The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep - Chapter 180: Chapter 180

Serena pulled Lana into the office since it wasn't convenient to talk outside and told Lana everything that had just happened.
A look of pure annoyance flashed across Lana's face as she said, "Why didn't I get here sooner? If I'd seen him, I swear I would've punched him right in the face."
'I've never met anyone so annoying. Serena had already turned him down over the phone, but he still came all the way to the studio to pester Serena,' thought Lana bitterly.
"Come on, don't be mad. After today, I doubt he'll show up again," Serena said.
She'd made herself perfectly clear just now and hadn't held back at all.
There were plenty of people out there trying to latch onto Craig, and Serena was sure she wasn't his only target.
"Just keep your guard up for a while, okay? I've got a feeling that Craig might actually try to pull something on you," Lana said.
She let out a deep sigh. "How did you end up getting mixed up with a scumbag like him?"
They exchanged a look, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.
Everything went smoothly until the end of the workday. Serena took a deep breath as she stepped out of the studio. Just as she walked out, someone suddenly lunged at her from the shadows.
"I already warned you to stay away from Craig. Why can't you just listen?" the woman screamed.
Like a lunatic, she charged straight at Serena. No one nearby had time to react. Serena was completely caught off guard and got shoved hard to the ground.
It was rush hour, and people coming and going all stopped in their tracks, drawn by the commotion. The woman even tried to straddle Serena, refusing to let her go.
Lana was the first to snap out of it. She rushed over and yanked the woman off Serena. Thanks to the kickboxing she'd learned abroad, the woman couldn't break free no matter how hard she struggled.
"You damn mistress! Bitch! Why did Craig come looking for you today? He's my boyfriend," the woman screamed.
The scene only made the crowd even more interested. Some people even whipped out their phones, recording how embarrassed Serena looked.
"She's so pretty. Why would she be a mistress?" someone in the crowd muttered.
"You know what? The prettier they are, the more likely they are to be a mistress. Girls like her just want to make easy money," someone else snorted.
The nasty comments from the crowd made Lana's face darken with anger. She shoved the woman into a nearby male colleague's arms, then pointed straight at the people filming.
"You're invading her privacy. Stop recording right now and delete everything from your phones," Lana snapped.
Seeing how fierce Lana looked, the crowd quickly scattered, though even as they backed away, their phones were still aimed at the scene.
"I've told you I have nothing to do with Craig. He's the one who keeps harassing me. How is that on me?" Serena shot back.
"Yeah, right. Just look at yourself. Don't pretend you're innocent. If you weren't using your cheap tricks to seduce him, why would Craig be so obsessed with you?" the woman sneered.
Serena had completely lost her patience. This time, she didn't hesitate for a second but went straight to calling the police.
"If you're suffering from paranoia, go get yourself treated. Let me be clear—Craig is a jerk, and I would never get involved with someone like him. If you want to keep trusting him, that's on you," she said.
Though her voice wasn't loud, every word she spoke landed with undeniable weight and conviction.
"You've deliberately attacked me twice now. This time, I'm letting the police deal with you," she said firmly.
It didn't take long for the police to arrive. They had already gotten the full story over the phone, so they wasted no time taking the woman named Claudia Walter away.
"Sorry about this, Ms. Gray. We'll start investigating your report right away. If everything you said is true, we'll handle Ms. Walter," one of the officers said.
That same officer walked over to Serena and Lana. Seeing how pale Serena looked, he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her.
He thought, 'If what she said was true, this is nothing short of a nightmare for her.'
"Sorry to trouble you, officers," Serena said, nodding at them.
"And as for all of you standing around making those nasty comments, maybe you'd like a ride to the police station too," Lana said, arms crossed.
"You just stand there, judging people without knowing right from wrong. It's people like you that let crazies like Claudia stand on their high horse and point fingers at others," she added.
The crowd hadn't expected Serena to actually call the cops. Suddenly, it hit them that maybe she really was telling the truth.
People always noticed a woman's looks first. If she were beautiful, all her abilities and strengths would be buried beneath her appearance.
It was as if the only way she could have what she had was by relying on her face, so people never held back from assuming the worst about her.
Serena finally said, "Alright, let's call it a day."
This wasn't the first time Serena had gone through something like this. She knew that prejudice always existed, and they'd never think they were in the wrong.
They'd just think they'd happened to back the wrong horse this time.
Lana was still a bit reluctant to let those people go, but when she saw how unwell Serena looked, she just nodded and said, "Let me take you home myself."
Serena didn't turn Lana down. She was worried that if anything else happened on the way and she was all alone, there'd be no one to help her.
So Lana drove her all the way to Serena's place.
After Serena got out of the car, she waved goodbye to Lana. Serena was about to remind Lana to drive safely when she caught Lana pouting in mock annoyance.
"Hey, I drove you all the way home. Aren't you at least going to invite me up for a cup of coffee?" Lana teased.
The two of them were already pretty close, but ever since that awkward night when Lana got drunk, she'd barely come over at all.
Serena blinked in surprise for a second, but then nodded in agreement.
"Why don't you have dinner with me?" Serena offered.
Looking satisfied, Lana parked the car and headed upstairs with Serena.
Serena just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
When they got to her door, she unlocked it and stepped inside, only to find the place pitch black, not a single light on. It looked like no one was home. She paused, feeling a bit lost.
Usually, Keith would already be home by now. Even if he worked late, Alyssa should at least be here.
Serena stood at the door, about to pull out her phone to ask what was going on. But before she could, Lana gave her a gentle shove and pushed her inside.
"Happy birthday, Seri," Lana said.
As soon as those words rang out, the lights snapped on. There was Alyssa, beaming and holding a birthday cake, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Serena.
It was only then that Serena suddenly remembered it was her birthday.
With all the chaos lately, Serena had actually forgotten her own birthday.