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Serenity

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Days later

“He’s in love,” Debra says as she helps me stretch for ballet.

“How can you be so sure?”

“He lives and breathes you, Serenity.”

“I like the sound of that.” I sigh, looking at myself in the mirror in the main studio of the dance school. “I wish I was more experienced. Maybe then I wouldn’t feel so insecure about his mood swings.”

“Welcome to the world of women in love, dear. No matter how old you are, the insecurity will be the same. Love doesn’t come with any guarantees. It is always a risk, a leap, a gamble, and that is precisely why the act of love is so exciting.”

After feeling like I was losing him, on the night of my birthday, Ares returned to his normal self. In fact, he became even more possessive.

I just want to understand if all this passion is passion in the literal sense of the word or love in the strict sense.

“Do you regret getting involved with him?”

“No. How could I, Debra? You said he lives and breathes me, and the opposite is also true. I love him, not just what we have in the bedroom but every nuance of him, even his bad temper and dominant manner.”

“There must be some biological explanation for why we women are so susceptible to ogres.”

“Was your husband like that?”

“A lot like that, but like your god of war, he loved with his soul too.”

“I don’t think he . . .”

“The fact that he hasn’t said it clearly doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. There are men who declare themselves to their partners every five minutes and still cheat, lie, and deceive. Pay attention to his actions, Serenity. If it was only about saying the word, well, even parrots can do that.”

I must have fallen asleep. I arrived so tired from practice that I didn’t even eat; I just fell on the bed, still dressed, and passed out. I had already showered at the dance school.

As soon as I wake up, my belly makes a strange sound, a mix of rumbling and thunder, letting me know that it has been empty for too long.

I’m almost in the hallway when I see the suit Ares wore on that fateful night of my comeback performance, looking like it’s just come from the dry cleaners. Probably the maids didn’t know where to put it and left it there.

I pick it up from the armchair, but as soon as I move the packaging, a jewelry box falls to the floor.

I shake my head, thinking that with the confusion that day, he must have forgotten to give it to me along with the bracelet and earrings.

I’m about to put it back in the blazer pocket when curiosity gets the best of me and I open it. My mouth stays open. Inside, there’s a solitaire diamond of at least three carats.

The shape of the jewel is unmistakable. This is not just any ring; it’s an engagement ring.

Was he going to ask me to marry him?

My heart races to the point where I’m sure I’m feeling sick, but then my rational side emerges.

If he was really going to propose, what stopped him? Changed his mind?

I put the box in his suit pocket again. I feel embarrassed for going through his things. Even though he planned to give the ring to me, he didn’t in the end, so I had no right to open it.

I try to reason calmly.

Of course he wouldn’t have asked me to marry him that day. I was feeling overwhelmed by what had happened, and he probably decided to wait for a better time.

I’m overthinking, as always, and letting my insecurities take the lead.

With my mind filled with the conversation I had earlier with Debra, I leave the room, willing myself to stop acting like an insecure girl.

Tonight, when Ares gets home, I’m going to seduce my Greek ogre, bring him to his knees, and who knows, maybe he’ll propose to me.

Smiling as I walk down the apartment hallway, I wonder if he’ll ever move me in here for good. I haven’t slept at home again. My place has been empty for so many days that the maid who worked for me moved up a floor, and now, she and Ares’ maid take turns taking care of our things here.

As soon as I step into the living room, I hear his voice. It’s not common to find him home at this time, so close to lunch. To appease my jealousy, since we started dating, he rarely stays the night at SIN . He leaves everything in the hands of his managers.

I head over to where I hear what sounds like a speakerphone conversation. I notice it comes from the library.

“Is it confirmed, then?” he asks.

The door is ajar, but I still feel uncomfortable listening to the conversation, so I prepare to head back the way I came. But then I hear a man say:

“Yes. The DNA proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s not her. We don’t know who she is, but the woman the world knows as Serenity Clementine Blanchet, the girl whose guardian I am, is definitely not the Blanchets’ daughter.”

Odin.

Is the man who took over my guardianship telling Ares that I’m not Serenity? Are they crazy? It’s a bad joke.

My legs are shaking to the point where I need to lean on the wall while they continue to talk.

“If it weren’t for Eleanor’s husband having discovered that imperfection on the baby’s feet when looking at the photograph that night, we would never have known the truth,” Ares says.

“Yes,” Odin agrees. “It’s obvious it was a setup. We need to find the true heir and . . .”

I don’t keep listening. I head to the bedroom, and after grabbing my wallet and phone, I go down the fire escape instead of taking the elevator. I know that at this time, the bodyguards aren’t expecting me to leave. I’ve never run away from them before, so I’m counting on the element of surprise.

I take the back exit, and within a few seconds, I find myself on the street.

The cool air in the middle of the day doesn’t calm me down. I feel sick as I try to process everything I heard.

The memories come back in full force. I never remembered my parents, I’ve never felt any bond with them, and the answer is simple: they’re not mine.

I feel my eyes filling with tears, and I walk aimlessly until I find a taxi. I ask the driver to just drive, without specifying a destination, and I close my eyes, laying my head back on the seat.

Now it’s clear why Ares didn’t ask me to marry him. He suspected that I was lying all this time, and according to that conversation with Odin, he just had his confirmation.