Chapter 11 The end of Serena…… Or is it?
THIRD PERSON’S POV.
Outside, the hands finally let go of her and she turned, only to be face to face with Damian, the anger returned instantly.
She breathed, almost in relief, “Why did you pull me out here”?
“Because I need you to calm down,”
“Calm down? You want me to calm down, do you know what’s going on in there?” She was trying not to scream at this point.
“Yes I do, but I don’t want you to disgrace yourself in the presence of Monterra’s elites, these are powerful people you will need later”. Damian’s voice was calm but firm, “If you act like a crazy person before them, they will never want to be associated with you in the future”.
“Damian, do I look like I care about associating with these people? The same ones that gathered to celebrate my downfall?”
“I think you will,” he stared straight at her. “That is, if you want to try and get your inheritance back.”
She stilled, “You know about my inheritance?”
Damian frowned, saying the next words very deliberately “who do you think sent you the link to their wedding?”.
Damian had always had feelings for Serena. At first, he treated her like a little sister; his father was friends with her grandfather, and they had practically grown up together. He, Serena, and Clara were inseparable as kids. But Charles had instructed him to take special care of Serena, He hadn’t revealed why but Damian guessed it had something to do with her father, Horace.
From a young age, Damian was taught to be a man of his word, so he took every promise he made seriously.
He had fallen in love with Serena, and he wasn’t sure how to tell her until the night she asked him to kiss her. His heart instantly fluttered with joy but it vanished just as quickly when she declared she didn’t have feelings for him and just wanted to check off a stupid bucket list.
When Damian’s father died Charles became his mentor. He treated him like the son he never had, took him on all of their family vacation, and he even sent Serena to the same university Damian was enrolled in so he could keep a watch over her. Charles informed Damian that he and Serena would be engaged on her twentieth birthday, immediately after she graduated.
Damian thought finally, finally his love story with Serena would blossom into a fairytale.
But again, Serena broke his heart.
When Charles announced the future betrothal at her nineteenth birthday party, she had looked at Damian with disgust and disappointment. She cried and screamed, and she even threatened to run away. At last, Charles had no choice but to retract the engagement. He understood then that Serena’s dislike for him ran deep.
But Damian still watched over Serena, because Charles had revealed enough for him to understand that the danger in her life wore a familiar face, a quiet warning, the kind of truth a man only shares when he fears time is running out.
And he was right.
A couple of years after his revelation, Charles went to bed and never woke up.
Damian lost all hope of ever being with Serena again, but he still looked after her, because he had given his word and because he wouldn’t forgive himself if any harm ever came to her.
“So you knew about everything going on and you didn’t tell me until it was too late”, Serena’s stunned voice snapped him out of his trance.
She was feeling betrayed and looked at him like she did the night his engagement to her was announced all those years ago.
“I tried to tell you Serena, but every time I tried to talk to you ran out like someone who couldn’t comprehend opposite gender interaction.”
He didn’t mean for it to come so harshly.
“You obviously didn’t try hard enough. Now because of you, I’ve lost my fiancé and I’m about to lose my properties as well.” Tears streamed down her face.
“Why do you always choose to meddle in my life, Damian? Why can’t you just leave me alone?” She couldn’t understand why she was blaming Damian for things that weren’t his fault, it wasn’t like he owed her any loyalty, she had been nothing but mean to him.
“I don’t understand why you are so upset about losing Jonathan, he never deserved you to begin with”.
She snorted, “And who deserves me? You?”. Her voice was sharp with sarcasm. “How many times do I have to tell you I’m not interested in you before you will have some self-respect and leave me alone?”
She was screaming but she didn’t mean to, it was just easier to direct her anger at Damian.
Damian’s eyes hooded with an unreadable expression. He took her hand and pulled her towards the main house. “You have to stay upstairs and try to calm yourself. There’s no need to create a scandal. Tomorrow we will contact Bill and figure out how to ensure your properties and your family’s company remain in your name.”
She gave in, she didn’t say a word and Damian gently pulled her all the way to her room, she wondered how he knew her room but she didn’t ask, too weak for more confrontations.
Inside the room she stopped at the door, holding it open. “Thank you for bringing me in, you should leave now”. Her eyes plastered to the floor, she was embarrassed by her actions, and didn’t want to disgrace herself anymore in his presence.
“Are you sure you are going to be okay? I want to stay and take care of you”.
“I’m fine, I’ll call the maids if I need anything.” She said calmly.
Reluctantly, Damian walked out, he wasn’t in the mood to go back to the party, so he asked the valet to bring his car around, he drove off immediately after getting in the car.
Serena walked out onto the balcony. This balcony had been one of the reasons she chose this room. She could always come out here to think. From here, she could see the light reflecting from the greenhouse, the faint sound of music filling the air. The parking area was less crowded than when she arrived.
The wedding had come to an end, and it seemed her life had ended with it.
The bedroom door suddenly opened and Steady footsteps followed. She sighed and rolled her eyes, refusing to turn
“Damian, I told you I am fi…”
She couldn’t complete her sentence as cold gloved hands wrapped around her throat. She tried to scream but another hand covered her mouth.
“You stupid little bitch,” she recognized that voice but her thoughts were distorted, she couldn’t place who the voice belonged to.
“How many times do I have to try before I can finally get rid of you? Why do you continue to be a leech?” The voice hissed into her ear, cold and unforgiving.
The hand on her throat tightened, “Your grandfather wanted to protect you, you know. That's why he wanted to marry you to Damian Crowne, but your naivety made my work easier. You unleashed your own destruction when you turned down his proposal. He would have protected you with his life”.
Tears began to run down her face, her life flashed before her eyes. Regret enveloped her.
“But you wanted love right?”, another voice laughed, taunting her, mocking her foolishness. “Now you are going to die, with no one here to save you.”
Her heartbeat quickened, like it was going to tear out of her chest. She tried to struggle, but it was useless. Whoever it was behind her, he was much stronger than she was.
“Say hello to your whore of a mother for me when you see her in hell”.
She turned, trying to get a peek at her murderers, but she was too late.
First was a push.
A shove.
Then the night air filled her nostrils in a rush. Her family's house is three stories tall. She knew soon she would hit the pavement, that her head would shatter on impact.
She heard a scream, but it wasn’t hers, it came from where she was pushed, she recognized that voice clearly.
Somehow, the thought that at least Someone was going to mourn her death made her feel better.
Closing her eyes, she braced herself for what was to be her final moment.
Then a thud.
Her body hit the pavement with a sharp crack, silencing the night.
Blood splattered across the stoned floor. In seconds, the ground was shining a crimson red color.
Servants and onlookers rushed to her side, guests screamed in horror, hands trembling as they struggled to dial 911.
But everyone knew the truth, the truth no one dared to speak.
Serena Gregory was no more.