Burn the Marriage, Keep the Crown

Chapter 210

The private room had fallen silent.

Every pair of eyes was fixed on the woman who'd just spoken-Bella Brooks.

Serena hadn't expected to see Bella here. Most of the people in this room were old classmates, kids from families just as prominent as her own used to be. After her father's death, though, the Sullivans' standing in Northspire had been slipping further and further.

She never imagined Bella would make it into this circle.

Gabrielle, who'd been living abroad, naturally didn't know much about Serena's past-but Aaron did, and so did Gabrielle.

"Serena, who is that?" Gabrielle asked, lowering her voice. "She looks like she's got it out for you."

"She's Penelope's daughter," Serena replied quietly.

Gabrielle's eyes widened as the pieces clicked into place. A sneer curled across her lips. "Oh, so that's who she is. The daughter of the mistress. Well, I'm the host today, and let me make this clear: people like that aren't welcome here. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave right now."

father's gone, and she's not 'Miss Sullivan' anymore. Once I

Serena's things. I swear, I'm going to tear you apart, you shameless little

word, she lunged

but she was definitely an

into tears, shielding her face. "Gabrielle, you lunatic! Let go of me!" The others

only ever been desk mates-hardly even friends-and only for three years at that.

the group managed to pull the two

fuming, Gabrielle struggled against their grip, breathless with rage. "Let go of me! I've never

furious, the others quickly hustled Bella out of the

Gabrielle wasn't done. "Yeah, run away, big talker! Coward! Bella, don't let me catch you again—if I

just stared, at a loss for

took a while before Gabrielle finally

her chest and declared, "Don't worry, Serena-I've got your back. I won't let them