CHAPTER 8: CHAPTER 8: LOVE AND LOVELESSNESS

The banquet tonight had been going on for nearly two hours, but Caleb Lockwood hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol.

Serena Jennings suspected that Caleb Lockwood’s stomach issues were acting up.

These past few days, she had been fighting with Caleb about their divorce, and she hadn’t brewed the Chinese medicine that she used to meticulously prepare for him every day. Caleb probably hadn’t taken it, either, because only she knew the exact proportions and timing for the brew.

Let Caleb be in pain and die—this thought flashed through Serena’s mind.

But in the end, she couldn’t be that cruel.

Serena took out her phone and wrote down every single detail about Caleb’s stomach medicine, from the names of the medicinal ingredients to the proportions and brewing methods. Before sending it, she hesitated over whether to add some polite greetings, pleasantries, or explanations...

She typed and deleted several drafts, but in the end, Serena sent it off without adding a single extra word.

The WeChat message was received on Caleb Lockwood’s phone, but it wasn’t Caleb who opened it.

Claire Shaw turned away, quietly memorized the content Serena had sent, and then deleted it all cleanly.

Over on Caleb’s side, he was still socializing.

Although he had come tonight with Claire Shaw, there were many people here who knew him, and socializing was unavoidable. But he hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, as his stomach pain had reached its limit.

This left his entire aura much colder, as if he was dissatisfied with everything about the evening’s banquet.

"Caleb..."

As the banquet was about to end, Caleb saw Claire Shaw bringing over a steaming bowl of herbal soup for him.

The fragrance of the medicine was familiar to him, but back when he dated Claire Shaw, his stomach had been fine.

"How did you know I have stomach issues? And about this medicine..."

Caleb glanced over in Serena’s direction.

"I know your health issues well, and I got this prescription from an old Chinese doctor, guaranteed to be effective."

Actually, Claire had Owen Warren and Lily Sutton buy the ingredients according to the recipe Serena sent. Without time to brew it, they just quickly mixed the herbs, hoping it would help somewhat.

"It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t been so willful back then, you wouldn’t have had to be taken care of like this over the years..." Claire Shaw’s eyes filled with tears.

Serena smelled the herbal fragrance, turned her head, and just happened to see Claire Shaw resting against Caleb Lockwood’s shoulder, while Caleb was feeding Claire a piece of red velvet cake.

Red velvet cake—she had baked it for Caleb Lockwood many times.

Caleb had a sensitive stomach, couldn’t eat spicy food, and couldn’t eat things too sweet.

He wasn’t fond of sweet foods in general, but he had a particular liking for red velvet cake.

Serena practiced hard to bake red velvet cakes with just the right sweetness to suit Caleb’s taste, but Caleb was never truly satisfied.

Now she realized.

It wasn’t the red velvet cake he was dissatisfied with—it was her.

On the way home, Serena kept thinking about how she could divorce Caleb Lockwood.

Yet before she could finalize the divorce, an issue arose with her work at the juvenile detention center.

"It’s like this: Your husband contacted us and has changed your start date for the job. I’m calling to confirm this with you."

Serena was already at the downstairs entrance when she received the call from the detention center, and this is what was said.

In her sight, a black Maybach approached, and Serena knew it was Caleb Lockwood’s car.

Hanging up the phone from the detention center, Serena saw the car window lower, and it was Caleb Lockwood driving, not Mr. Miller.

"What do you mean by this?" Serena questioned.

"Get in the car."

Caleb didn’t say much, obviously having no intention to explain.

Serena looked into Caleb’s deep eyes but couldn’t gauge his thoughts.

She didn’t get in the car.

"It’s the family gathering today."

Caleb’s voice came from behind her, cold and assured.

"But I have no reason to be there," Serena turned her head and said.

"Grandpa has been mentioning for a long time that he hasn’t seen you, and today’s dinner is at the old Lockwood mansion."

Caleb’s grandfather, Lance Lockwood, was the one who treated Serena the best after she married into the Lockwood family.

Unlike Caleb’s superficial kindness, Lance Lockwood’s kindness was genuine.

In the end, Serena halted her departing steps and returned.

She walked to the passenger side, opened the door, and was surprised by who was sitting inside.

"Miss Jennings, we meet again," Claire Shaw said with a sweet smile.

Today, she was wearing a pink-gray suit, sweet yet sophisticated; the necklace with pink diamonds was the one Caleb had gifted her, and it was certain that the bouquet of pink roses she held was also from Caleb.

Serena recalled that in college when Caleb was pursuing her, he always sent her pink roses, and every date after they started dating came with pink roses.

Back then, her roommates said she must look like a pretty rose in Caleb’s eyes, which is why he always gave them.

Looking back, people indeed aren’t always clear-headed when in love, and the same goes for those around them.

Serena tactfully sat in the car’s back seat.

"Miss Jennings... or perhaps I should just call you Serena! We’re getting more acquainted, and always calling you Miss Jennings feels a bit strange."

Serena remained silent, but Claire didn’t stop talking.

"Oh right, don’t misunderstand, my family and the Lockwood family have always been close, which is why Caleb specifically brought me along to the family gathering."

Claire sneaked a peek through the rearview mirror at Serena sitting in the back seat, noticing how much paler Serena’s face appeared even with light makeup.

"Caleb and I were high school classmates. Back when we were dating, I would often visit the Lockwood house, and they were so kind, treating me like family."

"Caleb, do you remember that time I clumsily broke Grandpa’s favorite antique vase, and you took the blame to prevent him from scolding me..."

"That was years ago... and it was my fault that time. Grandpa’s study was never a place I should have taken you."

Caleb continued to drive, engaging in idle chit-chat with Claire.

Serena remembered that the first time she rode in Caleb’s car, she tried to create conversations like Claire was doing.

Yet, no matter what she said, Caleb didn’t respond to a single word.

Later, she asked Mr. Miller about it, and Mr. Miller said, "President Lockwood doesn’t like to be distracted when driving; it’s just his habit."

After hearing that, she stopped initiating conversations when riding in Caleb’s car.

The more Caleb chatted with Claire, the more responses he gave, even initiating topics himself.

So, habits can indeed be broken.

It’s just the difference between loving and not loving.

Serena regretted getting into Caleb’s car to some extent.

To return to the Lockwood family for Grandpa, she could have simply taken a taxi herself.

Before long, they arrived at the old Lockwood mansion, which was an estate.

The Lockwood family was large and had many relatives.

Serena followed Caleb and Claire into the old mansion, seeing all the family members had gathered.

"Claire? Oh my, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you, and you’re getting more beautiful!"

"I heard you just returned to the country recently and even got a PhD in Psychology; truly impressive."

"Caleb mentioned that you’re now working at FY? You’re surely going to be the next globally renowned jewelry designer."

The relatives all surrounded Claire, as if Claire were the Lockwood daughter-in-law.

Only Lucy Warren noticed Serena.

"Hurry up and don’t dawdle, the kitchen is overwhelmed, go and help out." she said, throwing her apron over to Serena.