Filed to story: Second Chance Mafia Bride Drama Novel
She remembered clearly-there had been ninety-nine roses at first. She’d counted them herself. There were still ninety-nine now, but nearly half had been swapped out! Someone had replaced the rare roses with ordinary ones of a similar color.
Serena’s face darkened. Clutching the bouquet, she strode out of her room. Downstairs, she called the household staff together, her tone sharp and cold.
“Who touched my flowers?”
The maids exchanged nervous glances. “Ma’am, we didn’t touch them. Is something wrong with the bouquet?”
Serena didn’t answer right away. Her icy gaze swept across the room, pausing suddenly.
“May.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to May.
May lowered her head, her face paling as she stepped forward. “Ma’am, I didn’t do anything to your flowers!”
“You’re responsible for cleaning my room, aren’t you?” Serena’s voice was steady but firm.
May twisted the hem of her apron. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Then explain this.” Serena held up the bouquet. At first glance, the rare and ordinary roses looked alike, but on closer inspection, the difference was obvious.
May stammered, “I don’t know anything about it. It wasn’t me-“
“Besides you, who else has been in my room?”
May fell silent, turning even paler. She hadn’t thought swapping a few flowers would be noticed-after all, they were already wilting. Who would care if they ended up in the trash? How could she have guessed Serena would be so particular about a single bouquet?
“Where did you take the flowers?” Serena’s voice was tight with anger. Such an important gift, ruined by someone’s carelessness.
Just then, Alice happened to walk by, and May instinctively looked to her. Alice shot her a warning glance.
Gritting her teeth, May muttered, “I took them out and gave them to someone…”
“Gave them away?” Serena let out a cold laugh. “And who gave you the right to touch my things-let alone give them away?”
Alice stepped forward. “Ma’am, it was just a few flowers. You didn’t seem to care much about them, so why make such a fuss?”
Serena settled herself on the sofa, fixing Alice with an unblinking gaze. “Hasn’t Mary taught you how to speak to me?”
Alice stiffened.
“I’m the lady of this house. Those flowers belonged to me, and it’s up to me to decide what happens to them-not you.” Serena didn’t bother hiding her displeasure.
Ignoring Alice, Serena turned to Mary, who had just come over. “Mary, what’s the rule here at Rosewood Manor? How should something like this be handled?”
Mary said, “If someone causes serious trouble or creates a huge loss, Rosewood Manor will kick them out. But if it’s just a minor issue, we might give them another chance.”
Before Serena could say a word, Mary turned and snapped at May, “Well? Apologize to madam this instant! You’re lucky it was just a few flowers this time-if it had been anything worse, you’d have been thrown out for sure!”
May hurriedly stammered, “Madam, I’m so sorry! Please forgive me just this once!”
Serena let out a cynical, icy smile.
Sneaking into her room and stealing from her, yet in Mary’s words, it was nothing more than “taking a few flowers”?
“Is the management at Rosewood Manor always so lenient?” she asked coolly.
“If you don’t believe me, madam, we can ask Mr. Salerno himself. Let him decide,” Mary replied, her smile a little too forced.
Serena’s gaze was frosty and unyielding. She said nothing.
The silence in the sitting room was so heavy, you could have heard a pin drop. No one even dared breathe too loudly.
The maids all exchanged uneasy glances.
They’d thought the new mistress was just a naive young girl. Clearly, they’d all guessed wrong.
If nothing else, that presence of hers-so calm, so commanding-marked her as anything but ordinary.
Was it just their imagination, or was there a faint echo of Mr. Salerno’s own demeanor in her?
“Fine. This time, I’ll let it go,” Serena finally said after a long pause, her voice level as she looked at May. “But if there’s ever a next time, leaving Rosewood Manor will be the least of your worries.”
May let out a shaky sigh of relief. “Thank you, madam!”
She didn’t take Serena’s warning to heart at all.
Serena stood.
She wasn’t about to make things awkward for Nicholas, stuck between her and Mary.
Letting May off the hook just this once wasn’t a big deal; there would be plenty of chances to deal with her properly later.
“Your bonus for the next few months is suspended. Any objections?” she said to May before leaving.
May’s face stiffened, but she forced a smile. “No objections…”
Inside, resentment burned. The bonuses at Rosewood Manor were famously generous-often more than regular wages. She’d borrowed a lot of money, counting on those bonuses to pay it back.
After Serena left, Alice pulled May aside.
“Don’t worry, May. This is all because of me if they take away your bonus, I’ll make it up to you,” Alice promised.
“Alice, you’re the best,” May said, genuinely touched, forgetting entirely that all the flowers she’d taken had been for Alice in the first place.
“We’re friends, aren’t we?” Alice replied, smiling. “But honestly, I don’t think you’ll last long at Rosewood Manor. Serena’s petty-she might have agreed with my mom for now, but she’ll find a way to get rid of you later.”
May’s expression changed.
Seeing her reaction, Alice sighed. “You pulled every string you had to get this job. It would be such a shame to lose it now…”
May’s eyes flickered with emotion, then suddenly hardened. “Then maybe she’s the one who should be thrown out first!”
A sly little smile tugged at Alice’s lips.
Stealing flowers was really nothing in the grand scheme of things. Serena didn’t even bother mentioning it to Nicholas. He had more important matters to deal with -no need to trouble him over something so trivial.
With the leftover flowers, Serena picked out the prettiest ones, intending to press them in a book. That’s when she realized she didn’t have any books-she’d left her old ones behind at the Greco house, and the rest were back in her college dorm.
She went to knock on Nicholas’s study door.
Logan opened it and, sensing her purpose, politely stepped aside.
“Mr. Salerno, madam is here.”
Nicholas put down his paperwork and looked up. “What is it?”
Serena clasped her hands behind her back and asked sweetly, “Honey, do you have any books you don’t need? Can I borrow a few?”
She’d changed into a fresh outfit-a pale blue dress that set off her long, slender legs. Her eyes sparkled with liveliness, and she stood tall and graceful, a picture of youthful elegance.