CHAPTER 319: CHAPTER 319: GIVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE

The excruciating pain elicited a scream from the man, and at the same time, sobered him up completely.

The man clutched his twisted wrist and cursed incessantly.

At this moment, two men in black suits walked into the bar and promptly escorted the cursing man out.

The bar returned to silence, although the air carried a hint of gunpowder.

Initially, everyone’s gaze was fixed on Serena Jennings, but now, none dared to look at her.

"Have a seat!"

Serena sat down, Caleb Lockwood sat beside her.

"Did you plant a bug or a tracker on me?"

Serena turned her head to glance at Caleb.

She had intended to be alone, to drink quietly, but unexpectedly, she ran into Caleb Lockwood again.

"It’s not like you never change clothes or bags—if I did want to plant a tracker, you’d still have to give me the chance!"

What Caleb said did make sense, but Serena still didn’t believe that her encounter with Caleb here was coincidental.

Before Serena could order her second drink, the bartender handed her a martini.

"I didn’t order a drink..."

"This gentleman ordered it for you."

The bartender pointed to Caleb sitting beside her.

Serena lifted the glass and took a small sip, the fruit aroma instantly enveloping her tongue.

"Why are you so persistently haunting me?"

"Why isn’t Ethan White by your side?"

Instead of answering Serena’s question, Caleb countered with his own.

"A woman coming to a bar alone can easily become a target."

In Caleb’s impression, Serena wasn’t someone who frequented places like these.

"Is something bothering you?"

Upon hearing Caleb’s question, Serena was taken aback.

The chiseled profile of Caleb appeared like a sculpture, his features deep and pronounced.

He wasn’t looking at her, merely sipping quietly from a glass of tequila with ice.

Serena couldn’t help but stare at Caleb’s face, and after a moment, said coldly, "It’s none of your business."

"Is it about Lana Xavier?"

Serena’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"How do you know?"

Finally, she saw Caleb turn to look at her.

Their eyes locked, and Caleb’s eyes were more intense than any cocktail, making Serena feel as if she were drowning.

"There are only so many things that can trouble a person—career, relationships... The Lockwood Group is now stable; your career wouldn’t be troubling you... As for relationships, they include family, friendship, and love... Clearly, friendship is your biggest challenge right now..."

Listening to Caleb’s analysis, so systematic, Serena felt a mix of belief and doubt.

Their gaze intertwined as Caleb seriously said to Serena, "I’m the only one who knows you this well..."

This statement caused a momentary wavering in Serena.

Could it be...

She was really this easily read by Caleb?

Seeing Serena frown, seemingly taken aback by his words, Caleb suddenly lowered his gaze and chuckled softly.

Serena rarely saw this mischievous smile from Caleb, and she was momentarily stunned.

"You actually believed it... I only knew because I sneakily saw the WeChat messages Lana sent you on your phone."

"You!"

Realizing she had been tricked by Caleb, Serena wanted nothing more than to dump her martini on his face.

"Sorry, I just wanted to lighten your mood."

"Thanks to you, my mood is worse now."

"How could it be..."

Before Caleb could finish, he saw Serena’s breathtakingly beautiful face look as if it were covered in dust, dull and shaded.

"Because you reminded me of how I once trusted you so easily."

This sentence, spoken by Serena, was cold and even carried anger.

Caleb opened his mouth, unable to respond, taking in more of the cold air.

Back then, he was the one who first reached out to Serena.

Though he assumed Serena had developed feelings for him since the time she saved him.

Yet afterward, Serena made no requests of him or the Lockwood Family.

She vanished from his sight, from his life.

Just a fleeting guest.

However...

He didn’t let her go.

It was he who, on Valentine’s Day, stood at the gates of Serena’s university with 999 pink roses, confessing his love.

Under Serena’s scorching gaze, Caleb slightly lowered his head.

He wasn’t sure if what he felt now was guilt.

"Lana Xavier is the root cause of the scandal that plagued the Lockwood Group, yet you’re still hesitating on whether to remain friends with her?"

Caleb proactively changed the topic.

Serena stayed silent.

She merely drank her martini in silence until she reached the bottom.

"Lana... in high school, she offended some school bullies. They cornered her in an alley wanting to beat her up. I happened to pass by and helped her out..."

Caleb saw Serena propping her chin with one hand, lost in past memories, and asked the bartender to mix her a margarita.

"Are you trying to get me drunk?"

Serena shot Caleb a sideways glance.

"I’m just afraid you’ll get thirsty."

Serena shrugged.

"Since when were you so considerate?"

"Was I not considerate before?"

Caleb countered.

"You’d always hang up on me first, leaving me waiting in the cold wind outside the hospital... Do you think that’s considerate?"

Serena’s words rendered Caleb silent, as though a dark cloud hung over him.

Serena wasn’t trying to bring up past grievances with Caleb; it was more of an accidental retort in conversation.

Taking a sip of the margarita, she continued to recount her story with Lana.

"Since I helped Lana, she was more than willing to be my sidekick. At that time, I was the school beauty, which came with a fair share of gossip—claims of affairs with school leaders or being a mistress for wealthy businessmen... Whenever someone badmouthed me behind my back, Lana would be the first to rush in and defend me. She even moved into my dorm to be my roommate... Back then, we were really inseparable and would stand up for each other no matter what."

"In this incident... Lana was also used by Julian Xavier... Lana never intended to hurt me, it was just..."

In the blink of an eye, Serena had finished another margarita.

Seeing the slightly tipsy look of pain on Serena’s face, Caleb’s deep eyes reflected her expression, and he felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest, suffocating him.

"Even if it’s so painful... why not just break the friendship with her then."

Caleb’s suggestion wasn’t something Serena hadn’t considered.

"If I cut ties with Lana... she’d surely feel worse than I do now."

"Then she brought it upon herself!"

"Even so..."

"Serena..."

Suddenly, Serena’s shoulders were firmly grasped by Caleb.

Forced to face Caleb, her vision involuntarily blurred.

The alcohol was kicking in!

"You want to give Lana another chance..."

Serena remained silent.

As if in silent agreement.

"If even Lana deserves a chance, why can’t you give me one too?"