Chapter 2
"Mr. Kelsen! Mr. Kelsen, something terrible happened. Ms. Kent... she didn't make it. And when we opened her up, we found out... she really was three months pregnant. It was a baby boy..."
Boom!
Adrian felt his world shatter in that moment. He stumbled back two steps, his cigarette dropping to the floor and snapping apart.
Adrian shouted, "What did you say? Say it again!"
He stormed into the operating room, completely out of control.
It was eerily quiet inside, the air thick with the sickening stench of blood.
Serena lay motionless beneath the white sheets. Her face, which used to be so gentle and full of warmth, was now pale as snow and cold as stone. Her hand dangled weakly off the side of the bed, her nails stained with blood from desperate scratching.
Adrian's hands trembled as he pulled back the sheets.
Blood was everywhere.
The bed was soaked in blood, the crimson so harsh it burned his eyes. Next to Serena's lifeless, flat belly lay a tiny, broken bundle, barely recognizable as a child.
That was his child.
The child he had refused to acknowledge, the one he had personally condemned to death.
"Serena... Serena, wake up!"
Adrian dropped to his knees beside the bed, desperately shaking her cold body, his eyes red, almost bursting with grief. "You're just pretending, right? Wake up! If you just open your eyes, I'll do anything you want! I'll make you Mrs. Kelsen. I'll never see Bella again. Just wake up!"
But only silence answered him.
"Mr. Kelsen, Ms. Kent left this for you," the nurse said, her voice shaking as she handed him a blood-soaked note.
There was only one sentence, scrawled in shaky, uneven handwriting:
[Adrian, I don't owe you anything anymore. I'm returning my life to you. See you in hell.]
Adrian's scream tore through the room, raw and guttural, echoing his agony.
He let out a savage roar, blood suddenly gushing from his mouth.
Clutching Serena's cold corpse amidst the blood-soaked sheets, Adrian finally snapped. His sanity shattered in the crimson chaos.
At that moment, Serena's soul floated above, coldly watching everything unfold. She stared at Adrian's pathetic, overdue affection with nothing but contempt.
Suddenly, a blinding white light sucked her in.
She suddenly felt weightless.
She heard a deep, mocking male voice in her ear.
"Ms. Kent, if you had the chance to start over... who would you choose?"
"Serena, will you marry me? I'll spend my whole life protecting you."
His voice was deep and velvety, whispering in her ear, as the room exploded with applause and playful cheers.
Serena's eyes snapped open, her vision clearing from blurry to sharp.
Red roses carpeted the floor, Swarovski crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead, and there was Adrian, kneeling before her, his eyes full of love. In his hand was a diamond ring, the kind that would drive every socialite in town crazy with jealousy, waiting for her answer.
Serena remembered this moment until the day she died.
In her previous life, she was lost in this beautifully wrapped trap, tears streaming down her face as she said yes to his proposal, never realizing it was her one-way ticket to the morgue.
When Serena stayed motionless for a while, a faint trace of impatience flashed in Adrian's eyes, but his tone remained indulgent. "Serena, are you being silly? Give me your hand, come on."
Serena lowered her gaze, looking at him from above.
His face was still flawless and striking, but in Serena's eyes, it was nothing more than a blood-smeared skull hidden beneath a beautiful mask.
"Protect me?" Serena's laugh was soft, but in the hush of the proposal, it sounded almost mocking.
Her quiet chuckle cut through the silence, making the moment feel strangely off.
She reached out, not to accept the ring, but with a flick of her finger, knocked the pricey diamond right off his hand and onto the floor.
Clink!
The ring rolled across the floor, finally stopping beside the trash can.
The whole room went dead silent.
Adrian's smile froze on his face. He slowly stood up, his brows furrowing. "Serena, are you making a scene? I know you're jealous because I've been spending more time with Bella lately, but at an occasion like this..."
"Adrian," Serena cut him off, her eyes cold and sharp, like a blade, a side of her he'd never seen before. "This ring is too dirty. I wouldn't even want it on my finger."
Bella called out, "Serena!"
Bella couldn't take it anymore. She walked over, lifting her dress slightly, looking fragile and pitiful. "How can you talk to Adrian like that? He spent a whole month planning this proposal. Even if you can't stand me, you shouldn't just throw away his feelings like this."
Tears shimmered in Bella's innocent eyes, on the verge of falling. Such a thoughtful 'big sister', always acting like she cares about everyone else.
Serena looked at Bella, and the raw agony of having her kidney carved out while she was still alive in her previous life hit her all over again.
"Feelings?" Serena scoffed, her tone icy and mocking.
Serena closed in on Bella, her gaze cold and relentless.
Smack!
Serena's slap was so fierce, it sent Bella toppling into the bed of roses.
"Ah!" Bella let out a shriek, clutching her face in disbelief as she looked up.
"Serena! Are you crazy?" Adrian shouted in fury, instinctively reaching for Bella.