There were the countless concerts they had missed because of his work, and the violin he had promised to have custom-made for her but never did—even after 13
years.
Yet here he was, still going on, trying to win her back with empty promises.
Serena let out a coldugh and stomped her high heel onto Zach''s polished leather shoe.
Hearing Zach grunt in pain, followed by the startled screams of Rachel and Sarah, Serena calmly pulled her wrist free from his grip.
She looked down at him coldly as he curled up in pain, her voice firm and unwavering. "I said, let go of me."
She added, "You can''t even handle something as simple as this, yet you still make empty promises?"
With that, she turned and walked away.
As the elevator doors closed, she shot him one final taunting smile. "I''ve aplished everything I set out to do today. I''m leaving now. Goodbye."
Zach''s face turned pale from the pain, but he clenched his fists tightly.
He knew it was his fault for not stepping in sooner. He couldn''t me Serena for holding a grudge, and he swore to himself that he would do everything in his power to make it right.
Serena left the office and headed straight for Samuel''s studio.
The pressure from Howard, Zach''s clinginess, and the constant scheming at Jansen Group hadpletely drained her.
As she entered the empty studio, she focused all her attention on her pottery. Gradually, her restless mind began to settle.
In the evening, Samuel arrived at the studio. When he saw the y pieces that had already taken shape, his eyes widened in astonishment.
"Wait, these are the replicas you''ve made?" he asked.
"I can hardly believe these are the works of someone outside the industry. Ms. Jansen, with your talent, you could easily join our studio as a full-time potter... My goodness, the details on this porcin are indistinguishable from the originals!"
Samuel''s eyes sparkled with admiration.
Serena wiped the y from her hands and carefully ced the porcin pieces into the preheated kiln.
The intense heat hit her face, momentarily blurring her vision.
If she could spend her days doing what she loved, that would be ideal.
But for now...
"I have more important things to focus on. I''ll think about itter."
She turned m, removed her apron and sleeve guards, and quietly waited for the kiln to finish.
Samuel noticed the exhaustion in her eyes. Instead of encouraging her to work with him, he nced at the time and suggested, "Everything''s almost ready. How about we grab a meal together?"
"Sounds good, I''m starving," Serena replied.
After a long, grueling day of work, she was both hungry and drained.
Samuel smiled. "Alright, it''s on me."
They left the studio and headed to a nearbymercial street, where they found a restaurant for dinner.
While waiting for their food, Serena, feeling a bit idle, reflected on the busy days that had passed.
Suddenly, she remembered that her coboration with Samuel had been arranged through Hugh''s connections.
On impulse, she sent him a message.
"The work at Samuel''s studio is going smoothly. Everything is almost set, and he''s treating me to a big meal."
She even snapped a photo and sent it with the message.
Hugh replied almost instantly. "It looks delicious."
"If it''s good, we should go together next time."
After sending the message, Serena suddenly realized she was texting her ally, not her closest friend.
Just as she was about to delete the message, Hugh replied with a simple "Okay." Serena''s finger hovered over the screen, but ultimately, she decided not to delete the message.
She thought about the idea of dining with Hugh and realized it didn''t sound so bad after all.
Despite being allies, Hugh''s emotional support had always been spot on. Feeling content, she put her phone down.
Samuel, sitting across from her, immediately noticed Hugh''s name on her screen.
With a smile, he passed the menu to the waiter before casting a teasing nce at Serena.
"Reporting to your husband? You look pretty happy about it."