Burn the Marriage, Keep the Crown

Chapter 168

After dinner, Serena lingered for a few more minutes, noticing that Joy showed no signs of leaving. She stood up and bid farewell to Samuel.

"I'll walk you out," Samuel said, grabbing a freshly washed insulated container and a bag of fruit as they headed out.

Once they reached the car, he placed both items on the passenger seat before standing upright and turning to Serena. "I'm sorry about what Joy said. Please don't take it to heart. I used to dislike pie because the crusts were always so thick at home. But your pie is different-thin crust, lots of filling, absolutely delicious. I really enjoyed it today."

He scratched his head awkwardly. "Uh... did I... am I talking too much today?"

Serena smiled and shook her head. "Samuel, if you don't like something in the future, just say so. No need to hold back."

Samuel grinned, "Alright."

"Well then, see you next time." Serena got into her car and drove away.

until

time,

because he liked her,

She hadn't noticed it before, but today it was glaringly obvious. Aaron's words had pierced her heart like an arrow. For centuries, the mother-in-law and

Aaron, for instance. Katherine and Vivian continually gave her a hard time and treated her like a servant, all because Aaron didn't

to her heart, which had just opened a crack, slowly

the Emerald Crown

on the sofa, watching

gotten into

up cautiously, seeing his stern

Joy grow up and believed he understood her well,

Joy protested, trying to lie her way

I didn't like pie? Especially the last time—it was like you were trying to