Filed to story: Second Chance Mafia Bride Drama Novel
“Wait, Serena, there’s something else,” Nora called out.
Serena had already turned to leave, but she paused.
Nora continued, “Rubina wants to stay at Rosewood Manor while she recovers. Why don’t you take her back with you?”
“What?” Serena spun around, certain she’d misheard.
“She likes it there and thinks the change of scenery will do her good,” Nora said, her voice smooth and gentle, as if this was the most natural request in the world.
Rubina’s eyes shone with anticipation.
Suddenly, Serena remembered exactly why Rubina wanted to be at Rosewood Manor. Did they really think she’d bring some scheming woman-who had eyes for her husband-into her own house? Did they think she was that na?ve?
“She needs Rosewood Manor to recover?” Serena’s lips curled in a mocking smile.
“She’s your sister. Why can’t she stay for a while?” Gabriel said, clearly annoyed.
A moment ago, he’d actually felt a little guilty toward Serena. Now, seeing her refuse, his temper flared again.
Serena didn’t bother to hide her irritation. “What do you think Rosewood Manor is, a hotel? You think just anyone can come and go as they please?”
Letting her stay for a while-what a joke.
Gabriel’s face darkened. “She’s your sister. Why not?”
Rubina bit her lip, her tone edged with accusation. “Serena, you haven’t even asked Mr. Salerno. How do you know he’d say no? Are you still upset with me? I already apologized…”
Gabriel looked even more displeased.
Serena almost laughed. Where did Rubina get her confidence? As if getting
Mr. Salerno’s approval was that easy.
She pulled out her phone. “Sure. I’ll call him right now.”
Rubina’s eyes lit up, her face full of hope.
Soon, the call connected, but it was Logan’s voice that answered.
“Ma’am, Mr. Salerno is tied up at the moment. Is there something I can help you with?”
“It’s nothing urgent. Rubina wants to stay at Rosewood Manor, but I said no. She thinks I have something against her, so I figured I’d let Mr. Salerno explain it to her himself.”
“One moment, please. I’ll check with Mr. Salerno.”
Everyone waited, the tension in the room thick as fog.
After a short pause, Logan’s voice came back on the line.
“Mr. Salerno wants to know-this sister you mentioned, is she the one who showed up at Rosewood Manor last time and announced she wanted to marry him?”
Gabriel whipped around to stare at Rubina in disbelief.
Rubina’s face went pale, then red, then white again utterly frozen.
Serena almost burst out laughing. In her heart, she was giving Logan a standing ovation.
“Yes, that’s her,” Serena replied, her voice sweet as sugar.
Logan’s tone sharpened. “Mr. Salerno says Rosewood Manor isn’t open to just anyone-especially not people with questionable motives and a history of inappropriate behavior.”
The words landed like a slap across Rubina’s face.
Serena grinned, tilting her head. “Rubina, did you catch that?”
Rubina’s color changed from red to white in a heartbeat. Furious, she snapped, “Serena! You did this on purpose, didn’t you? You set this up-“
Logan interrupted, his voice cool and professional. “Ma’am, Mr. Salerno wants to know if someone’s giving you trouble. Should I bring security over?”
“Enough!” Gabriel cut in quickly, shooting Rubina a glare.
Rubina fell silent at once.
Serena finally replied to Logan in an unhurried tone, “No need. I’ll be heading back soon.”
She ended the call.
“Rubina, care to explain what Logan meant just now?” Gabriel turned to Rubina, his voice sharp and demanding.
“I…” Rubina felt cold sweat bead on her forehead.
She knew just how much Gabriel cared about this marriage arrangement. If he found out she’d deliberately tried to sabotage it, she’d be finished.
Nora, anxious for her daughter, quickly wrapped an arm around Rubina and tried to shield her. “Honey, maybe there’s just been some misunderstanding. You know what kind of person Rubina is-she’d never do something like that!” Rubina immediately chimed in, “That’s right! I was only trying to help Serena
“Rubina, don’t twist the truth.” Serena cut her off with a cold smile. “You went running to seduce my fianc?, and you’re claiming it was for my sake?”
Around them, the staff exchanged knowing glances, sneaking looks at Rubina.
Trying to steal someone’s fianc? and then pretending it was for their own good- how shameless could she get?
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed with suspicion, clearly not buying Rubina’s wild excuse.
Rubina bit her lip. “That’s only because Serena was planning to run away with another man! I was afraid Mr. Salerno would get furious and drag our family into it, so I went to talk to him first!”
“What? Run away?”
Instantly, all eyes snapped to Serena.
She, however, didn’t so much as flinch. Her face was a mask of calm, not a hint of panic.
“If you want to make accusations, at least bring proof. When did I ever plan to run away? And why would I even do something like that?”
“You just don’t have the nerve to admit it! Dad knows all about you and Mr. Salerno-if you hadn’t wanted to elope with him, why would I have gone to talk to him? I nearly sacrificed myself for you, and now you’re trying to blame me!” Rubina buried her face in her hands, sobbing.
“Is what Rubina says true?” Gabriel demanded, his voice rising with anger. Serena inwardly scoffed.
Rubina had already gone home that first day at Rosewood Manor and dropped plenty of hints-Gabriel knew all about it. He hadn’t said a word back then; now suddenly he cared? Even the slowest person wouldn’t take this long to react.
In the end, Gabriel was just playing favorites. Now that Rubina had found something to use against her, he was all too happy to play along.
“My head’s on straight, thank you. Since when does Damien compare to Mr. Salerno? Why on earth would I elope with him?” Serena denied it without hesitation.
“In fact, it was Rubina who kept urging me to go. Thank goodness I didn’t listen to her.”
She gave Rubina a half-smile. “No wonder Rubina was so keen to push me toward Damien-turns out she had her sights set on Mr. Salerno all along.”
Rubina’s face changed instantly. “Serena, don’t you dare slander me!”
“Call it slander if you want. Why not ask Martin and clear things up?” Serena shot back coolly.