8. Serena
Serena
SIX YEARS AGO…
“You fucked up, Laurene. You were supposed to marry Conrad, and the boy is in a fucking coma! What if he dies?” Mama yelled at Laurene from upstairs.
The voices bounced off the marble floors, sharp and echoing like broken glass. I stood rigid, heart racing. The words weren’t aimed at me, but somehow they still felt like they were.
Keep still. Be quiet. Don’t make it worse.
I wished Miles was here right now. He would’ve pulled me out of the room. No questions. Just grabbed my hand and gone.
Mama’s voice was sharp—it always was when she was mad. And Laurene… Laurene was fighting back.
“I didn’t ask him to fight his brother!”
“I know you had something to do with it,” Mama hissed. “Was that your plan all along? Make these brothers fight and you got out of this deal? Even when you know what it means ? —”
“You mean what it means for you ! For the company!” Laurene screamed back.
I started to go upstairs, but a firm hand landed on my shoulder, and I jumped, looking behind me to see Erik.
“Stay here,” he said.
“But they ? —”
“Stay.” Erik rushed up the stairs, leaving me there alone.
My hands were clenched into fists in the sleeves of my sweater. My stomach hurt. There was this buzzing in my ears, like the room was too loud and too bright and too much.
“You need to see this through,” Mama spat. “You leave now and there’s no coming back. Do you hear me, Laurene? If I gotta fix this, you get nothing !”
“Then clean it up,” Laurene said.
I heard a door slam and quick footsteps. Laurene was coming down the stairs, clutching a bag and her dress. Despite tears, she defiantly lifted her chin.
She stopped next to me and squeezed me tightly.
“Don’t let her turn you into something you’re not,” Laurene told me.
Before I could speak, before I could even process what the hell was happening, she was gone.
My life was falling apart. Miles was long gone.
It was pathetic. Even now. He could’ve made a joke. Something stupid. Something that would’ve made me feel like I wasn’t suffocating.
I could fix things. We weren’t that badly damaged. Nope, not yet. We were the Kings, we would survive ? —
Out of nowhere, Mama yelled, “Serena!”
I immediately bolted up the stairs. She was in her office, the door open. I started to head that way, but I could hear the sniffles of Gigi down the hall and Daddy’s voice muttering to her.
My feet didn’t want to move, but I forced myself anyway.
Step.
Step.
Pause.
As I leaned against the wall, my hand was hand was on my chest. I was terrified; my heart leaped into my throat, and I stumbled back.
“Serena, don’t make me call you again.”
My gut said run, but I made myself go into Mama’s office. She was sitting at her desk, a bottle of alcohol in front of her. For the first time, Mama looked…old. Way beyond her fifty-something years, like time and responsibility had collapsed onto her.
She drank straight from the bottle. I closed the doors to her office softly.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Who is that?” Mama pointed above her, to the back wall where our great-great-great-grandfather Augustus King’s portrait was. He’d lived on the space of the wall for years, looming, watching us to see if we’d made a mistake.
“Augustus King.”
Mama nodded. “Lush wouldn’t exist without him. Without us.”
I’d memorized the story. He founded it after the Tulsa Massacre, then made it flourish.
“We owe it to him. To what he sacrificed. We cannot have it end now. Not because your sister wants to be selfish—” Mama stopped, angry, then drank again. “I can’t. That’s not what I promised my father. And I’ll be damned if we fail.”
Her eyes flicked to me.
“I’ve always said you were the smart one, Serena.
You see the cracks before anyone else does.
” She stood and came around the desk, her voice softening.
“You think I don’t notice, but I do. You’ve always wanted to help.
And now I need you. I need someone who won’t run away when things get hard.
Someone I can trust not to disappoint me. ”
Her fingers curled around my wrist, and I froze. “You can be that. I know you can.”
I swallowed, and nodded slowly.
“Make me proud then. Step up for me, for the family, for Augustus. You don’t want to let him down, do you?”
The mansion was creepily quiet. No staff bustling about, no distant hum of chatter from the other wings. Only the old clock ticking softly in the corner.
I approached the door to Mama’s office. The muffled sound of her irate tone carried through the heavy oak. Even without seeing her, I knew she was pacing, her sharp heels leaving tiny scuffs on the Persian rug.
“This is a disaster,” Mama’s voice cut through the door. I couldn’t hear Daddy’s low response before something crashed.
I reached to knock on the door, but stopped.
“Come in here, Serena.” Mama declared came through the door.
No failures. Only strength.
I opened the door to Mama’s office.
Daddy sat across from her desk. He looked exhausted. Mama stood, harshly lit by her desk lamp. She glared sharply at me. I steeled myself.
Don’ t let her words get to you, offer solutions.
“I know, Mama, I’m handling it—” I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves.
“Handling it?” she scoffed. “You’re handling it?
Is that why this has been on the news for the last few hours?
Erik is taking shit from all sides! He’s in an emergency meeting right now with the board.
Did you know they’ve made shanty towns on the goddamn sidewalk outside the office? That’s you handling it? ”
I knew this tone. Knew it better than my own heartbeat. Mama was angry, but not just angry— disappointed . And that? That was worse.
Because anger I could fix. Anger meant there was still room to prove myself. Disappointment was a closed door. A verdict.
Mama turned to the TV mounted on the far wall, the muted screen replaying the breaking news. “They’re saying our company destroyed habitats, poisoned water sources, displaced families. Did you sign off on any of this?”
Yes.
“No. It’s staged,” I said, cool and flat. “The protestors were hired. Paid to create buzz for a competing firm trying to tank our deal.”
Mama stared at me. Not shocked. Not impressed. Just…still. Measuring. I hated when she got like this. Silent judgment was worse than shouting.
She walked to the bar, poured herself a drink, and said nothing.
“We’ll get this cleared up,” I told her. “Immediately.”
“See, Yvonne, I told you something like this wouldn’t happen under Rena’s watch,” Daddy said.
“Mama—”
“You’re telling me, with all our connections, all the people you know, you didn’t hear anything about this before the news got hold of it?” Mama narrowed her gaze on me.
Lie.
“Of course I did,” I said, lifting my chin. “But it wasn’t credible intel. Protest threats come in with every project—and a couple of our competitors always send some. This wasn’t anything new. They just actually decided to be bold this time.”
Her eyes flicked toward Daddy, but she didn’t look convinced.
“Yvonne, Serena’s never had an issue before running the company. Let her fix this instead of stressing ourselves out,” Daddy said.
Finally, Mama’s shoulders lowered, and she nodded slowly.
“We need to shift the focus. Establish it’s a lie, but prove that we’re committed to the environment and the people. Create a new narrative that overshadows the protests.” I took a deep breath, trying to project confidence. Don’t crumble now.
“And what do you suggest?” Mama finally said after several moments of silence.
I wanted to tell Mama everything, about Jenese’s blackmail, about the impossible situation I was in. But she would never understand. She would never forgive me.
“We could announce a new initiative, or highlight some of our past work. Something that shows we’re proactive and committed to positive change.”
Her eyes narrowed, calculating. “Go on.”
She’s counting on you . That sick, familiar panic crept up my spine.
“That’s not the only thing you’re gonna do to fix this.”
“Yvonne!” Daddy looked pissed as he pushed himself from his seat. “Let’s not tell her like this.”
“Tell me what?”
“You will be getting married.”
It felt like you could hear a pin drop.
“Married? To whom?”
Daddy exhaled loudly, wiping a hand over his face, and he looked every bit of his sixty-plus years.
“I know this is a lot to ask, Serena, but I believe you can handle it. You’ve always been strong.”
She was doing it again—pushing, manipulating, pretending like this was just another thing I could handle .
“You’re the one who always figures things out,” she continued, her tone dripping with false warmth. “You keep it all together for this family. You’re the only one who can do this.”
“ Who am I marrying?” This was my first time raising my voice at her, and I clenched my fists.
Daddy sighed. “Look, Rena?—”
“Miles.”
I blinked, doubting what I’d heard.
“Miles? As in Miles Whitmore ? Don’t make me laugh.”
Mama and Daddy showed no emotion.
“W-wait, you cannot be serious.”
“It’s not our first choice, and believe me, baby, we don’t make this decision lightly,” Daddy finally said, looking at Mama. “But this arrangement is necessary. We should…find peace with the Whitmores.”
“Necessary for who ? Did you forget what Omar did to you? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Watch your language,” Mama shouted.
“Why?” I demanded.
“Dante,” Daddy said. “We all know that the only thing more important than this family is ensuring this town’s survival.”
I frowned and shook my head. I was not hearing this. “That doesn’t even make sense! What did Dante really say?—”
“You messed up, Serena. All the fighting with Miles put us in this position.”
I frowned at her, my eyes growing wide. “You said to destroy them! I was following your directions.”
“What’s done is done,” Mama snapped. “Dante’s threat was more than enough, and it might be the best thing for all of us. After all, Laurene and Reese were able to repair things for us with the Ashbournes.”
I narrowed my gaze. “You still hate Harold Ashbourne.”
“Doesn’t matter. We need more allies than enemies.” Mama waved away my objection. “We can’t trust Dante.”
I wanted to tell her how wrong this was. I wanted to scream that I would never marry Miles, that she couldn’t make me do something like this. But the words wouldn’t come. Because deep down, I knew I had no choice. Not really. Not when she’d already made the decision for me.
“We’ve already talked to him,” Mama continued. “Miles is willing. He knows what’s at stake.”
“Mama, please.” The room seemed to spin around me.“How? After everything that happened? Miles hates me—hates Erik . Audrey hates you. Daddy hates Omar. How will marrying Miles even help us?—”
“It’s done.”
“No, it’s not done.” My voice sharpened with desperation. “I want to know: what are the pros and cons of this arrangement? When was this decided? How? Why?”
Mama’s eyes narrowed, her patience clearly wearing thin. “If you refuse, you’ll lose everything,” she said, her voice flat and emotionless. “Your position in the company. I’ll strip it all from you without hesitation. And don’t think for one second that I won’t.”
My pulse pounded in my ears as she continued. “None of it matters? After all the work I’ve done?”
“Look at this as another assignment.” Mama sighed as she sat in her chair. “You both follow the rules laid out for you, and two years will pass before you know it.”
I blinked. “Two years?”
Daddy cleared his throat and turned to me. “We did a risk analysis. That’s the time our investors think it will take to shake off this bad press and really get an investment out of the new partnership?—”
“What do you mean, get an investment out ?”
Daddy and Mama glanced at each other.
“We’ve decided to merge King Developments and Whitmore Ventures. By Monday, both companies will be one. I know this feud has been going on between you and Miles for a while, out of loyalty to your father, but our companies are greater together.”
I shook my head as I began to pace. “You’re serious?”
“There’s a mandatory two-year term before any annulment or divorce can be considered.
In that time, you’ll maintain appearances.
Joint interviews, business conferences, holiday gatherings—you’ll fulfill every family obligation as a united front.
You will help restore both companies’ images and finances with the help of Miles. ”
I shook my head, not believing what I was hearing.
“And if you try to sabotage this marriage or make a mockery of it,” she said, her tone deceptively calm, “you won’t just lose your position in the company. Your position in this family is at stake. Don’t forget what happened to your sister.”
I stood frozen, the weight of her words pressing down on my chest. There was no way out.
Her smile returned, a predator satisfied with its prey. “Now go. Your father and I will finalize the details.”
There was no escape. Not from this.
She had already sealed my fate.