CHAPTER 23: CHAPTER 23 REVENGE1

Serena’s POV

After four days in the hospital, I finally got to leave that sterile hell. The doctors had cleared me, saying my concussion was healing well, though I still needed to take it easy. Not that I had much choice with Maya hovering around me like an overprotective mother hen.

"Easy does it," she warned as I slipped my feet into my flats. "No rushing."

"I’m fine," I insisted, though the dull throb in my head suggested otherwise.

The hospital discharge papers felt heavy in my hands—almost as heavy as the news I’d received yesterday. My lawyer had called with the update I’d been dreading: we couldn’t proceed with charges against Ivy.

"All the security footage from that section of the restaurant has mysteriously disappeared," he’d explained, frustration evident in his voice. "And without witnesses willing to come forward..."

I knew exactly who was behind the vanishing evidence.

Simon Graves, Ryan’s ever-loyal assistant, would have moved heaven and earth to protect the Blackwood name.

Even if it meant letting that psychopath Ivy walk free after she’d nearly killed me—and my unborn child.

The thought made my hand unconsciously drift to my stomach. My decision about the pregnancy still hung in limbo, but the idea that Ivy had almost taken that choice away from me entirely made my blood boil.

"You okay?" Maya asked, noticing my expression darkening.

"Just thinking about how convenient it is that all the evidence against Ivy has magically disappeared," I muttered.

Maya’s lips thinned. "Ryan’s doing?"

"More likely Simon’s, but same difference."

As if summoned by his name, my phone pinged with a notification. A transfer of $500,000 had just been deposited into my account. From Ryan Blackwood. The accompanying message read simply: "Medical expenses and compensation. Non-negotiable."

I showed the phone to Maya, who let out a low whistle.

"Well, that’s one way to say ’sorry my ex’s sister tried to murder you,’" she remarked dryly.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Half a million dollars.

As if money could fix anything that had happened between us. As if it could make up for the fact that he’d chosen to protect Ivy instead of standing by me.

As if it could erase the impossible choice I now faced about our baby.

"Should I send it back?" I asked, already knowing Maya’s answer.

"Hell no," she replied instantly. "Take his money. Use it to build something beautiful. That’s the best revenge."

I nodded slowly, tucking my phone away. She was right, of course. But it still felt like blood money.

As we walked out of the hospital, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

---

Author’s POV

Ivy Hart paced back and forth in her designer apartment, rage radiating from every pore. Her pale skin was flushed with anger, making the fading bruise on her cheekbone—courtesy of Serena—stand out even more starkly.

"She actually tried to press charges against ME?" she seethed, gripping her phone so tightly her knuckles turned white. "After SHE attacked ME first?"

Simon had taken care of it, of course. The evidence was already gone. Serena’s complaint would go nowhere.

But that wasn’t enough.

Not for Ivy.

"She humiliated me," she hissed, staring out at the city skyline. "In front of Ryan. In front of everyone. She needs to pay for that."

She turned away from the window and walked to her desk, where her laptop was already open. Her expression hardened as she clicked into the folder she’d compiled over the past few days—screenshots, images, background checks.

It had taken some digging, but she’d finally confirmed it.

Julian Clarke.

No wonder he looked so familiar.

He wasn’t just some local designer with a pretty face. He had been gaining recognition overseas for years—as an actor. Nothing A-list, but enough to build a name for himself in certain international circles. Film festivals. Indie features. A few magazine covers.

She even found an old university alumni profile. Of course—he’d studied at one of the top design schools in Europe before pivoting to acting.

Same name. Same face. Same charming smile.

And now, he was back, playing the role of Serena’s quiet little confidant.

Her red lips curled into a cruel smile as she began composing an email to several tabloid contacts.

Subject line: EXCLUSIVE: International Star Julian Clarke Caught as Homewrecker in Blackwood Drama.

The story practically wrote itself.

Poor Ryan Blackwood, betrayed again—his ex-wife carrying on with a secret celebrity lover right under everyone’s noses.

She attached the restaurant photos, carefully edited to make them look just a little more intimate than they were.

"Let’s see how your precious design career survives this, Serena," Ivy murmured, hitting send with a triumphant flourish.

Within hours, the story exploded across social media. #HomewreckerJulian started trending, followed closely by #SerenaTheCheat. Thousands of Julian’s fans felt betrayed, flooding the internet with hate.

By midnight, Serena Quinn and Julian Clarke—now outed as Julian Clarke—were at the center of the biggest celebrity scandal of the month.

Exactly how Ivy wanted it.

---

Julian was jolted awake by the incessant ringing of his phone. Groggily, he reached for it, squinting at the bright screen showing twenty-seven missed calls from his former manager, Alexandra.

"Alex? It’s three in the morning," he mumbled, his British accent thicker with sleep.

"Turn on your bloody phone!" Alexandra’s voice was frantic. "You’re trending worldwide, and not in a good way!"

Suddenly fully awake, Julian sat up and opened his social media. His stomach dropped as he scrolled through hashtag after hashtag, seeing his face plastered across entertainment sites alongside Serena’s, their innocent dinner twisted into something sordid and scandalous.

"Bloody hell," he breathed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "Who did this?"

"My guess? Someone with a grudge against either you or Serena," Alexandra replied. "But that’s not important right now. We need damage control."

Julian’s thoughts immediately went to Serena. She’d just been released from the hospital after a traumatic injury, and now this? He couldn’t let her face this alone.

"I’ll handle it," he said firmly.

Despite Alexandra’s protests, he opened his long-dormant official social media account and began typing:

"To my fans and the public: The recent stories circulating about myself and Serena Quinn are completely false. We are friends and colleagues only. I have never ’inserted myself’ into anyone’s marriage, nor would I ever do so. Ms. Quinn is a talented designer who deserves respect, not harassment. Please stop spreading these harmful lies.

On a personal note, I stepped away from acting last year to pursue my passion for design. After this invasion of privacy, I am formally announcing my retirement from the entertainment industry. I ask that you respect both my decision and Ms. Quinn’s privacy during this time."

He hit post, then immediately called his lawyer to issue cease and desist letters to the publications that had run the story. Finally, he texted Alexandra: "Protect Serena at all costs. Whatever it takes."

As dawn broke, Julian stared out his window at the city skyline, wondering how he would face Serena after this mess. He’d come to America for a fresh start, leaving behind the suffocating spotlight of fame. Now his past had not only caught up with him but threatened to drag down someone he cared about deeply.