The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep - Chapter 109: Chapter 109

Once they were in the car, Serena couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Thanks for that, Keith."
It hadn't actually hurt Victor or anything, but seeing him look so flustered made Serena really happy.
"Don't mention it. I just can't stand fake people like that," Keith said. After everything Victor had done to Serena in the past, Keith couldn't believe Victor still had the nerve to come up to her and try to make conversation.
"I'm sorry about today. I didn't think it through when I brought you there," Keith said, taking the blame. "I had no idea Tristan would turn out to be that kind of person."
Serena shook her head. "It's not your fault at all. Besides, you stepped up and defended me when it mattered. I'm fine."
These kinds of situations were impossible to prevent completely. Bad people would never tell everyone that they were evil, so Serena wasn't about to be too hard on Keith about it.
When Serena got home, she took a hot shower first to warm up her body, then walked over to the bed to grab her phone. That was when she noticed Albert had called her several times.
Her smile faded a bit as she looked down at the screen and called him back. He picked up immediately.
"You won't even answer my calls now? Are you doing this on purpose, Serena?" Albert's accusatory voice came through the phone the second he answered.
Serena frowned and couldn't help but push back. "I can't stare at my phone twenty-four seven. I just didn't hear it ring. You called me out of the blue. Is there something you need?"
Albert took a deep breath on the other end, clearly remembering why he'd actually called. "When did you get back to the country? Why didn't you tell me?"
So that's what this was about,' Serena thought. Victor must have given up trying to convince her himself and told Albert she was back, hoping he could "talk sense" into her instead.
Serena's expression grew colder, but since Albert had never been particularly harsh with her, she kept her patience. "Our agreement ended a long time ago, so you don't really have the right to question where I am anymore."
"No right?" Albert was furious at her words and let out a cold laugh. "You came back to the country at this exact time just to get back together with Victor, didn't you?
"Let me tell you something. It's not happening. Victor is already engaged to the Aniston family's lady. Don't even think about trying to rekindle things with him. Know your place."
Albert's voice was firm and commanding. Victor had finally found someone who was not only from the right social circle but could actually help his career. He absolutely couldn't let anyone mess up this engagement.
"I don't have those kinds of thoughts at all, Mr. Powell," Serena said. Her voice still sounded gentle, but her words were sharp. "Instead of coming here to warn me, you should focus on controlling your own son and stop him from bothering me."
Albert couldn't believe those words had actually come out of Serena's mouth. "Serena, you—"
"If you don't have anything else to say, I'm hanging up now." Before Albert could respond, Serena decisively ended the call.
Meanwhile, at Powell Villa, Albert was so angry his hands were shaking. The feeling of losing control over something he'd always had in the palm of his hand made him furious. But right now, the most important thing wasn't Serena. It was doing exactly what she'd suggested.
"Butler, get Victor in here now!" Albert shouted. Sometimes, Albert really couldn't figure out what the hell Victor was thinking.
When Serena had been quietly staying by his side, playing the perfect wife and mother, he didn't want her. Now, he was going around bothering Serena and making everyone uncomfortable. 'How pathetic is that?' Albert thought.
Victor showed up quickly. The moment he walked into the study, he was met with Albert's furious expression.
"Victor, when exactly are you going to marry Regina?" Albert asked.
Victor hadn't expected to be called over this late at night just for this conversation, so he gave a casual brush-off. "Regina and I are still young. There's no rush to get married—"
"No rush?" Albert clutched his chest and took several deep breaths before continuing. "If you don't marry Regina within two months, you can forget about inheriting the company.
"Someone who can't make decisions on small things will never handle big ones. I'm not comfortable handing the company over to you."
Victor's heart sank as he heard this.
Albert continued, "As for that Eliza woman, if you want to keep her around, I'll turn a blind eye to it. Just don't let it interfere with your engagement to the Aniston family. I'll pretend I don't know anything about it."
Albert sighed heavily, feeling like having Victor as his son was some kind of punishment from the universe.
If this had happened before, Victor would have been thrilled to hear those words. But standing there now, all he could think about was Serena's face in the rain that evening.
"I understand. I'll try to ask her out as soon as possible," Victor said, his expression darkening. He turned and walked out of the study, then sent Regina a message asking her to come take wedding photos tomorrow.
Regina agreed almost immediately without even thinking about it.
The next morning, Victor went to pick up Regina. She seemed perfectly fine with everything, which confused him.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Regina adjusted her makeup in the rearview mirror, then looked at Victor with a slight smile.
"I'm suddenly moving up our wedding date. Don't you have any opinions about that?" Victor finally asked.
Regina raised an eyebrow and tapped his chest with her finger. "Mr. Powell, seems like you've been the one wanting to push back the wedding this whole time."
It was an arranged marriage either way, and Regina actually liked Victor's face well enough. Getting married a day earlier or later made no difference to her. Moving up the wedding date was hardly worth getting worked up about.
Victor stayed quiet and drove her to the bridal shop. He could tell Regina didn't have even the slightest bit of love for him.
This was just a business transaction between wealthy families, and he happened to be the most suitable option—like a product being sold to the highest bidder.
But none of that mattered anymore. When it came to inheritance rights, Victor didn't have any better options.
The two of them arrived at the bridal shop quickly. Regina went inside to try on dresses while Victor sat on the couch outside, bored out of his mind.
Suddenly, someone burst through the door.
Eliza walked in with her pregnant belly, and the moment she spotted Victor on the couch, she hurried over with a pitiful expression. She grabbed his hand and said, "Victor, how could you not tell me about such an important day?"
Her dramatic entrance immediately caught the attention of all the shop employees. They knew perfectly well that Victor had brought his bride-to-be today. 'Who is this pregnant woman, and what's she to him?' they wondered.
The store manager quickly came over and led the other employees away from the scene. Rich families and their messy drama were way above their pay grade, and it was better to play dumb in situations like this.