Connor fell silent. Could it be? Mr. Valor did not seem to care about Serenity anymore, but his next words seemed to be saying otherwise. "Find out why she needed the money," Jackson ordered."Yes," Connor responded and left the office quickly.Alone in the office, Jackson paced to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out the window. Looking down the street, he noticed a glint of dark-colored hair and recognized Serenity standing in front of the building.How strange, he thought. Repeatedly, he had told himself not to care about her anymore, but he could not resist thinking of her.Jackson was annoyed that he felt a pang of worry in his chest at the thought of her—her pale and haggard face, her being a little unsteady on her feet. What was he worried about? What was there to worry about?Not that she came here for you, Jackson told himself. Serenity was here because something had happened between her and Lucas. Lucas would not give her the money, so she had come to Jackson, be

"Yes," Serenity responded, not surprised he would find out so soon. "You really care about your friend. You stood in front of Lucas' place all night for Lisa. It didn't work out, so you came to me and stood at the entrance for so long," Jackson said, his voice full of sarcasm.Serenity could not help but tremble, her fists clenching tighter. Gathering her courage, she decided she would accept all the humiliation Jackson was going to give her, no matter what. She had to hold on and save Lisa!Serenity chewed her lip. "I know. You'd probably see me as someone shameless, but… I really need the money. I need to save Lisa. She might not survive without this. Please lend me the money. In return, I'll agree to anything you want—anything you want me to do."Serenity was desperate to save Lisa at all costs. Lisa had sacrificed her future and helped Serenity in her most desperate moments. She would always be grateful and would do everything she could to save Lisa!"Why would I need you to

"Hey, Lucas… Are you still thinking of Serenity? Your relationship with Serenity is affected because of me. Are you okay?" Lynette put on a guilty look and said pretentiously, "Serenity is begging to see you because of Peter, but you refused to see her. Will that really be okay?""Don't ask any more questions about her and me. Just talk to your lawyer about the lawsuit," Lucas said coldly."Thank you, Lucas." Lynette suddenly choked out a sob and lowered her head, pretending to wipe her tears away. "I thought you'd side with Serenity and stop me from suing Peter. I thought you loved Serenity and would make me put up with this, but…""I didn't expect you to help. Thank you for hiring a lawyer for me and helping me with my case. You're so nice. You're still the same… you." Lynette wanted to call him Luke, but she remembered his previous warning and gave up. There was no point in making him upset with a nickname. Besides, her utmost priority was to keep him away from Serenity. She must

Serenity had an instinctive urge to break free from Jackson's embrace, but the more she struggled, the tighter he held her. Her scent filled his nose, and he savored it greedily. He kept her close in his arms, unwilling to ever let her go again now that he had finally held her.How much longer would she keep him under her spell like this? His rational restraint and resolve had all but been shattered so effortlessly the moment he met her!She was clearly the one in an awkward situation now, yet why did he feel completely defeated by her? Why did he even feel like he was about to… throw down his armor and surrender to her?And so, he held her like that for a long time, burying his face deep against her shoulder as if he intended to stay that way for the rest of his life.Serenity was stunned. She had thought that he despised her more than anyone in the world, that he was so disgusted by her that he never wanted to have anything to do with her again, so why was he hugging her like t

As for her marriage to Jackson, it was a decision that she would never regret because it was her best choice right now! It was the best thing she could do both for Lisa and the baby in her belly!But as she thought of this, she heard a tiny voice in her mind asking her, what about her? Was getting married to Jackson the best choice for herself too?Were all those feelings she had for him… really gone? Or were they actually… still the same as they had always been?After Serenity left with Connor in tow, everything that had just happened finally sank in for Lisa's parents. They looked at one another and saw bewilderment in each other's eyes.Who would have thought that Serenity was going to marry Jackson Valor, and because of that, he was willing to help the Quest family?Everything had just happened so suddenly! And besides, Jackson Valor was… the richest man in Solaria. He was the most powerful man in this city. Was someone like that really going to marry Serenity Lewis?!After a