Chapter One Hundred And Thirty

Chapter One Hundred And Thirty
Serena’s Pov

I sat there in my office, frozen for a few seconds, just staring at the message on my screen. I never expected that Killian would send such and my mind had never gone there ever since he told me to leave the house and his life.

“In case you're not aware, beautiful, I never signed our divorce papers, neither did I finalize it. You know what that means.”

I read it again slowly, as if the words might somehow change. They didn’t. The longer I looked at it, the tighter my chest felt. My hand trembled slightly as I placed the phone on the table and leaned back in my chair, rubbing my temples.

What exactly was he trying to say? That we were still legally married? Oh, no.

A small laugh escaped me, one that didn’t sound amused at all, and I shook my head. 

“Unbelievable,” I muttered under my breath.

Killian always found new ways to push me to the edge. He was manipulative, smart, and very intentional with his moves. He knew how to get under my skin, and he was doing it again. Why exactly was he like this? And why did he have to relish such games?

I decided to ignore it and picked up a pen, trying to sign one of the documents Ryan had dropped on my desk earlier, but I couldn’t even focus on the words. The letters blurred before my eyes, and I dropped the pen in frustration.

“This man is going to drive me crazy,” I murmured under my breath.

Just then, my office door opened slightly, and Ryan poked his head in. “Ma’am, are you okay?”

I looked up quickly, trying to compose myself. “Yes, I’m fine,” I lied. “What is it?”

He stepped in fully, holding a file. “I wanted to give you the updated report from the shareholders of a particular company. We just got another two to agree to sell.”

I blinked and forced a smile. “That’s good news.”

He nodded. “I’ll keep working on the remaining ones today.”

“Good. Make sure the ones we have targeted are all convinced before tomorrow morning,” I uttered calmly. “Offer them a small bonus if necessary, but don’t tell them why.”

“Understood,” Ryan said, then hesitated. “Ma’am… is something wrong? You look a little tense,” he spoke, noticing my demeanor.

I hesitated, not sure what to say. I didn’t want to drag him into my personal mess. 

“Nothing important,” I said softly. “Just distractions.”

He nodded politely. “Alright then. I’ll get back to work.”

As soon as the door shut behind him, I let out a deep sigh and leaned forward, resting my elbows on the desk. My phone was still there, the screen black now, but I could feel the weight of that message like it was staring right at me.

Why now? Why would he suddenly bring this up after everything?

He had the chance to finalize the divorce months ago, but no, he just had to hold onto something, just to keep control. Typical of him. Always holding the strings, and needing to have the last say.

I picked up my phone again, turned it on, and scrolled through our last few texts. There was a time I would have melted seeing him call me beautiful, but now the word only made me angry.

It reminded me of everything he had done; how he belittled me, ignored my efforts, and treated me like I was disposable. He only called me beautiful when he wanted something.

Not this time, and not ever again.

I started pacing around the office, trying to calm myself. I had to stay focused. I had a company to run, people to manage, and plans to execute. I couldn’t afford to let him mess with my mind again.

Still, the more I tried to ignore it, the angrier I became. Finally, I snatched up my phone and typed to him immediately.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

I stared at the words for a moment, wondering if I should delete them. But I hit send. He had to know I already saw the message.

A few seconds later, the delivered mark appeared, followed by the three dots.

He was typing.

My stomach tightened. I could almost see his smug grin as he stared at his phone, enjoying this little power play. He loved this; watching me react. He just thrived on my anger, on my resistance. This was someone that was begging for my forgiveness. This is just proof that he's not worthy of my love.

“Come on, Killian,” I muttered impatiently. “What game are you playing now?”

The typing dots disappeared, and for a brief moment, I thought maybe he had decided not to respond. I was already turning back to my work when the phone buzzed again.

I hesitated, staring at the screen as the notification popped up. 

My heart thumped faster, not from excitement, but from pure irritation. Then I opened the message, bracing myself for whatever he had sent.

“Come over to my house by 2pm, and we will sort things out.”

I froze.

For a second, I thought I must have read it wrong. I blinked, looked again, but the words were still there; bold and clear.

“Sort things out?” I repeated under my breath, scoffing.

Of course, that was his way of saying he is still in control.

It wasn’t enough that he had embarrassed himself in front of everyone with his pathetic love displays. It wasn’t enough that I had publicly rejected him. Now, he wanted to pull me back into his orbit again.

I tossed my phone onto the table and exhaled slowly. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said to the air.

But even as I stood there, pretending I wasn’t affected, I knew this was far from over because Killian never sent messages without a reason.

And the fact that he was asking me to come over meant that something bigger was coming; something I probably wasn’t ready for.