Aiden Hawk was stunned. By now, he figured nothing could catch him off guard. People switching loyalties, sudden shifts in attitude, betrayals—all of it had beco predictable by the ti he reached adulthood. But sohow, Serena’s words had hit him like a punch he didn’t see coming.
Honestly, she’d been keeping him on his toes right from the beginning. From the mont she opened her eyes and thrown herself into his arms, calling him her husband and then ’honey’ , she’d been a mystery he couldn’t stop trying to figure out. And when she went toe-to-toe with his stepmother, standing up for him, he felt sothing click into place. Over the last few months, she’d beco his person—at least in his mind. And for soone like him, letting himself think of anyone that way wasn’t easy.
It was instinct for him to rush in, to protect her as soon as he learned she was in any kind of danger. Every part of him had wanted to bring her ho, keep her hidden, safe in their bedroom where no one else could get to her. But he’d fought those urges. He’d forced himself to back off, reminding himself again and again that locking her away wasn’t what she needed.
Instead, he’d stepped back and let her have her space, giving her the freedom to find her footing—even while he tried, day by day, to show her she could rely on him, to win her over in his own way. And for a while, he’d really believed it was working. He’d thought he was breaking through, that she was beginning to see him in the sa light.
Then, out of nowhere, she’d blindsided him with those divorce papers, cutting him off decisively from his life. He looked at the said divorce papers, now sitting next to him as they drove back from the lab, and thought back to the conversation they’d had.
"I wish to divorce you, Aiden Hawk. You are of no use to anymore."
Aiden’s gaze hardened. "What do you an, I’m of no use to you?"
"Exactly what you heard," she replied coldly. "I know you need to leave for the lab soon, so I’ll keep this short and to the point. You married because you needed to keep Grandma happy and didn’t want soone who’d cling to you or disrupt your life. anwhile, I agreed to your contract offer because, back then, I had no other options, nowhere else to turn." She took a deep breath, eyes steady on him. "But things are different now."
She let her words settle before she continued. "Now that my mories have co back, I’ve thought it over carefully. I have a lot to handle, and you...well, I simply don’t have the ti or space for you."
"Bullshi*," Aiden snapped, slapping the file back down onto his desk with a sharp crack. "I don’t know what kind of delusional ga you’re playing, but let make one thing clear: this isn’t just so aningless contract marriage, Serena. We are—"
"We are nothing, Aiden!" she interrupted, her voice a sharp edge. "Two people who needed sothing from each other, and now, while you may still think you need , I don’t need you. Not anymore. What I need is to move forward with my own plans, which, frankly, ans getting rid of you." She leaned forward, her tone cutting. "And let remind you, Aiden, that our so-called marriage wouldn’t survive a court’s scrutiny. All I have to do is prove I was in a coma at the ti you married , using the form I’d originally filled out for soone else, and the marriage is effectively nullified."
She watched him, eyes unyielding. "The only reason I’m even attempting to end things the ’normal’ way is because I don’t want Grandma to be hurt by finding out the truth. But if you try to stand in my way on this, don’t expect to keep playing nice."
Aiden’s jaw clenched as he absorbed her words. "Are you threatening ?" he asked slowly, his voice low and controlled.
Without missing a beat, she stood, closing the space between them. She held his gaze steadily as she continued, "I’m not threatening you. But let’s get one thing straight. The Serena you knew before—the one who was drifting through life, using you as so kind of anchor—is gone. I have a clear purpose and ambition now, Aiden Hawk, and if anything, you’re dead weight I no longer want to carry. So don’t try to pull the protective husband act, or the loyalty card. Just sign the divorce papers." She placed a hand on his desk, pushing the file toward him. "When you’re done, you can either send them to or submit them directly to the courthouse. I’ve already signed."
With that, she’d walked out of his office without a care in the world, leaving behind a string of questions.
Even now, sitting here in the car, he could not, for the life of him think what had suddenly changed. Just last night, they’d been flirting and having dinner together. He knew of course that she had not been much welcoming, but he had attributed to her being her own self, with mories and all.
He picked up the papers and read through them once again. It was as he’d expected. There was no division of anything involved. Nothing to argue or drag this out. She wanted nothing from him and he would have nothing from her. They were supposed to just part ways as if they were strangers. Which, if he thought carefully, putting aside his own thoughts, they were.
With a sigh, he threw the papers back onto the seat, and made a call. She was a fool to think that he would let things go so easily. "Find out where Serena had gone tonight and whom she t. I want every detail."
The person on the other end seed to be surprised," I thought you said you didn’t want anyone tailing her."
"And I haven’t asked you to tail her yet. Just whom she t with tonight and what they talked about."
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