CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 55: BED PHOTO EXPOSED

Eternity Gym.

Serena Jennings spent an entire afternoon boxing inside.

She had practiced some boxing back when she was learning kickboxing, but eventually grew rusty.

The heavy bag swung back upon impact, hitting Serena’s face, leaving it bright red.

Serena sat on the floor, unable to stop her tears from falling.

She had been drugged and assaulted!

And it was by someone like Dylan Quinn, who was overweight and repulsive.

The hatred made Serena’s teeth grind, while disgust and pain filled her heart.

After leaving the hotel, she hadn’t gone back to the company or applied for leave; instead, she went straight to a gym to vent, which she’d been doing ever since.

Yet, no matter how much she vented, she couldn’t shake the lingering sensation left on her.

In the evening, as Serena left the gym, a stranger added her as a friend.

She normally never added strangers, but this person had noted: Wanna see what I captured last night?

The specific mention of "last night" gave Serena a foreboding feeling.

She accepted the person’s request, who immediately sent her a photo.

In the photo, she was lying on a hotel bed.

A man was pressing down on her.

From the photo’s angle, only her face and the man’s back were visible.

Though all crucial body parts were covered by the man, it was clearly evident that both of them were completely naked.

Serena’s hand began to tremble slightly.

In the darkness, her face was devoid of any color, and her lips, bitten by her own doing, bled.

In just one night, it was as if her world had collapsed.

Not only had she been defiled by Dylan Quinn, but now there was a photo threatening her as well.

Despair, indeed, came to this.

Staring at the snapshot on her phone, she wished to smash it.

But the arm raised high eventually lowered.

Smashing her phone wouldn’t solve anything.

Things had come to this point; she needed to calm herself down.

Serena decided to make a voice call to the person.

By the time she returned to the old house on Vornath Street, it was nearly midnight.

There was someone standing downstairs.

This person, in a suit and exuding a distinguished elegance, seemed out of place amid the surrounding old buildings.

Serena stopped in her tracks.

In the streetlight, the man’s handsome features were distinctly clear against the light and shadow—

It was Caleb Lockwood.

Serena couldn’t just pretend she didn’t see Caleb.

Since he came looking for her, he must have something he wants to say.

She walked over and faced Caleb directly.

"Why didn’t you come to work today? You didn’t even request leave."

Caleb asked calmly.

Serena gazed intently at Caleb.

She aimed to discern something from his face.

However, regrettably, she saw nothing.

Caleb’s sharply defined face remained like a cold sculpture, masking his inner thoughts.

"I skipped work. If you have the guts, fire me."

After saying this, Serena saw Caleb handed her a photo.

"Is it about this?"

The photo was identical to the one she had seen on her phone.

"Does he know about our relationship?" Serena asked.

Otherwise, why send her bed photo to Caleb?

"He probably doesn’t know," Caleb shook his head, "Otherwise, he wouldn’t dare to even mention a price... However, he must have researched you, knows there’s gossip about us at the company, and fears your mishap might implicate me. So he tested my reaction with this photo."

Serena shrugged and sneered.

It seemed the photographer who took her bed photo was quite the businessman, selling the photo multiple ways for profit.

When Caleb received the photo at night, he guessed that Serena, being directly involved, must have received it too.

He expected that tonight, when he saw Serena here, she would speak to him for help.

The summer night breeze carried more coolness than the daytime.

Caleb, unusually patient, waited for a long time.

Yet Serena remained silent.

"I can help you resolve this matter."

He ended up speaking first, unable to hold back.

Serena’s reaction remained indifferent.

"What are your conditions?"

"Resign and return home, never bring up divorce again, continue being my wife, just like before."

Caleb’s tone was equally indifferent.

This time, Serena was silent for a longer period.

"Since you don’t want a divorce, you certainly won’t allow this photo to be exposed."

Serena looked Caleb in the eye, and for the first time saw surprise in them.

"If the photo gets out, regardless of your wishes, your parents and all the Lockwood family will force us to divorce, and it will cause immeasurable bad impact on the entire Lockwood Group."

"..."

"So even if I don’t agree to your conditions, you’ll still have to handle this matter."

Serena’s incisive analysis made Caleb unexpectedly smile instead of getting angry.

"Serena, do you really think I’m so unwilling to let you go?"

Serena was startled.

"Don’t overestimate yourself." Caleb ended his mocking smile, his face darkening, his voice cold, "I and the Lockwood family have plenty of ways to clear our name completely from this incident... But you, if the photo is exposed, your entire future will be destroyed..."

"The photo won’t be exposed."

Serena maintained her composure.

"If he took my fifty million and still dared to expose the photo, he must not want to stay in this business."

Serena chuckled self-mockingly and began to walk away.

Before entering the building, she stopped again, turned around, and asked Caleb:

"Caleb, the man in the photo... it’s you, isn’t it?"

Having been discovered by Serena, Caleb’s expression didn’t change one bit.

He neither confirmed nor denied.

It was essentially an admittance.

Serena’s eyes reddened involuntarily.

She should be grateful to the photographer for capturing the bed photo.

If it hadn’t been for seeing the man’s back in the photo, she might have truly believed she had been drugged and assaulted by Dylan Quinn.

However...

Dylan Quinn didn’t have that physique.

Serena was too emotional before, as anyone would feel despair to the point of wanting to die if they encountered such a situation.

But she forced herself to calm down.

Then she realized the man’s back in the photo bore a striking resemblance to Caleb’s.

Earlier, when Caleb showed her the bed photo, he was calm as usual.

Because he knew very well, the man in the photo was himself.

Not someone else.

Seeing Serena’s eyes red and swollen, Caleb curiously asked:

"Are you angry? Why?"

He was genuinely puzzled.

"Shouldn’t you be grateful I stepped in to save the day?"

Caleb’s serious question made Serena clutch the photo in her hand tighter and tighter.

"If that person wasn’t me at the time, but Dylan Quinn, have you ever wondered what your situation would be like now?"

"It was you who took me to the engagement..." Serena’s voice trembled.

"That was for business."

"It was you who left me midway..."

For Claire!

"But I left Mr. Miller to accompany you."

"So I should be grateful to you, shouldn’t I?!"

Seeing Serena in such a hysterical state was rare; Caleb was taken aback.

"Serena, I didn’t come here to fight."

"If I hadn’t recognized the man’s back in the photo, were you planning to keep it from me all along, letting me believe I had been defiled by Dylan Quinn?"

Caleb didn’t answer this question upon seeing the surging tears in Serena’s eyes.