Filed to story: Second Chance Mafia Bride Drama Novel
“Out,” he barked, voice steely.
In the dim light, she could see the rigid line of his jaw, the striking cut of his profile, but not his expression-only the anger radiating from him.
“Logan said you weren’t doing well,” Serena said softly, her voice gentling. “I was worried about you.”
“Worried?” His tone shifted, the anger ebbing a little. She could feel his gaze settle on her.
“Yes.” She crouched beside him, one hand gripping the wheelchair’s arm, the other reaching through the darkness, searching for his hand.
She accidentally brushed his thigh; his muscles tensed instantly. The next moment, he seized her hand.
This time, though, his grip was measured-firm enough she couldn’t pull away, but gentle enough not to hurt her.
“What are you doing?” His voice was strained.
Serena felt a little guilty, like she’d unintentionally crossed a line, but she tried to sound innocent. “I’m looking for your hand. I can’t see in here.”
“…And why do you need my hand?”
She turned her hand over, wrapping her fingers around his wrist and, under the pretense of seeking comfort, quietly checked his pulse. “You’re upset, aren’t you? I just want to comfort you.”
Nicholas fell silent.
Strangely, he didn’t pull away.
A moment later, Serena finished, her emotions a confusing mix of relief and frustration.
She was relieved-she could treat Nicholas’s illness. With her here, there was no way he’d die before thirty, as all those famous doctors had predicted.
But she was frustrated too-she didn’t have the key medicine. It would be months before it was produced at the Green Thumbs Botanical Research Institute, the legacy her mother had left behind.
And the institute wasn’t even under her control; it was in her grandfather’s hands.
Thinking of her grandfather’s family, her expression darkened.
“Mr. Salerno? Mrs. Salerno?” Logan’s voice came tentatively through the door, snapping her out of her thoughts.
“What is it?” she called back, her tone steady and strong.
Logan, who’d been ready to break down the door, paused, his hand hovering at the handle. He looked both baffled and relieved.
They were all right?
After hearing nothing for so long, he’d half expected disaster. For Mr. Salerno to not be angry that was nothing short of miraculous.
Back in the room, Serena let go of his hand and asked gently, “Can I turn on the light and change your bandages?”
After a brief silence, Nicholas finally spoke. “No need.”
Serena grew anxious. “But your injury-“
“Let Logan come in.”
Relief swept across Serena’s face. “Alright!”
She was just glad he was willing to let someone tend his wounds. What she feared most was him getting angry and refusing help, letting the injury fester.
She hurried to the door and pulled it open. “Logan, could you come and help Mr. Salerno change his bandages?”
“…What?” Logan blinked, caught off guard.
“You coming in or not?” Nicholas’s voice cut through the hallway, cold and stern.
Logan scrambled inside, still looking a little shell-shocked as he brushed past Serena.
How long had it been? Since when was Mr. Salerno so easy to deal with? …The new Mrs. Salerno must have some magic about her.
As Serena left, she caught Logan giving her a look-something complicated flickering in his eyes.
She raised her eyebrows, confused, but didn’t dwell on it. Her mood lighter now, she headed back to her own room.
She remembered her phone-switched off the whole day. Turning it on, she barely had time to blink before Damien’s name flashed on the screen, calling.
Serena’s expression chilled. She rejected the call and blocked the number, not hesitating even for a second.
Barely a moment passed before another call came through this time from her father, Gabriel.
“Why has your phone been off all day?” he demanded the instant she picked up. Serena lowered her gaze, her tone cool and even. “It died.”
“You’re at Rosewood Manor now, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Why?”
“You’d better behave yourself. Now that you’re married to Mr. Salerno, stop entertaining any foolish ideas. Cut off anyone you need to, and do it for good,” Gabriel warned, his voice sharp.
Serena’s eyes narrowed. “What foolish ideas do I have?”
“Don’t play dumb! If Rubina hadn’t let it slip, I wouldn’t have known you tried to run off with someone! Thank God she talked sense into you. Otherwise, you would have brought ruin on our whole family!”
“Do you realize who Mr. Salerno is? If you make him angry, there’ll be hell to pay!”
Rubina?
A cold glint flickered in Serena’s eyes.
Let it slip? Talked sense into her? Yeah, right.
But Gabriel wasn’t done. “By the way, since you’re married to Mr. Salerno now, our company needs some extra funding. See if you can talk to him about investing.”
Serena rolled her eyes. “Mr. Salerno isn’t exactly easy to approach. We’ll see.”
She couldn’t be bothered to continue and hung up.
Meanwhile, at the Greco residence, Gabriel was livid after being hung up on. “Unbelievable! Married just one day and already disobeying me!”
Nora Sinclair quickly tried to calm her husband. “I’ll ask Serena to come home tomorrow. I’ll talk to her myself-she always listens to me.”
Gabriel’s expression softened, if only a little. He patted his wife’s hand, his tone gentler. “You’ve done so much for her over the years. Treated her like your own flesh and blood. No wonder she listens to you.”
That was what he loved most about Nora. She’d never once mistreated his daughter from his first marriage. If anything, she’d spoiled her, so much that people often thought she was Serena’s real mother.
“It’s only what I should do,” Nora replied with a graceful smile, her voice gentle. “Cecilia and I were dear friends. Of course I’d look after her daughter.”
Back at Rosewood Manor, after her call with Gabriel, Serena suddenly remembered she hadn’t warned Nicholas about something.
She hurried next door.
Logan had already left, and the door was ajar. She peeked inside the bedroom was empty, but the bathroom light was on. Nicholas must be showering.
She hesitated, about to leave, when a loud thud sounded from the bathroom.