If Serena were to dry her own hair, she''d have been done five minutes ago. But somehow, it was taking even longer with Hugh''s help.


    She kept her head down, not daring to say a word-unaware that Hugh''s eyes were overflowing with warmth and tenderness behind her.


    "Why didn''t anyone tell me sooner?"


    "Serena''s birthday party? At a bar? And Cole still went? That''s his aunt for god''s sake! Hugh didn''t even show up, so why the hell did he go?"


    Sarah was hysterical as she clutched the sleeve of one of Cole''s secretaries.


    The homemade lunch she brought-carefully prepared, lovingly packedy scattered on the ground.


    She had thought Cole was workingte again, like always. So she brought him something a bit offort to break the grind.


    But Cole wasn''t there. Just his secretaries, working overtime in his ce.


    And when she asked where he''d gone, it broke her.


    Serena again! No matter what she did, men flocked to her like dogs wagging their tails.


    The secretaries flinched at Sarah''s outburst, but they''d seen worse. They were used to the chaos that followed Cole''s love life.


    Without hesitation, one of them pulled her hand away and snapped. "Why are you taking it out on us? Mr. Cole has women lined up around the block.


    "If you think you''re special, go ahead-tie him to your belt. If not, get out of here. This is an office, not a random street for you to throw tantrums."


    Security was called, and Sarah was thrown out without ceremony.


    With eyes zing with jealousy, Sarah stormed straight to the bar. When she found out Serena was changing in the staff room, she made a beeline for it.


    "Changing? Please. You''re just here to steal someone else''s man! Wait till I film this and send it to Hugh. Forget about being Mrs. Larson!"


    With her phone in hand, Serena kicked open thest door.


    The dim light revealed a jarring scene. Cole stood shirtless, overflowing with impatience as he tossed a bank card onto the table.


    He nced at the curled-up figure on the couch, then turned to Sarah in the doorway. His voice was cold. "What are you doing here?"


    "Cole, you-"


    "Alright. I don''t care." Cole dismissed her with a nce and turned back toward the figure on the couch.


    "Let''s pretend tonight never happened. If you want money, it''s on the table."


    It wasn''t Serena. When he finally turned on the light, ready for what he thought would be a sultry night, he saw Wendy''s face.


    In that instant, the heat in his chest vanished. He shot upright, startled. As he scrambled to his feet, Wendy gasped for breath like she was ill.


    He tossed her onto the couch with an annoyed grunt and ordered someone to bring a nket.


    Wendy''s breathing finally began to steady. She bit down on her lower lip and wrapped her arms tightly around herself as she trembled in disbelief.


    She didn''t notice Cole had already left. Nor did she see Sarah step inside.


    Tears spilled down her face as her voice rose in a raw, broken scream. "How am I supposed to be with Zach now? Why is this happening to me?! It''s all because of her! Serena-it''s always her! Ah-"


    Sarah lunged forward and yanked Wendy off the couch.


    Then came the sound of a heel snapping down-the bank card on the table shattered beneath Sarah''s high heel. Her eyes burned red as she took in the


    sight.


    Wendy body covered in a canvas of


    Wendy, now copsed on the floor,


    had


    bruises in shades of red, white, and purple. There were even Cole''s


    fingerprint marks on her waist.


    "You slut! You swore you wanted to work with me and that Zach was the only one


    you wanted! I can''t believe you turned around and crawled into Cole''s bed!


    "I can''t kill Serena or get rid of Cole''s secretaries. But you? I can destroy you!"


    Sarahunched into a frenzy, beating Wendy without mercy.


    Wendy, barely recovering from her asthma and already weak from what Cole had put her through, had no strength left.


    As she was pinned to the floor, she


    couldn''t fight back. Her breath


    began to vanish. The light above her


    blurred like static on a broken TV


    screen, and colors swirled around her like a broken carousel


    Her body arched violently as she gasped for air, but her windpipe felt torn.


    She was dying.