

The sweetness shared between her husband and his mistress was finally something she could stop paying attention to.

Serena laughed bitterly at the thought, then heard Leo's voice behind her.

"Mom, can you pick me up from school from now on?"

Serena froze. Then she heard him continue, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Vivian hasn't been feeling well lately. She's always at the hospital. Once she's better, you don't have to pick me up anymore."

Serena looked at the boy who was a mirror image of Carter and felt a chill run through her.

After a long silence, she slowly shook her head. "Leo, I'm going to be busy too."

Leo seemed shocked by the refusal. His eyes went red, and he stamped his foot like he always did when throwing a tantrum.

"You're not a good mother!"

Watching him storm off to his room, Serena thought back to the question she had once overheard Carter asking him.

"Would you want Vivian to be your mom someday?"

Leo's answer had been loud and certain. "Of course!"

Thinking of it now, Serena's mouth tasted bitter. She whispered, "You're right. Soon enough, I won't be your mother anymore."

In three days, they would all get what they wanted.

......

The night before the summons was to be served, Carter finally returned to the penthouse.

He carried the cold of a New York winter night on his clothes as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Honey, I'm sorry I kept you waiting."

Serena's body went rigid for a moment before she spoke softly. "It's okay."

In less than ten hours, their story would come to an end.

This would be the last time Carter held her. The last day he could call her his wife.

Serena closed her eyes, her pain so deep it felt numb.

Later, as they lay in bed, Carter spoke. "Honey, over Christmas break, let's go to Hawaii as a family."

The words "as a family" felt like barbs digging into Serena's chest.

She took a deep breath, pushing down the sting in her nose, before answering.

"Okay. Have your assistant arrange it."

But Carter, this time, whether you show up or not, I won't be waiting.

In the darkness, Carter chuckled softly. "Honey, you're wonderful. I love you so much."

The simple word "love" made Serena pause.

It had been so long since she and Carter had said that to each other with any meaning. Hearing it now felt absurd.

By the time she came back to herself, Carter was already asleep, exhausted.

Serena reached out, her fingers tracing the sharp lines of his face, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Too bad our love died somewhere inside all your lies."

......

The next morning, when Carter woke, he reached out instinctively for the warmth beside him.

His hand met cold sheets.

He blinked awake, frowning. "Honey?"

No answer.

He pushed himself up, rubbing his eyes, and picked up his phone from the nightstand.

A missed call from the head of legal.

He was frowning, about to call back, when Serena's name appeared on the screen.

He answered immediately. "Honey, where did you go, I—"

"Carter Sterling." Serena's voice was calm and distant, like nothing he had ever heard from her before.

"Ten o'clock this morning. Manhattan Family Court. My lawyer and I will be waiting for you there."

Carter's heart lurched. Before he could ask anything, the line went dead.

Unease settled deep in his chest, but he quickly dressed in a tailored suit and told the driver to head to the courthouse in lower Manhattan.

At 9:50 AM, Carter stepped out of the car and spotted Serena standing on the grand courthouse steps.

He hurried toward her. "Serena, what are you doing here? What's going on? Legal said someone filed to freeze Sterling Group shares!"

Serena looked up at him, her eyes cold in a way he had never seen before. A flicker of something crossed her face.

Then she turned to Daniel at her side and spoke quietly.

"Daniel, let's go inside. We have a divorce to finalize."