CHAPTER 167: CHAPTER 167: THE ABANDONED SOCIALITE WIFE

"Taking my fifty million and still daring to seduce my son!"

Iris Irving slapped Serena Jennings hard, and it wasn’t enough; she grabbed Serena’s hair, wanting to vent all her anger on her.

"Mom, please stop!"

Justin Nash hurried over and pulled the furious Iris away.

Serena’s face was bruised, her hair and clothes a mess.

The Nash family didn’t just have Justin’s mother there; many relatives and friends had come too.

In their view, witnessing Justin and Serena alone in the seaside villa was no different from catching them in the act.

In an instant, Serena became, in the eyes of everyone, a seductress enticing a married man.

Though Justin and Cynthia Fulton hadn’t truly married yet, their engagement was already set, and in the eyes of others, Justin was already the Fulton family’s son-in-law.

What was most baffling was that Serena herself was married.

And her husband was Caleb Lockwood.

Although Justin managed to stop his mother from beating Serena further.

But that was all he could do.

He was taken away by the Nash family’s bodyguards, leaving Serena alone.

Serena stood in front of the seaside villa, looking utterly disheveled, allowing the sea breeze mixed with salty moisture to hit her.

Her clothes were very thin.

In the dead of winter, she could only put back on the original gown.

Luckily, the gown was already dry.

Justin had already returned her phone, and it wasn’t broken.

Serena didn’t know whether this counted as a small blessing amidst her misfortune.

She didn’t contact Caleb Lockwood.

Instead, she first went to buy some winter clothing and booked a flight back to City A.

On Caleb Lockwood’s private jet, Serena was there flying to Meridia.

Flying back to City A, Claire Shaw was the passenger.

Until the path home, Caleb’s sent people still hadn’t found Dylan Quinn.

Later, he heard news that Dylan Quinn died in a skirmish on a smuggling ship.

"Dylan Quinn is already dead; you can be at ease now."

On the plane, Caleb said to Claire Shaw beside him.

"As long as I have you, Caleb, with me, whether he’s dead or alive, I don’t fear."

Claire Shaw leaned her head on Caleb’s shoulder, smiling sweetly and happily.

Although this trip to Meridia didn’t make Serena completely disappear, there were many gains.

At least she was back by Caleb’s side.

As for Serena...

Claire Shaw closed her eyes, unable to hide the gloating smile on her lipstick-red lips.

Ever since that night, when she called Serena proactively, only for Justin to pick up, Caleb hadn’t actively contacted Serena.

Serena also hadn’t reached out to him.

The plane flew in the stratosphere, and Claire Shaw leaned on Caleb’s shoulder, asleep.

Caleb took out his phone, set in flight mode, and opened WeChat.

The latest message from Mr. Miller was sent to him earlier:

President Lockwood, Miss Jennings and Justin Nash have separated, and Miss Jennings booked her own flight.

Caleb quietly deleted the WeChat message, as if he had never received any information about Serena.

Serena bought her ticket too late; the flight schedule was far from ideal. By the time she landed back in City A, it was late at night.

Returning to the old house on Vornath Street, Serena was physically and mentally exhausted, and fell asleep immediately.

The experiences in Meridia left her heart with lingering fear.

Even back in the safest place at home, Serena still had terrifying nightmares.

In the dreams, she was first kidnapped by Dylan Quinn, then sold by his accomplices to NM, where she was forced to service clients, her first being Justin Nash.

Unable to bear the humiliation, she committed suicide, her soul departing, watching Caleb and Claire Shaw having their wedding.

Caleb placed the princess-cut diamond ring, once on her left ring finger, onto Claire Shaw’s hand.

Claire Shaw, tears flowing, embraced Caleb in a kiss.

While her soul descended into the eighteen levels of hell.

Serena woke in fright, drenched in cold sweat.

She massaged her head, feeling as if it was splitting.

"What kind of dream was that!"

Serena chuckled bitterly.

The horror of the scene in her dream was still vivid in her mind.

She still remembered her mom once telling her that dreams are opposite.

So her real life surely wouldn’t be as tragic as in the dream.

Serena composed herself, fought through her fear, took a shower, changed clothes, and prepared for work.

But before she could leave, Peter called.

"Hello Serena? You’re not at the office, right?"

Peter’s voice, tense and anxious over the receiver, gave Serena an immediate sense of foreboding.

It proved that dreams are indeed opposite, just a superstition.

Serena stayed home at Peter’s advice, and looked at trending topics on her phone first.

The top twenty trending topics on every major platform were all about her.

Serena mused that it was probably the most "famous" she’d ever been.

Each trending topic she clicked on had pictures of her.

Images from when she attended LD Jewelry Fashion Week, leaving a hotel with Ian Blackwood.

And photos of her traveling with Ian Blackwood.

Photos captured angles that made it seem she and Ian Blackwood were very close, though Quentin Xavier was there too, yet not in the pictures.

Aside from Ian Blackwood, there were also pictures with her and Peter.

Taken at the restaurant, when her uncle caused trouble, Peter was protecting her.

Just these two men were enough to label Serena as committing adultery and being promiscuous.

Of course, such news wouldn’t be complete without Justin Nash.

Justin had not only shielded her before but was now involved because she fled an engagement.

The engagement already caused a stir, and combined with prior "evidence," Serena was akin to a street rat everyone wanted to condemn.

Serena didn’t need to click to know how netizens were cursing her.

She had become the perfect target for online bullies to freely insult and vent.

Committing adultery, promiscuity, ruining marriages, navigating elite heirs for opportunity.

Some even went as far as calling her a high-class prostitute and harlot.

But none of that was explosive enough.

"Abandoned by elite society"—these four words at the top of trending topics caught Serena’s eye instantly.

Serena opened the trending topic and the Lockwood Group’s bright red official seal came into view.

The Lockwood Group unilaterally announced to the internet—

Caleb Lockwood had long been divorced from Serena Jennings.

Under this news, netizens overwhelmingly supported the Lockwood Group.

Praise for the Lockwood Group and Caleb Lockwood was everywhere.

Comments like "Justice served," "Justice may be delayed, but never denied," "No one escapes heaven’s judgement" kept scrolling.

While praising the Lockwood Group’s wise and decisive separation, they didn’t forget to curse her.

Since the Lockwood Group’s announcement online of Caleb Lockwood and Serena’s divorce, its stocks had soared.

As if Caleb Lockwood divorcing Serena was him dealing a righteous blow for good people everywhere.

The Lockwood Group.

Mr. Miller knocked on the general manager’s office door.

Caleb Lockwood sat inside, seemingly engrossed in work, unaware of anything happening online.