Felix was stunned by the slap, tilting his head to look at his wife with a fleeting look of inquiry in his eyes. “Serena, what's wrong?”
"Ah, I was dreaming." She lied calmly, "Dreaming that you broke my favorite vase."
His tense shoulders slowly relaxed and he raised his hand to rub her cheek. "Then I deserved it, but go easy on me next time, don't hit my face. It'll ruin my handsome image."
His fingertips were warm and his actions were as intimate and natural as ever, as if he wasn't the one coaxing another woman in the bathroom with a low, husky voice.
Serena had intended to push him away, but instead leaned in, though the warmth in her eyes slowly colder.
As dawn broke, her mobile phone buzzed again—it was Jennifer.
The person on the other end of the phone said in a tearful voice, "Serena, I was in a bad mood last night and was speeding a bit, crashing the Rolls-Royce Grandpa left us. You'd better hurry back to the Danishs' manor right now with your husband."
Serena's mind instantly cleared.
That Rolls-Royce was a limited edition from last century, meticulously preserved and maintained to this day, making its value incalculable.
Not to mention its license plate—the unique number 1 in the entire city—a symbol of the Danish Family’s status.
Most importantly, it was my grandfather’s legacy, a cherished remembrance left for the entire family.
She frowned, about to scold her, when Felix handed over his coat and said, "Let's go back to the Danishs' manor."
In just a few minutes later, they arrived.
Before Jennifer could say a word in front of her parents, Felix spoke up first, "Dad, it's my fault for not reminding Serena. She drank last night and I couldn't stop her."
Stanley slammed the table hard, unable to control his anger and exploded. "Nonsense! Don't you have any idea what kind of car is that? It's your grandpa's legacy! You dared to drive that car after drinking! What do you take the Danishs for?"
Jennifer stood to the side with her head down, as if nothing had anything to do with her.
Serena froze on the spot, then protested, "It wasn't me, it was Jennifer! I would never do such a thing!" Stanley, enraged, suddenly raised his hand.
A loud slap echoed in the living room.
Serena's face was turned to the side by the slap and half of her ear rang. It was the first time her father had ever hit her.
“Your husband and your sister have always been at odds. If it really was Jennifer who did it, why would Felix falsely accuse you! You actually want to falsely accuse your sister!”
“I didn’t make a false accusation! We can check the surveillance footage.”
Seeing that Stanley's expression softened somewhat, Felix spoke again, “Dad, if we check on the footage, this matter will inevitably leak out. The Danishs will be the laughingstock of the entire California.”
Syanley sat back down in his chair and slowly took a sip of tea, saying, "You're right, Felix. I will cover up the car incident. But punishment is inevitable. Serena, go to the memorial hall, kneel down and sincerely apologize to your granpa for the mistake you did last night."
The memorial hall was underground, cold and damp.
Serena had been cherished by her parents since childhood and rarely came there.
Her fingertips slowly tightened, grinding against the cold edge of her wedding ring.
Last night, when she wrote the divorce agreement in her study, she simply wanted to reclaim everything that belonged to her, one by one and then leave gracefully.
But today, she was slapped in public, misunderstood by her closest person and had her name used to cover up the shame of others.
She suddenly felt that divorce was far from enough.
She also wanted her sister and her husband to taste the bitterness of utter disgrace.
Felix came just as she was about to leave the memorial hall. His voice was gentle. "Serena, you just knelt down in the memorial hall. If it was Jennifer, she would definitely lose half of her life. I know you love your little sister the most, so I lied for you. You won't blame me, will you?"
She lowered her eyes. If it were before, she definitely wouldn't have cared about this matter. She might even have pretended it was her doing, sparing Jennifer from punishment and even have thanked Felix.
But now…
Seeing Serena gave no answer, Jennifer, who was following behind her husband, immediately caught up and pitifully said, "Serena, I was wrong. You can scold me or hit me however you want. I've put on a sculpture exhibition for this, which also has a statue based on you, as a special apology to you."
Apology?
She smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.
She wanted to see clearly just how far they were going to push her.
The marble statue in the center of the sculpture exhibition, with exquisite lines to the point where every inch of the skin's curvature was impeccable, was none other than Serena.
But the statue was completely naked, illuminated from head to toe by the spotlight!
