Filed to story: Second Chance Mafia Bride Drama Novel
But Alice wasn’t the least bit intimidated. She snorted, raised her hand, and waved something in the air. “Take a look at what I’ve got.”
She was holding a phone-one Serena instantly recognized as her own backup, the one she’d stashed in her dresser drawer.
Serena’s gaze turned cold. “You went into my room?”
Alice ignored the accusation, grinning triumphantly. “Guess what, Serena? What do you think Mr. Salerno will do when he sees what’s on this phone? You always claim you love him, but you’ve been sneaking around with men behind his back!”
The servants began whispering among themselves.
“How could she dare? That’s Mr. Salerno! Cheating on him-does she have a death wish?”
“Shameless. Already married to Mr. Salerno, and still flirting with other men…” Serena’s eyes darkened as she took a closer look at the phone in Alice’s hand. It was definitely hers.
But she was certain-there shouldn’t be anything on it.
“I’ll warn you once: watch your mouth.” Her warning was low and sharp.
Alice just sneered. “What’s wrong? Scared? If I were you, I’d be packing my bags and running far away from Rosewood Manor right about now.”
“Alice!” A stern male voice called from the doorway.
Everyone turned-Logan had just wheeled Nicholas inside.
Nicholas’s handsome face was stone-cold, his gaze fixed on Alice. “What did you just say?”
His tone was so frigid, the air in the foyer seemed to freeze.
The staff, who’d been gossiping moments before, fell instantly silent, barely daring to breathe.
Sweat prickled down Alice’s back, but she recovered quickly. This time, she had Serena right where she wanted her!
She drew a deep breath, emboldened. “Mr. Salerno, Serena doesn’t deserve to be your wife-she doesn’t even belong in Rosewood Manor!”
She thrust the phone toward Nicholas. “She’s been cheating on you, sneaking around with other men! See for yourself!”
A faint chill ran through Serena.
What on earth had Alice found?
She strode forward, but as soon as she glanced at the screen, she froze.
The display was filled with messages from Damien-dozens of them.
In a flash, she realized: there really hadn’t been anything on this backup phone, but it still had her old SIM card. Her main number had already blocked Damien, but the old one hadn’t.
A quick scan revealed Damien’s messages were all syrupy pleas, trying to win her back-sent just this morning.
Panic flared in Serena’s chest. She shot a glance at Nicholas, searching his face for any sign of emotion, but his expression was unreadable. Without a word, he reached out and took the phone from Alice.
Her heart skipped a beat. Unease knotted in her stomach.
“Darling…” she managed, her voice barely above a whisper.
Nicholas didn’t say a word. He stared at his phone for a moment, then set it down on the side table with a dull thud-neither gentle nor harsh, but the sound landed like a hammer in the silence.
The noise struck Serena’s heart, making it clench painfully in her chest.
The room was dead quiet.
Everyone braced themselves. Knowing Mr. Salerno’s temperament, they were certain his anger was about to erupt and when it did, few people could withstand it.
Serena’s nerves were on edge. She imagined just how furious he must be. She parted her lips to explain, but before she could speak, he did.
“If you don’t want to be here, there’s no need to force yourself. Go pack your things-I’ll have someone take you home.”
There was no anger in his voice, only exhaustion and disappointment.
Serena froze, stunned.
Alice, on the other hand, let out a triumphant laugh, her eyes glinting with glee as she looked at Serena, barely able to hide her delight.
“Mr. Salerno…!” Serena reached for his arm in a panic. She knew him too well: this cold, detached response only surfaced when he was deeply disappointed. If he was just angry, he would have shown it-his domineering nature didn’t allow for indifference.
She would have preferred his rage over this kind of “forgiveness.” His indifference meant he no longer cared.
But Nicholas wasn’t interested in anything she had to say. He pulled his arm free from her grasp and gave a terse order. “Logan, take me upstairs.”
He didn’t look back as he disappeared into the elevator, leaving Serena’s heart aching in his wake.
Alice couldn’t resist twisting the knife. “Didn’t you hear Mr. Salerno? Go on, pack your bags! What, planning to cling on and not leave? You should look in the mirror-someone like you, how could you possibly deserve-ah!”
Before she could finish, a sharp slap echoed through the room.
“Serena, how dare you hit me?!”
Serena’s eyes were icy and cold, her beauty edged with chill. “Why shouldn’t I?” she shot back.
Without waiting for an answer, she slapped Alice again, hard enough to send her sprawling to the floor.
Serena stood over her, gaze frostbitten. “No matter what you think of me, I’m still Mrs. Salerno. Who do you think you are to speak to me like that?”
With that, she turned and strode upstairs.
At the bedroom door, Logan was on guard. Serena approached quickly. “Let me in.”
Logan hesitated.
She added, “Don’t worry. If Mr. Salerno gets angry, I’ll take responsibility.”
Logan sighed inwardly and stepped aside.
The bedroom was shrouded in darkness-the curtains were drawn, and no lights were on.
Ever since his illness, Nicholas preferred the room dim.
In the faint light, Serena caught sight of his figure. She walked over, stopping just behind him, her voice careful and soft. “Mr. Salerno…”
At the sound of her familiar address, Nicholas’s eyes darkened further. “Why did you come up here?”
Serena’s lips trembled with hurt. “Do you really want me to leave?”
“I don’t believe in forcing people,” he said coldly. “If your heart’s with someone else, then go.”
“One look at a few text messages and you believe that?” She hurried to him, gripping the side of his chair, kneeling on one knee so she could look up at him, her face full of wounded innocence. “You’d rather trust someone else’s side of the story than hear my explanation?”
Nicholas looked down, his deep gaze landing on her delicate upturned face.
He’d always been decisive, never one to waste time on pointless talk. But when he saw the hurt in her eyes, he finally closed his own, letting out a weary breath. “All right. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Seeing that he was willing to give her a chance, a spark of hope lit up in