Burn the Marriage, Keep the Crown

Serena's eyes flickered for a moment, memories surfacing from a year ago when Cynthia Lynwood had sent her a message. It was Cynthia's birthday that day. Aaron had gifted her a scarf he had knitted himself. The scarf was rather unattractive, but it was crafted with his own hands, stitch by stitch, and Serena had witnessed the entire process. Back then, she had mistakenly thought it was meant for her, especially with Valentine's Day only a month away. Until-

Serena snapped back to the present, her gaze settling on the roses and diamond before her. These were undoubtedly expensive. But then again, the one thing Aaron never lacked was money.

"Aaron, you really think I'm like some stray you can play with when you're happy and toss aside when you're not," Serena's voice was chillingly calm as she slowly lifted her eyes, a cold smile playing on her lips. "But I'm telling you, that's all in the past. Now, get as far away from me as you possibly can!"

With that, she picked up Aaron's ring and hurled it at him. The ring grazed his forehead and clattered to the ground. Without a backward glance, Serena turned and walked away.

Aaron's simmering anger burst forth, and with his long strides, he quickly caught up to her. "Serena, how long are you going to keep this up?"

"Who's keeping anything up? I've made myself very clear," Serena gritted her teeth. "We are over! Do you understand?"

"I haven't said we're over, so our relationship isn't over!" Aaron retorted.

Serena let out a laugh of disbelief. "Fine, listen closely. I'm getting married tomorrow. Maybe now you'll comprehend plain English?"

Aaron tightened his grip on her hand, then scoffed, "Married? Who else would you marry besides me? Serena, if you're going to make up stories, at least come up with a believable one."

Serena regained her composure, "Let go."

"I will, but you have to promise me you won't be angry anymore."

Serena sighed, "Fine, I'm not angry anymore."

Aaron frowned, sensing something off in Serena's expression-it looked more resigned than anything else. Still, he didn't care. As long as Serena wasn't causing a scene, that was enough for him.

"That's more like it," Aaron said, reaching out to touch Serena's head, but she dodged his hand. He withdrew his hand. "The tickets are ready; we're flying back to Alderburg the day after tomorrow."noveldrama

"Alright." Serena's response was mechanical, like a puppet on strings.

Aaron frowned again, disliking this lifeless version of Serena, but he figured she was probably just exhausted from the past few days of drama, so he let it go. "Let's head back to the hotel."

Serena didn't respond this time, simply walking ahead and getting into the car first. Once at the hotel, she finally spoke her first words to him, "I'm going to my room," before disappearing inside and shutting the door firmly behind her.

As he stared at the closed door, Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose, but the relief of Serena finally not acting out eased some of his tension.

The next morning, at five o'clock, Serena quietly climbed out of bed. She tiptoed to the door, ensuring no one was watching, then returned to her room to switch her SIM card into a backup phone. Confident that Aaron's tracking would only lead him back to the hotel, she boldly walked out. By the time Aaron found another way to locate her, she would already have tied the knot with William.