The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep - Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Serena couldn't be bothered with Erika's biting sarcasm. After work, she returned to her hotel room. She thought to herself, 'Now that I've settled in Glonia, I can't keep staying in the hotel. Gotta rent an apartment.'
She picked up her phone and searched for nearby real estate agencies. After finding one with strong reviews, she made a call and scheduled a viewing for the next morning.
Hanging up, Serena stretched lazily and decided to visit Alyssa.
Outside Keith's room, Serena knocked gently on the door. When Alyssa opened it and saw Serena standing there, her face lit up with joy. She immediately reached out for a hug.
Serena knelt down, embraced Alyssa, and asked in a gentle voice, "Alyssa, did you have fun today?"
Alyssa nestled into Serena's arms with a small plush toy in one hand. Hearing Serena's question, Alyssa kept nodding.
Then, Alyssa took out a bright red flower from her pocket and carefully offered it to Serena.
Serena accepted it and tucked it into her hair with a smile. "You're so sweet, Alyssa. I love it."
She stayed to build blocks with Alyssa. They built castles, toy cars, and a range of oddly shaped structures from colorful blocks.
After a while, Alyssa rubbed her eyes, and her head started to droop with sleepiness. Serena gently patted her back, soothing her until she drifted off into peaceful slumber.
Just then, Keith returned. Seeing Serena lulling Alyssa to sleep, he instinctively tiptoed and approached them quietly.
Serena carefully laid Alyssa down on the bed, tucked the blanket around her, and walked over to Keith. She greeted him. "Hey, you're back."
Keith nodded, his eyes softening as they settled on Alyssa's sleeping face.
Serena glanced up, and her gaze met Keith's. She thought, 'Alyssa is lucky to have a father who loves her so much.'
She hesitated, then asked, "By the way, I've never seen Alyssa's mother."
Keith's expression turned slightly firm. "Alyssa doesn't have a mother."
Serena froze, her hand pausing in the air, and sympathy flickered in her eyes.
She bit her lip and said in an apologetic tone, "I've been thinking of renting a house of my own, so I might not be able to visit Alyssa as often."
Keith looked at her, his voice sincere. "Thank you for everything you've done for Alyssa these days."
His gaze lingered on Serena's hair. The vivid red flower stood out prominently. Keith said, "The flower in your hair..."
Serena reached up and touched the small flower. She then took it down with a smile. "Oh, Alyssa gave it to me just now."
Keith looked at her and said without thinking, "It's beautiful."
Serena blinked in surprise. A faint blush spread across her cheeks, and she smiled with a mix of shyness and warmth. "Yeah, Alyssa is such a thoughtful girl."
Keith's gaze stayed on her a moment longer, something soft and flickering passing through his eyes.
Serena scrapped her previous design entirely and created a new home concept centered around warmth and whimsy, inspired by the fact that Peter was about to become a father. This time, she made sure the space felt safe, inviting, and filled with touches of childlike wonder.
Three days later, she returned to Peter's office.
"Mr. Lyles, this is the revised design," Serena said as she handed him the folder.
Peter flipped through it carefully. As he read, a smile began to form on his face. "Ms. Gray, I'm very pleased with this version."
"Thank you, Mr. Lyles," Serena said with relief and gratitude.
Peter looked at her with clear approval. "You've thought through everything. Your professionalism and attention to detail are very impressive."
Serena stepped out of Peter's office and walked toward the elevators.
She glanced down at the drafts in her hand, her mind replaying the moment Peter smiled as he read through the pages. For the first time in days, she felt relaxed.
She checked the time on her phone. It was nearly three in the afternoon.
Back at the office, Serena placed the folder gently on her desk and had just taken a seat when Mila came over and tapped lightly on her desk. "Serena, Mr. Davidson wants to see you right now."
Serena replied, "Alright, I'll go to his office now."
Serena smoothed down the hair draped over her shoulder and adjusted the hem of her blouse before making her way to Max's office.
She knocked on the door, and Max responded from inside, "Come in."
Serena walked in and asked, "Mr. Davidson, can I help you?"
Max looked up. Upon seeing it was Serena, a warm smile immediately spread across his face.
"Seri, come on and have a seat." He pointed to the chair across from his desk and set aside the folder in his hands, leaning back slightly in his seat.
"Seri, Shane just gave me a call. He specifically reached out to express how impressed they are with your revised design. He said Mr. Lyles is very pleased, and he personally praised the care and detail you put into your work."
Serena replied with a smile, "Thank you, Mr. Davidson. I'll keep working hard. I'm really grateful for the opportunity you gave me and the support from the company."
Max nodded approvingly. He stood up and walked over to her, giving her shoulder a light pat. "Come out with me."
Serena followed Max out of the office and stepped into the center of the open workspace.
Clearing his throat, Max raised his voice to address the team. "Everyone, I want to take a moment to give a special shout-out to Serena. The project she's been handling with Mr. Lyles just received outstanding feedback.
"The client has nothing but praise for her design. Her work not only impresses the client, but also strengthens our company's reputation."
As he finished, Max began clapping, and the rest of the colleagues quickly joined in.
Serena's cheeks turned slightly pink. With a modest smile, she gave a small bow and said, "Thank you for your encouragement. I'll do my best."
After the applause faded, murmurs of curiosity and surprise rippled through the office.
A clerk whispered, "Wow, I can't believe Serena actually made it. I heard even Lisa failed to nail that project."
Another clerk added, "Exactly. Looks like we've got a rising star on our hands."
Someone else chimed in, "What a surprise. That client is notoriously hard to please. Several drafts were rejected before this."
A man with glasses said, "Looks like Serena's headed straight for the top now."
Max turned back to Serena with a grin. "Keep it up. I've got high hopes for you."
Off to the side, Erika watched the scene unfold with a sour expression on her face.
Her tone was dripping with sarcasm. "Serena, you didn't use any special methods to get this done, did you? Seems a little too sudden for Mr. Lyles to just change his mind like that."
Serena replied coolly, "Erika, competence and dedication are not special methods. If you're curious about my design, I'd be happy to share my thought process with you anytime."
Erika leaned against her desk, her arms crossed. "Oh please. Don't tell me you went to see Mr. Lyles and did something inappropriate. That's the only explanation for how he suddenly changed his mind, isn't it? Tsk, I really didn't expect that..."
She deliberately dragged out her words, her gaze sweeping over Serena with an insinuating glint, trying to stir up doubt among the others.
Some of the surrounding colleagues glanced toward Serena with a flicker of curiosity in their eyes.
Serena shot back, "Erika, you seem to know a lot about those things. Is that how you got your projects approved?"
Serena didn't want to escalate the situation, but Erika's remarks really crossed a line. It wasn't just passive aggression anymore, but Erika was attacking her integrity.
Serena couldn't hold back her anger anymore. With a sharp motion, she raised her hand and slapped Erika across the face. The crisp smack echoed through the office, and silence fell like a curtain.
"How dare you," Erika shouted.
Serena sneered, "I'm just teaching you how to speak with decency."
At that moment, Stacey walked toward them, trying to smooth things over. "Oh, Serena, you're being too sensitive. It's not something serious. Why did you hit her?"