When Serena arrived at Clint's company, it was exactly 9:55, neither too early nor too late.
The secretary seemed to have received an advance notice from Clint and knew she was coming.
Upon seeing her, he simply nodded and politely greeted her, "Good morning, Mrs. Beckett," then led her toward the CEO's office.
Following behind him, Serena sarcastically thought, this title of 'Mrs. Beckett' would probably change hands before long.
"Please, Mrs. Beckett, Mr. Beckett is already waiting for you inside."
"Alright, thank you!"
The secretary wisely left, and Serena turned to look at the imposing, jet-black door in front of her.
Finally, they had come to this day!
Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand firmly and pushed the door open.
Clint was sitting behind a leather executive chair, looking down at the documents on his desk.
Hearing the door open, he raised his head and looked at her. His gaze flickered, subtly filled with complex emotions. His thin lips parted slightly, and he merely said, "You're here."
"Yes." Serena didn't want to waste too much time here, so she walked directly to the opposite side of his desk, extended her hand, and said, "The divorce agreement!"
Clint instinctively lowered his gaze to the two open documents in front of him.
His brows furrowed slightly, as if deep in thought. After a moment, he asked, "Do you want to look over the agreement again? If there's anything that needs changing, or if you have any other demands, I'll have them make the adjustments..."
"No need! I have no objections to the agreement." With that, Serena swiftly took one of the documents and grabbed a pen from the pen holder, uncapping it to sign.
"Serena!" Clint called her name urgently.
Serena looked up, throwing him a confused look. "What?!"
"You... you..." Clint's long fingers clenched tightly together, and for the first time, he seemed a bit nervous.
Since they first met, they had known each other for years, but Serena had never seen Clint so anxious.
He was someone who usually kept his emotions in check, no matter how turbulent his inner world was; his exterior always remained calm.
Now, he was displaying his emotions so plainly, which was quite unusual.
Surprised, Serena paused and was about to ask a few questions when suddenly, a loud noise came from outside the CEO's office.
They both instinctively looked toward the door.
The door was closed, so they couldn't see what was going on outside, but the noise was growing louder and closer.
Clint stood up from his chair and walked toward the door, and Serena instinctively wanted to follow to see what was happening.
Just as she stepped forward, a man caught her arm from behind. "Don't go, it might be dangerous. Stay here and wait for me."
Serena opened her mouth to argue but was stopped by his words, "Serena, listen to me, don't make me worry."
These were words he hadn't said to her in years.
Only when they had just started dating had he occasionally said such sweet things to her to win her over.
Coming to her senses, Clint had already reached the door.
Serena wanted to call out to him, to say, 'Be careful,' but the words were on the tip of her tongue, and she realized that, with her current status, she had no standing to say that anymore. It didn't seem necessary, so she just watched him open the door and leave.
Once Clint left, the noise outside suddenly stopped.
Serena tilted her head, trying to hear what had happened, but she was too far away and couldn't make out anything.
Her curiosity grew, and unable to hold back anymore, she stepped forward toward the door.
She quietly opened the door a crack and saw that the outside was empty, not a soul in sight.
"Strange?! Just now, the noise was right outside the door, and now it's completely quiet?! Where is Clint?!"
Confirming that the situation was safe, she opened the door and stepped out.
The secretary was sitting at a desk outside, writing something. Serena walked over and asked, "Secretary Zayn, what happened here just now?!"
Secretary Zayn was startled, looking up with a strange expression. He stammered, "Well... Mrs. Beckett, just now..."
His unusual reaction made Serena more vigilant. Seeing that he was still fumbling for words after a while, she decided to change the subject. "Where's Mr. Beckett?!"
Secretary Zayn blinked, clearly hesitant to speak.
Serena's patience was wearing thin. Pretending to be stern, she asked seriously, "Mr. Beckett and I have important matters to discuss. He just left me here and walked away. What if the matter is delayed?! If you won't tell me, are you willing to take the responsibility if something goes wrong?!"
Secretary Zayn was clearly intimidated by her and, with a long face, pointed toward the direction of the meeting room. "Mr. Beckett... should be in the meeting room."
"Meeting room?!" Serena followed his pointing direction. "Mr. Beckett asked me to come at 10. There shouldn't be any meetings scheduled at this time."
Although they were soon to part ways, she was still technically the wife of Clint Beckett. If something happened to him now, wouldn't she be left with the reputation of a widow?
Resolute, she didn't have time to think more. She stepped forward toward the meeting room.
The meeting room had glass doors, and though they were frosted, she could still vaguely make out some figures inside.
In addition to Clint, there was another person-someone shorter and smaller than him.
Not hearing any shouting, Serena felt a bit relieved and decided to keep observing before deciding whether to go in.
She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. Before she could hear anything clearly, the glass door suddenly opened.
The person inside froze upon seeing her and then said with a sarcastic tone, "Oh, isn't this Miss Knowles?!"
Serena gave a smirk. "I was wondering who was causing such a commotion, turns out it's Miss Castano."
Poppy sneered, "I knew it! Why else would Clint refuse to see me? It's because of you, this seductress! How thick-skinned you are, still trying to have Clint say something to you. When will you stop clinging to him?!"
"Seducress?!" Serena raised an eyebrow. "That's a nice term. Looks like Miss Castano has a clear understanding of herself."
"You!" Poppy rolled her eyes. "I'm talking about you! Don't try to dirty my name!"
"Oh?! If I remember correctly, the person who appeared on the marriage certificate with Clint is me! Clearly, you're the one breaking up someone's family, but now you're accusing me? 'Seducress' seems to be a term custom-made for you!"
"What did you say?!" Poppy, enraged, raised her hand to slap Serena.
"Stop!" Clint's large hand seized her wrist before she could strike.
Poppy turned around in disbelief, and their eyes met-a pair of furious eyes.
***