33. Serena #2
“You defending that boy at our dinner when you need to be on your family’s side first and foremost. Or has living with him corrupted your brain?”
“I just think we should move on,” I said.
“Move on?”
Erik inhaled deeply.
“Move on?” Mama repeated. “I should just… move on .” Her hands flexed at her sides.
“You want to forgive the same family that almost ruined ours? That trial nearly ruined us like it did them. People were questioning us . We are this town. You think because you’re playing house with Miles Whitmore I’m supposed to pretend ? ”
“Mama—”
“No. You listen.” Her voice cracked like a whip.
“I carried this family’s name on my back when your grandfather died.
I rebuilt this company from nothing while people whispered that King women couldn’t lead.
I fought for respect from men who wanted to pat me on the head and make me disappear. And now you want to move on ?”
Her chest heaved once, and then she narrowed her eyes at me.
“You are not obligated to protect him , Serena. You are obligated to protect this family. ”
The silence that followed was deafening.
“Do you think he’d choose you if his company wasn’t in flames?”
Erik shifted uncomfortably. “Mama?—”
“Tell me, Serena. Do you have feelings for him?”
I froze.
“Yes or no?” she snapped.
My fingers curled into my palm. My first instinct was to say no. To lie. To fold.
But I didn’t.
“Yes, I love him.”
Mama’s lips thinned. “You just can’t do what’s right, can you?”
She looked between us and shook her head.
“Erik, you’re taking over King Developments. Serena, you will step down.”
“What!”
Erik looked just as shocked.
“You’re compromised. Emotionally. Professionally.”
“Compromised?” I echoed. “I’m compromised?”
“I put you in that marriage to keep this family alive, not so you could get swept up playing house.”
That hit like a slap.
“You forced me into that marriage,” I hissed. “Did you know all of this is really just our fault?”
“Watch your tone,” she warned.
“Why? Afraid I’ll finally say what everyone else is too scared to?”
“Miles didn’t put his family in this position. Erik did. You did. Chasing legacies, pretending we’re above people who bled for this town just like we did.”
Mama’s lips curled. “You’ve forgotten who you are.”
“That may be true,” I said, stepping forward, “but you forgot who we were first. You forgot we were human.”
“You didn’t need to get sucked into his pity party.”
“Did you say the same thing to Laurene?” My voice sharpened like a blade. “Or was the goalpost different for her than it’s always been for me?”
Her expression didn’t flicker, but I saw the way her fingers clenched at her sides.
“You really do have feelings for this boy?” she said with disdain.
“Miles,” I corrected her, chin lifting. “His name is Miles. And he wasn’t just some boy. He was our friend . His family was our family . Their blood, their roots— they’re in this soil too. ”
She opened her mouth, but I cut her off, the words pouring out like a dam breaking.
“You can rewrite history all you want, but you know the truth. We built this town with the Whitmores. You used to smile in their faces. Let their checks fund your galas. Now you wanna pretend like we were always better than them?”
Mama stiffened. “I built you for better than this, Serena. Better. ”
“No,” I said, the word like iron in my throat. “You built a version of me that served you. That kept quiet. That smiled and nodded and outperformed and outmaneuvered, because God forbid I fail or feel or be anything less than perfect.”
She tried to cut in, but I wasn’t done.
“Did you teach me anything, Mama?” I kept going. “Or were you too busy putting a crown on Laurene’s head? Taking Erik to board meetings? Only looking at Gigi when she became a liability?”
I stepped closer, the heat rising in my chest.
“And me? I’ve been your cleanup crew. Your strategist. Your buffer. I’ve been everything for everybody —and you didn’t even notice or have the fucking decency to care about me. Your daughter .”
Mama’s face was unreadable. “You wanna throw this fit now?”
My laugh came sharp and humorless. “This isn’t a fit. This is me finally waking the hell up.”
“I gave you everything ,” she hissed.
“Maybe, but not everything!” I shouted. “I shouldn’t have had to fight for my own mother’s love!”
For a moment, we just stood there, breathing hard, locked in a war a decade in the making.
“Love and attention, that’s all I wanted,” I said. “For you to take the time, between all your power moves and your damn obsession with controlling everything, to look at me. See what my strengths were. Just like you invested into Erik and Laurene. It’s that simple, Mama.
“Don’t worry about taking the company from me, I came here to tell you I quit.”
“Rena—” Erik said.
“No, Erik. I’ve spent too many years pouring into this family, I didn’t give anything to myself. I’m leaving, I’m taking my work with me and spending time with my man.”
Mama’s eyebrows lifted.
“I won’t be used. I won’t be treated like a bargaining chip.
Or the backup daughter. Until you can pull your own head out of your ass and treat me with the same reverence you give Erik and Laurene, Mama…
we’re done. Don’t call me. Don’t ask for me.
Don’t look for me until you can look me in the eye and take accountability for what you’ve done. ”
Then I turned and walked away. Not a stumble. Not a look back. And for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel like I was breaking apart.
I felt like I was finally whole.