The Lies Behind Her Marriage novel Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: The Line Between Them**

Serena turned to face him, and as his hand brushed against hers, an electric jolt surged through her, igniting a familiar warmth that both comforted and unsettled her. His expression was a tapestry of emotions, tightly woven with something she couldn’t quite decipher, leaving her feeling vulnerable and exposed.

“What you’re asking isn’t simple,” Nathaniel said, his voice low and measured, as if each word was carefully chosen.

He paused, searching for the right way to articulate the weight of his feelings. “The grief you know… it pales in comparison to what my mother and I have endured. You will never truly understand. There are barriers between us that no amount of desire can breach.”

Serena inhaled sharply, but the breath caught in her throat, leaving her momentarily speechless. Her shoulders lifted in a silent plea for composure, only to drop heavily, as if the very air inside the car had thickened, becoming a suffocating presence.

‘Nothing had changed,’ she thought bitterly. His words still drew a stark line between them, a chasm that seemed insurmountable.

“Relax,” she said, attempting to sound nonchalant as she withdrew her hand, dismissing the moment as if it held no significance. “I was just messing with you.”

She had already stepped out of the car when she tossed over her shoulder, “Don’t worry. I’ve already given up on you. Once the divorce is finalized, you won’t have to worry about seeing me again.”

“Everything will be completed in two weeks, right?” Serena asked, her tone firm and unwavering. Nathaniel nodded, albeit slightly, his silence echoing louder than words.

“Good. I’m sure it will feel better once there’s nothing left between us,” she added, a hint of finality in her voice. “Still… thank you for tonight.”

With those words, she closed the door, her heart heavy with each step she took towards Alice, who was waiting nearby.

Serena could feel Nathaniel’s intense gaze on her back, but she chose to ignore it, focusing instead on the path ahead. As she and Alice entered the apartment building, Nathaniel’s words replayed in her mind like a haunting melody.

“The grief you know… doesn’t compare to what my mother and I lived with. You will never understand.”

Perhaps he was right. Perhaps she would never fully grasp the depth of his suffering. Her own resentments towards her parents had carved deep wounds, yet they had never twisted her into something vengeful. ‘Just how much had Nathaniel truly endured?’

What Serena failed to recognize was that understanding had a peculiar way of creeping up on people. And sooner or later, grief would find her as well, in a form she could never have anticipated.

***

‘After the divorce, you won’t see me again.’

Those words lingered in Nathaniel’s mind, echoing relentlessly.

That had been the plan, the arrangement he had convinced himself would bring peace. Yet, as he continued to stare at the spot where Serena and Alice had vanished into the building, a sense of unease settled over him, gnawing at his insides.

“We need to start the research on neurological disorders,” Nathaniel muttered to himself, his eyes still fixed on the apartment, ten stories above where Alice resided.

“Is that really the answer, Sir?” Gavin inquired, his voice laced with uncertainty.

“Ah, thank you, Miss Hartley,” Gavin replied gratefully, taking a quick sip.

Alice returned to Nathaniel’s side, her tone shifting to something more serious. “You should leave, Nathan. I don’t want my girl waking up to find you loitering around here. I don’t want her to think there’s any hope left for your marriage.”

“Did you convince her to sneak into her parents’ mansion?” Nathaniel interjected, his voice sharp.

Alice bit her lip, momentarily caught off guard. “I-um-”

“Of course you did,” he scolded, frustration creeping into his tone. “I hope that doesn’t happen again, Alice.”

“Don’t tell her I stayed out here,” he instructed, slowly rolling up the window, a sense of finality in his gesture.

“I won’t,” Alice replied firmly. “But you don’t deserve any points for this.”

***

Later that same day, Serena and Alice found themselves at the hospital, awaiting DNA test results that would take a week to arrive.

But even before the truth could make its way to her, an unexpected opportunity emerged—one that seemed to promise an escape from the confines of Velmon City.