Chapter 16 - Take Her On A Cruise

Day after day passed, Serena and Vernon were getting closer but they were still together secretly to avoid the paparazzi who would spread their news.

Serena didn’t have a problem with that because she was even happy if there was news that was shocking about her closeness to Vernon. But Vernon still wanted to cover up their statusless relationship because he thought Serena's career was more important than his.

Suddenly Serena's cell phone rang while she was still lazing on the bed. She immediately picked it up without looking to see who was calling her.

"Serena."

The sexy-sounding voice on the other side and the one she missed, was apparently calling her.

Serena looked at her screen and she immediately smiled to herself knowing that it was Vernon calling her. "Hey, what's up?"

"I got some info from Sunny—"

"Wait, since when did you talk to Sunny?" asked Serena in surprise and curiosity as Vernon spoke to her.

"I asked for her number so I could get information about your whereabouts and what your schedule is."

Instantly Serena smiled again and this time her heart skipped a beat. Her cheeks were flushed even though Vernon was not in front of her.

"Hmm, alright. What's up?"

"You're on vacation for a week, right? I want to take you on a cruise."

Serena's eyes widened, bright and surprised. She got up from the bed and sat up straight. "What? A cruise? Why all of a sudden? I haven't prepared anything, Vernon!"

"As I was inviting you to dinner with my family, just bring yourself. The rest you can buy your supplies there. I'll pick you up in the next hour. So, get ready and I'll see you later."

The call was abruptly ended by Vernon, giving Serena a heart attack as she still looked confused after receiving Vernon's call.

She blinked her eyes and got ready as quickly as possible. But of course, she had to look beautiful and look sexy in front of Vernon.

The various clothes she had, she tried on one by one to look as perfect as possible in front of Vernon, because for her, being a celebrity made her look beautiful, especially in front of the man she liked.

"Good, everything is ready. I only brought the necessary things and the rest I just need to enjoy my time with him," she said, smiling.

With her heart pounding Serena waited in her living room. She was dressed to the nines, and she was sure Vernon would be at her door in no time.

Sure enough, there was a knock on her door and she opened it with a smile but what she saw was not Vernon, but her ex-boyfriend, Henry.

Her smile faded instantly, she even wanted to close the apartment door, but Henry held it back.

"I wanna talk, Serena. Please, give me a chance to talk."

Serena sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "We have nothing to talk about, Henry."

"I want you to come back to me. Please."

There was no hint of wanting to go back to her past. Especially since her past hurt her so deeply.

Serena did not deny that she still had feelings for Henry, but somehow, she could not. She never wanted to live her romance with an old person.

"I can't," Serena said firmly. "And that will always be my answer.

"Is it because of that guy?"

Serena clucked and shook her head. "Don't you still realize that the reason I chose to leave is because you hurt me, Henry? You were with another woman! Not just kissing or eating together, but you were fucking her! You fucking her cunt!"

Serena's temper exploded. She raised her voice, not caring if anyone heard. She thought back to two months ago, the circumstances that made her break down and choose to end her relationship with Henry.

For her, there would never be a second chance for a traitor like him.

"Why not just be with her?! Why do you still want to be with me who doesn't even want to be with you anymore?! Just looking at you makes me think of that time!"

"You're the jerk I've ever known in my life! All these years with you, that's the first thing I knew that you were that jerk!"

"If I wasn't enough for you back then, you should have let me go, not compare me to other women and even fucking her behind my back!"

Again and again, Serena lashed out at Henry relentlessly, not caring if she sounded rude and heartless. Because the truth was that she did feel that her heart was already broken because of Henry. She just needed to fix it herself, which she thought, by meeting Vernon, could heal it.

Even that was proven, Vernon was the best version of her life after she was with Henry, the asshole version in her past.

"Go away!" shouted Serena who wanted to close the door but Henry still held it back.

With all her might, Serena pushed the door closed and locked it perfectly, but then she fell to the floor, making her moan in pain.

"Fuck you!" Serena grimaced.

"Serena, I'm sorry ... I—"

"Go away, asshole!" Suddenly Vernon's voice rang out, making Henry stand up and look at him coldly, hatefully.

Vernon helped Serena to her feet and kept his hands on her waist. "I said, go away and never come back again!"

"So you're really with him? You got a replacement a lot faster than I did," Henry said as if he were the victim of their relationship.

Serena ignored him and chose to slam the door until she sighed.

Her tears fell and Vernon took her in his arms. "Now, you're okay. I'm sorry I came late. There was a little accident on the road."

"Who was in the accident? You're okay, right?" Serena looked at him with her wet eyes. Even she could still worry about him rather than herself.

"There's no need to worry. It's definitely not me."

"He wouldn't have just given up, Vernon. I know him. You could say he's a hard worker to get what he wants," Serena said.

"Well, we'll see how it goes. I already have a way of making him give up if he's still around."

Serena looked at him and believed that Vernon would help her as he said. She was also reassured by the presence of Vernon who had arrived at the same time.

After making sure Serena was calm enough, Vernon asked, "Are you ready? Or do you want to delay our departure?"

Serena shook her head quickly. "I've been this careful and you've also prepared everything, there's no way I'm canceling just because of him, right?"

Vernon smiled and ruffled her hair. "Good girl. Let's go then."

They walked out of the apartment together and wore sunglasses to avoid the public eye. But Serena vaguely felt that someone was taking pictures of them because she could hear the sound of a camera clicking.

She stopped and looked around, making Vernon turn to her. "What's wrong?"

Serena was silent and still making sure. She thought it might not matter if someone took a picture of them. After all, they were both single.

"Nothing. Let's go."