CHAPTER 297: CHAPTER 297: EVEN HER ONLY TRUE LOVE WAS TAKEN AWAY

"Mr. Reed, the air conditioning is too strong here."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wendy covered her mouth and sneezed.

At the same time, Caleb Lockwood took off his suit jacket and draped it over Serena Jennings.

The air conditioning really was too strong here, and the cold wind made Serena break out in goosebumps.

She hadn’t expected that the first person to notice she was cold would be Caleb Lockwood.

The suit draped over her shoulders was still warm, surprisingly comforting.

Across from her, Wendy was so cold her face turned pale, sneezing multiple times in a row.

She glared viciously at Caleb Lockwood.

"You think you can get rid of me just by leaving without assets?"

Caleb’s gaze fell on Wendy, becoming even colder than the air conditioning.

"Miss Lin, you’re overthinking it..."

His naturally smiling lips formed a gentle arc.

"I left without assets because I want to be Mr. Reed’s assistant, it has nothing to do with you."

"You!"

Wendy widened her eyes.

"Serena..."

At this moment, Ethan White grabbed Serena’s arm.

"Miss Lin seems to have a lot to discuss with your assistant, why don’t we give them some privacy?"

Without waiting for Serena to speak, Ethan White had already pulled her away.

Caleb Lockwood’s deep eyes reflected Serena’s tall and slender figure.

The farther that figure moved from him, the more blocked his chest felt.

"Caleb Lockwood, Serena doesn’t even like you. Is it fun to be a doormat?"

Wendy’s sharp words drew Caleb’s attention.

He looked at Wendy’s heavily made-up face and smiled lightly.

"I don’t like you either, yet you’re tirelessly trying to win me over."

"Caleb Lockwood!"

Wendy raised her hand to slap Caleb Lockwood.

Just as Serena inadvertently turned her head and saw the scene.

Wendy’s slap did not land on Caleb’s face, but was stopped in time by Caleb.

"Wendy, you don’t like me, yet you want to marry me... why?"

Caleb asked directly, his deep black eyes staring intensely at Wendy.

"Is it the Lockwood family’s fortune you want? Or... is it something Serena once possessed?"

When Caleb spoke the latter part, Wendy’s eyes instantly reflected her panic at having her thoughts unveiled.

Caleb slightly lowered his eyelids.

It seemed than the massive fortune of the Lockwood Family, Wendy was more interested in what Serena once had.

Why is that?

Serena and Wendy... aren’t they completely unrelated?

As Caleb turned to pursue Serena, he saw someone had already reached her first—

Julian Xavier came a bit late, and upon entering The Wellness Pavilion, immediately headed toward Serena.

"Mr. Reed, I’ve read all the promotional plans for the FZZL project, they’re very good... and the AI system has been completed and entered the testing phase. I believe it can be launched according to plan next week."

"Hmm, that’s good, thank you for your hard work."

Serena originally wanted to ask Julian about how things were progressing between him and Lana, but in this social setting, it didn’t seem suitable to discuss personal matters.

So she kept her conversation with Julian strictly about business.

Outside the window display, no one noticed someone was surreptitiously peeking inside.

She wore a baseball cap and a large mask, clearly not wanting others to recognize her.

Lana Xavier never thought she’d turn into a stalker one day.

Yet she couldn’t let go.

For the first time in her life, she’d fallen in love with a man. How could she just let it go?

A while ago, on the day Serena officially divorced Caleb Lockwood, she invited Lana and Ethan White out to celebrate over dinner.

She declined.

It wasn’t because she still resented Serena for flirting with Julian on their previous four-person date.

It was because she was genuinely in a bad mood those days.

Rather than arguing with Julian, it was more like a cold war.

Moreover, it was a one-sided cold war initiated by Julian.

Lana didn’t understand why, when at the amusement park, she and Julian had been sweetly watching fireworks together.

But suddenly, Julian became very distant to her.

Just yesterday, Julian told her he wanted to break up.

No matter how much Lana pleaded with him to stay, Julian decisively wanted to end their relationship.

What Julian said to her was—

He had a change of heart.

He had fallen for someone else.

Lana cried the whole night, and even now, her eyes remained swollen and red.

She knew Julian would attend the opening celebration of The Wellness Pavilion’s new store today, so she disguised herself and secretly came here.

Through the immaculate window, she could clearly see Julian’s smile, his loving eyes never once leaving Serena.

Lana being a woman, had a woman’s intuition.

Seeing the way Julian looked at Serena, she knew the person Julian shifted his affections to was indeed Serena.

Lana’s already tear-stained eyes began to shed more tears.

The company Julian was with was in partnership with the Lockwood Group, and now the Lockwood Group belonged to Serena.

Hence, interactions between Julian and Serena were inevitable.

But in Lana’s opinion, it was that four-person date where Serena willingly embraced Julian, igniting Julian’s desires.

"Then what am I..."

Lana whispered hoarsely, her chest a mix of pain and anger.

Serena already had Ethan White.

Even without Ethan White, Serena still has Ian Blackwood, Patrick Rhodes, and even Peter.

At worst, she also has Caleb Lockwood!

But what about her?

She only has Julian.

Why does Serena have to take away her only true love?!

Lana crouched down in anguish, covering her face and crying uncontrollably.

The opening celebration at The Wellness Pavilion came to an end, and Serena walked out, followed by Caleb Lockwood as her assistant.

While heading towards the underground parking lot, she inadvertently caught sight of a fleeing silhouette.

"Lana?"

Serena was surprised.

But she felt she hadn’t mistaken what she saw.

Sitting in the imperial-blue Bentley, Serena took out her phone to call Lana.

The first call didn’t go through.

She dialed a second time, and this time, the call was finally answered.

"Lana?"

"I don’t want to talk to you."

Lana’s refusal was very blunt.

Serena was puzzled.

"What’s wrong, Lana? Did I do something that upset you?"

"Don’t you know what you’ve done yourself?"

Lana’s questioning left Serena feeling confused.

"I just attended an opening celebration... I really don’t know what I did to make you so upset..."

"Julian broke up with me!"

"What?"

"He broke up with me because of you!"

After shouting this sentence, Lana hung up the phone.

Serena was completely out of the loop, so she had no choice but to contact the person involved.

"Hey Julian?"

"What’s wrong, Mr. Reed?"

Seeing Julian address her as "Mr. Reed," Serena assumed Julian misunderstood her call as being about the FZZL project.

"If you’re available, I’d like to treat you to dinner."