Maverick's Celebration Pastas were divine, each bite layered with skill and heart, but they did nothing to cool the fire raging in my chest. My anger still burned, the way it does when someone trespasses into your most sacred space, leaving you restless, unsettled, and raw.
I didn't let Adrian stay. At that moment, just looking at him made my stomach turn.
Maverick sat with me instead, sharing two quiet drinks.
He studied me for a moment before speaking. "Forgive me for being blunt, but the rumors outside are not in your family's favor. I suggest you keep your ties with Chairman Hayes intact. If your family truly runs into trouble, the Hayes family might still have the power to pull you out."
I swirled the wine in my glass and took a slow sip. "Uncle Maverick, do you know why Adrian dares to behave like this?"
Silence settled over him. He didn't need to answer; we both knew. Adrian's audacity came from those whispers outside. If my family truly was on the brink, then this was him beginning to show his true colors.
I added, "If those rumors turn out to be true, Adrian wouldn't even bother to apologize today. And it wouldn't be me asking for the divorce."
Maverick remained silent. He knew I was right. He drained an entire glass in one breath. "People these days are heartless. If your family hadn't helped the Hayes family, they would've been history long ago."
I smiled faintly. "If I could lift the Hayes family up, I can crush them back down."
He only glanced at me, knowing those were nothing more than my wishful thoughts.
Now, all the outside rumors pointed to the Serrano family becoming nothing but a relic of the past, with countless eyes waiting to watch us fall.
On that point, I said nothing more.
A decision had already settled in my heart: to use this incident with Adrian to show everyone whether the Serrano family would fall or not.
....
When I got home, Adrian was unusually proactive.
He wore the pajamas I had once picked for him, the same ones I used to beg him to wear, only for him to say it was undignified for a man.
Tonight, he wore them on purpose, but I couldn't bring myself to care.
In the first years of our marriage, he went out of his way to please me, because back then, his family needed my help and the backing of the group behind me.
But in the past two years, the Hayes family had clawed its way out of the mud and climbed higher and higher.
He stopped making the effort. Every time, it was either "busy" or "tired." I had reached out more times than I could count, only to be met with cold responses.
When he did agree on rare occasions, he was like a dead fish.
Sometimes, I even felt disgusted with myself.
As a woman, I felt like I had failed.
But forgiving yourself was always easier than forgiving others.
I had long carried resentment toward this relationship; today, even more so.
Faced with his sudden display of initiative, I chose to turn it away.
I went upstairs to the bedroom and locked the door behind me.
Lying in bed, I realized Adrian and I had been sleeping in separate rooms for two years.
The last time we had been intimate was six months ago.
It used to be him locking the door; today, it was me.
The next morning, to my surprise, he had made breakfast and was already seated at the table, waiting.
I ate in silence, only a few bites, without looking at him.
He seemed ready to speak, but when I stayed quiet, he swallowed his words.
At noon, his mother called, saying we hadn't visited in a while and inviting us to dinner.
She gave me a reason I couldn't refuse; my parents would be there too.
I knew this had been arranged by Adrian.
He wanted to use this dinner to smooth the cracks between us.
But a chill that had built for years could not be melted in a single night.
Yesterday's meal with Nadia was only the fuse; it had simply lit the fire already waiting.
Still, I had thought about it all night. To divorce over a single dinner would be too hasty. I would wait. Watch. See how he acted from now on.
That evening, over dinner, Adrian handed my father a document. "Dad, take a look. This is the project plan for the Haines project."
