On the screen was a selfie. In the photo, Xavier was holding the shampoo she had just bought from a convenience store, with a bright and radiant smile on his face.
Beneath the photo was a caption: [Serena, thank you for the things you bought, I love them so much!]
Serena shook her head and casually replied: [They're just some very ordinary things. If you don't like them, just throw them away! The convenience store only had these, and since you asked me to go quickly, I didn't dare to go to a farther mall to buy anything!]
Xavier: [They're not ordinary at all. As long as you bought them, they're the best things in the world! I can't bear to use them, so I plan to sleep with it tonight!]
Serena: [...Sleep with a bottle of shampoo?! Mr. Blaze, are you sure you only have pneumonia and not something wrong with your brain?!]
Xavier: "Haha! Of course not! It still has the traces of your touch on it! You're not here, so hugging it is like hugging you!"
Serena raised her head, helplessly looking out the window, but she didn't realize when the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.
...
The car stopped in the underground garage. It wasn't peak commuting hours, so the elevator was relatively empty, and it quickly arrived.
Serena stepped inside, pressed the floor button, and smoothly reached the fifteenth floor.
When the elevator doors opened, she stepped out, walking while tilting her head to search for her keys in her bag.
Suddenly, a pair of shiny leather shoes appeared on the ground in front of her. She subconsciously looked up, then her eyebrows furrowed and her face immediately turned cold. "Mr. Beckett!"
Clint stood tall, leaning casually against the hallway wall, with cigarette butts scattered at his feet.
Serena frowned, "I don't remember you used to smoke!"
Clint smiled indifferently, "Just started!"
Out of goodwill, Serena casually advised, "That's not a good habit, you better not pick it up!"
The man suddenly looked up, his eyes lighting up, "You... don't want me to smoke?!"
"Not really!" Serena shrugged indifferently, walking past him, "Whether you smoke or not is your business. We're not married anymore, so I have no right and no need to control you! We met once, I'm just kindly reminding you. After all, there are still quite a few people every year who get lung diseases from smoking!"
At this point, the image of Xavier suddenly flashed in her mind.
'That man has pneumonia right now! Fortunately, he doesn't smoke! Hmm, in the future, he can't smoke. After this pneumonia experience, he needs to take good care of his lungs!'
Realizing what she was thinking, Serena quickly shook her head.
Why was she thinking about him?! Whether he takes care of his lungs or not, what does it have to do with her?!
"Serena!" Clint followed her, standing behind her.
She turned around, looking at him with a neutral expression, "Speak, what's the matter, you're looking for me?!"
Clint's gaze darkened, and a hint of sadness appeared on his face, "Before, you never spoke to me so coldly!"
"Before?!" Serena sneered, "You even said it, that was before! Before is before, now is now! The world is always changing, isn't it?! The Serena who was obedient to you before, wasn't she the one you eventually hurt so badly?!"
After finishing, she coldly examined Clint, "Mr. Beckett, what do you want?!"
"I..." The man pursed his lips, his expression revealing a hint of struggle, "I don't know what I want! I shouldn't, I don't want anything!"
"Heh!" Serena was amused, "If you don't want anything, then don't appear in my life again, okay?! We're divorced! The meaning of divorce, you should understand, right? It means we no longer have any legal or moral connection! Strictly speaking, if both parties pretend not to know each other, we're strangers!"
"Strangers..." He murmured, standing there in a lonely and desolate manner, looking quite sorrowful.
"Yes, strangers! So, unless you have something to say, please leave, I won't invite you in!"
After saying that, Serena turned around without any hesitation, took out her keys, and went to open the door.
With a click, the door lock was turned.
Once inside, Serena didn't think much of it and casually slammed the door shut.
The next moment, a muffled grunt came from behind her. She instinctively turned around.
Clint's arm was caught between the door and the door frame. When she slammed the door earlier, she didn't hold back, so this must hurt a lot.
Hastily, she pulled the door back, anxiously asking, "Are you okay?!"
Clint's eyes lit up, and without waiting for her response, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"Serena, you still care about me, don't you?!"
Serena turned her eyes away, "Sorry, don't get the wrong idea. It's just instinct. If anyone else had their arm squeezed at my doorstep, I'd ask too."
Clint ignored her resistance, walking straight in a few steps. Then, in Serena's startled gaze, he slammed the door shut behind him.
Serena instinctively stepped back, "What are you doing?! I didn't invite you in!"
"Serena!" Suddenly, he stretched out his long arm, pulling her into his embrace.
"What are you doing?! Let go! Clint Beckett! Let go!..." Serena struggled hard.
But the man was unmoved, his arm tightening around her.
With a hoarse voice, carrying a trace of almost imperceptible sadness, he gave a bitter laugh, "I also want to let go! I've told myself countless times that I need to let go, I must let go! But why can't I do it?!"
What?!
Serena was so surprised she forgot to resist.
Leaning silently on his shoulder, she blinked, momentarily unable to grasp the meaning behind his words.
He said he couldn't let go?
But he was the one who initiated the divorce! He was the one messing around with Poppy, and even got caught in bed with her!
Throughout their relationship, he had always ignored her grievances and dismissed her efforts.
When she had finally been heartbroken enough to decide to leave the mess and embrace a new life, now he says he can't let go?!
What a joke!
The pained voice continued ringing in her ears, "Serena, tell me, how did you let go?! Why can't I ever let go?! Since the divorce, you've appeared in my dreams every night. Every time my mind goes blank, you fill up all my thoughts! What should I do?! What can I do to make you leave my world?!"
Serena's heart was a whirlwind of emotions.
The late-coming affection felt like weeds. Turns out, a second chance and a few different choices can lead to huge changes. Even though the tragedies that led to her heartbreak and death in her past life hadn't happened yet, the pain still lingered.
She couldn't help but sigh, "Clint, you had countless chances to win me back, but you didn't! When you repeatedly defended Poppy without asking right from wrong, when you kept coldly distancing yourself from me, our relationship was gradually wearing away. Wake up, it's over between us!"
"Serena, if... if I tell you that I had my reasons for doing those things, would you... give me another chance?!"
***