The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep - Chapter 177: Chapter 177

Serena thought that if Craig really had ulterior motives, he wouldn't have agreed with her proposal.
She let out a sigh of relief and told Keith about his reply. Then she said, "You can rest assured now, right?"
"Mm," Keith replied.
With her fiery personality, Lana didn't look like a pushover. If Craig really had any bad intentions, she'd be the first to shut him down.
As for Keith, even though he wanted nothing more than to stay by Serena's side and protect her, he just didn't have that kind of standing yet.
If he showed up now, it would only make things awkward for everyone.
"Then it's settled," Serena said.
Serena forwarded the chat to Lana, who was still up, and Lana sent back a flood of exclamation marks.
Serena was already used to Lana's dramatic personality, but she still couldn't help rubbing her temples.
Lana: [I just wanted you to get me an autograph. How did you end up bringing the actual person over?]
Lana: [Seri, I love you!]
Seeing how hyped Lana was, Serena figured there was no need to bring up Keith's suspicions.
Even though Serena didn't really think Craig had any bad intentions, after listening to Keith's analysis earlier, she started to feel a bit uneasy about the whole thing.
Serena thought Lana had always looked up to Craig, so as long as nothing had actually happened yet, there was no need to tell Lana about it and spoil her mood.
Serena and Craig planned to meet up the next afternoon.
Serena came straight from her studio, bringing Lana along with her. As soon as they walked into the café, they saw Craig sitting in a patch of sunlight, looking every bit the picture of gentle elegance.
"That's Craig? Damn, he's seriously good-looking," Lana blurted out.
Craig wasn't the ruggedly handsome type one would notice at first glance, and with his age, there was a mature air about him—a kind of depth that only came with experience.
But that artsy vibe of his, paired with his impeccable taste in clothes, still made him incredibly attractive.
"Hi, Ms. Gray, and this must be Ms. Lana Mosher, right?" Craig said with a polite smile.
Lana was practically bouncing with excitement as she reached out to shake his hand. "You actually know me? I'm Lana, a designer too, and Seri's good friend. It's such an honor to finally meet you in person."
Craig saw how excited Lana was and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Then he turned to Serena. "Honestly, I thought your friends would be just like you, but she's so full of energy and absolutely adorable."
Lana got a little embarrassed at the compliment and quickly scratched her head. "Oh, I could never compare to Seri. She's way more gentle than I am."
"Don't say that. Being gentle has its own charm, and being lively and adorable has its own appeal too," Craig said with a warm smile.
"Lovely ladies, please have a seat," Craig said. "I wasn't sure what you'd like to drink, so I didn't order drinks for you. Go ahead and take a look at the menu. Order whatever you like."
Lana completely switched on her fan-girl mode. She thought inwardly, 'How can someone be such an amazing designer and this much of a gentleman? He's literally the man of my dreams.'
Serena saw how Lana's eyes were practically glued to Craig, and she couldn't help but sigh.
Still, spending time with Craig really was easy and pleasant.
Once they were all seated, Craig shared that he'd come back to the country because he'd hit a bottleneck in his designs and was hoping to find some fellow designers who shared his passion to help him out.
Lana, always eager to lend a hand, immediately spoke up and said she'd be more than happy to help.
Craig suggested, "Why don't we exchange numbers, Lana? If we get the chance, we can talk more about design together."
Watching the two of them exchange numbers so quickly, Serena just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, probably because of what Keith had said earlier. Now, the situation just didn't sit right with her.
But of course, she couldn't say anything with Craig sitting right there.
For the next while, Craig carried on the conversation with ease. Thanks to Lana's bubbly energy, the whole vibe stayed light and genuinely pleasant.
Serena wasn't the type to voice her opinions much anyway, so her quietness didn't strike anyone as unusual.
"I really enjoyed our conversation today. If we get the chance, let's meet up again sometime," Craig said.
He glanced at the time, then added with a touch of regret, "I'd love to keep chatting with you two lovely ladies, but I have some work to take care of, so I'll have to excuse myself."
"Mr. Arellano, don't let us keep you. We'll catch up next time when you're free," Lana said with a bright smile.
Craig turned his gaze to Serena. Unlike Lana's excitement, Serena wasn't as warm as she'd been at the start. However, he didn't mind at all.
"Alright, looking forward to meeting you again," he said with a smile.
The moment Craig walked away, Lana was practically buzzing with excitement. She spun around and grabbed Serena's hand.
Lana sighed, "He's got such a great personality, and he's so knowledgeable and charming when he talks. Oh my, he's totally my dream guy. Sure, he's a bit older than me, but still..."
"Wake up." Serena cut Lana off. "Honestly, I just feel like it's a little too much to be this enthusiastic at a first meeting. Maybe I'm just overthinking things, though."
Lana hesitated for a moment and wondered, 'Isn't it just because Craig is such a great guy that we got along so well right from the start?'
Lana usually listened to Serena, but this time, she honestly didn't feel anything strange. So Lana couldn't help but say, "Seri, are you overthinking this?"
Serena remembered how she'd said the exact same thing to Keith the night before. She couldn't help but give a wry smile.
She replied, "Maybe, but it doesn't hurt to be a little careful."
Lana agreed with Serena's opinion and nodded.
They got back to the studio, and Serena could tell that Lana was in an even better mood.
For a while now, Lana had seemed a bit down, probably because she was still caught up in her last relationship. But Serena had no idea what had actually happened between them.
So even if Serena wanted to comfort Lana, she really didn't know where to start.
If it had been anyone else, Serena would've been happy to see Lana moving on. But Craig? Serena wasn't sure if he was just an even bigger trap waiting.
At that thought, Serena couldn't help but sigh.
Still, Lana was smart enough not to let herself get into real trouble, so Serena decided to just let it go. Besides, Craig probably wouldn't be in touch with them much in the future anyway.
That was what Serena kept telling herself, but to her surprise, the very next day at lunch break, she caught Lana slinging her bag over her shoulder, clearly trying to slip out unnoticed.
"Lana, where are you going?" Serena called out.
Usually, during lunch, Lana would either stay in the office working on her drafts or drag Serena out to grab a bite together—she never went out on her own.
Lana gave a cough upon hearing Serena's question.
She replied, "It's Craig. He asked me to join him for some sketching. Since I'm free this afternoon, I figured why not."