Chapter 3

Serena's POV

Adrian shot to his feet.

"Tell me who that man is!"

I reached for my medical report.

"Mr. Rockwood, we're here to discuss the project. If you have no further questions, let's get started."

But he refused to move aside.

After the meeting, I had barely stepped out of the elevator when he cornered me in the hallway.

"Get rid of the babies."

I wondered if I'd heard him correctly.

"What did you just say?"

"I said, get rid of the babies."

Adrian grabbed my arm, obsession burning in his wolf eyes.

"If you're willing to come back to me, I'll overlook where you've been for the past three years. I'll even overlook whoever you've been with."

He grew more agitated with every word.

"I can give you shares in the Rockwood family fortune, all my personal assets, even the entire company. I'll give you anything you want, as long as you come back."

I struggled free.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"I know you still love me!"

He acted as though he hadn't heard a word I'd said.

"I was wrong three years ago. I shouldn't have sent you to that facility. But your mental state was so unstable back then!"

I was so furious that I actually laughed.

"So you think forcing a woman who's thirty-six weeks pregnant to terminate her pregnancy is also for her own good?"

"I..."

"Adrian, you locked me in a room without a single window. You let those people inject me with suppressants and force me to take medication. You even let them pin me to the floor and beat me."

I rolled up my sleeve.

A gruesome scar was still clearly visible on the inside of my arm.

"Is this what you call taking care of me?"

Adrian's expression changed instantly.

He reached out as though he wanted to touch the scar.

I immediately stepped back.

"Don't touch me!"

His hand froze in midair.

I straightened my sleeve, my voice devoid of warmth.

"And my children were conceived out of love between my husband and me. No one is going to hurt them."

"If you so much as lay a finger on them, I'll make sure you and the entire Rockwood family pay for it."

Adrian staggered.

"You weren't like this before..."

"That was then. This is now."

I looked straight at him.

"All I want is for you to stay away from me."

Just then, a soft female voice interrupted us.

"Adrian?"

Ivy approached, holding a cup of coffee.

"Why did you suddenly come all the way over here? I've been waiting in the office for you to have lunch together."

When she noticed me, her familiar innocent expression immediately appeared.

"Serena, you're here too."

I didn't respond.

Ivy, however, took the initiative to approach me.

"What happened in the past was all my fault. If I hadn't kept asking Adrian for help, the two of you wouldn't have had so many problems."

She lowered her head, her voice full of wounded innocence.

"That time at the airport, I was the one who asked him to pick me up. If you need someone to blame, blame me. Please don't make Adrian so miserable anymore."

The same old act.

Three years ago, she'd used that exact trick to provoke me countless times.

The moment I showed even the slightest displeasure, she'd retreat behind Adrian and play the victim.

And Adrian would always take her side.

Back then, jealousy would have driven me out of my mind.

Now, I was simply sick of it.

"Save the theatrics."

I looked at her.

"You're laying it on too thick."