The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep - Chapter 33: Chapter 33

Just as Serena stepped out of the office building after work, her phone started ringing. She glanced at the screen, which showed the Caller ID—Kristy. The name caught her by surprise.
"Hey, Kristy? What's up? Do you miss me?" teased Serena.
"Seri, guess where I am." Kristy's voice was bubbling with excitement.
Serena paused for a second and replied, "Where? Don't tell me you're in Glonia."
"Bingo! I just landed. Came to have some fun, and of course, to see you."
"Are you serious? You're really in Glonia? That's amazing. I'm coming to get you right now."
Serena ended the call and rushed out toward the airport, her exhaustion from work forgotten in the flood of joy.
An hour later, Serena spotted Kristy among the bustling crowd in the arrivals hall.
"Hey, Seri," Kristy called out, dashing over to throw her arms around Serena.
"Hon, you really came. Oh my, I'm so happy." Serena held her friend tightly, her eyes misting with emotion.
They chatted non-stop as they made their way to Serena's apartment.
"Seri, how have you been?" asked Kristy.
Serena replied, "I've been doing well. Working in a field I love. Everything's been going pretty smoothly. What about you?"
"Me? I'm surviving. My boss is stingy as hell. He makes us work overtime every day without extra pay. I'm exhausted. During this trip, I'm going to make up for all the suffering."
"Absolutely. You've come all the way to Glonia. You have to enjoy yourself. Got any places in mind?"
Kristy tilted her head, pretending to ponder, then gave a mischievous wink. "Let's do something exciting. What about skydiving?"
Serena feigned fear and shook her head. "Skydiving? Forget it. I'm terrified of heights."
"I'm just kidding. But I do want to soak in every bit of Glonia, like its views and local food."
"Sounds good."
Serena handed Kristy a glass of water, and the two settled on the couch. Kristy studied Serena's face closely, as if searching for something deeper. "Seri, be honest with me. What exactly happened between you and Victor? Why did you divorce all of a sudden?"
Serena was silent for a moment. Then, she sighed and began telling Kristy everything.
When she finished her story, Kristy slammed her hand on the table and cursed, "That bastard! I used to think he was so refined and gentle. Turns out he's just another heartless jerk."
Serena gave a bitter smile. A dull ache stirred in her chest.
"And that homewrecker Eliza," Kristy added, her voice rising with anger, "she pretends to be innocent and sweet. What a manipulative bitch."
Serena sneered at herself, thinking, I was so naive, falling in love with someone so shallow and deceitful.'
Kristy slung an arm around Serena's shoulder and gently patted her back. "It's over, Seri. He's not worth your tears. You're so excellent. I believe you'll meet someone who truly cherishes you."
Serena said with a self-mocking smile, "Kristy, I'm just an idiot, huh? I really fell in love with him."
"It ain't your fault. Don't blame yourself. Love isn't stupid. He's the one who failed you." Kristy looked at her best friend with genuine pain in her eyes. "I'll be right by your side, and I won't let anyone hurt you again."
Serena's eyes turned red. "Thank you, Kristy. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"We're best friends, aren't we? No matter what happens, I'll always be here." Kristy comforted her.
With that, the two of them launched into a full-blown rant session—venting all the resentment that had built up. They tore into Victor's indecisiveness, Eliza's manipulative schemes, and every petty detail in between.
At Powell Villa, a conflict broke out.
"Leon, how could you steal my stuff?" Oliver's voice was sharp with accusation. When Leon didn't respond, he pressed on. "Say something. Why did you do that?"
"I didn't steal anything," Leon protested.
Inside the room, Eliza and Victor were speaking in hushed tones when the sudden outburst reached their ears. Both of them froze for a moment.
"That sounded like Oliver," Eliza said with a frown.
"Let's check what's going on," Victor replied, already walking toward the door.
"You stole my stuff, and you're still denying it? I'll tell Mom," Oliver insisted.
Leon repeated, "I didn't. I really didn't."
Oliver barked, "Stop lying. If it wasn't you, who else could it be?"
Victor opened the door and stepped into the hallway, immediately confronted with the scene. He asked, "What's going on?"
Leon turned to Victor as if seeing a lifeline. "Dad, I didn't steal anything. Ollie is accusing me for no reason."
Eliza approached just then, letting out a gentle sigh. "Leon, didn't I teach you last time? When you do something wrong, you need to own up to it. Running from your mistakes won't solve anything."
Oliver pointed at Leon and raised his voice. "I saw you running out of my room. If you wanted something, you could've just asked me. You know what? This is a birthday gift from my mom when I turned one year old."
"Dad, I swear I didn't take anything from Ollie," Leon's voice was trembling as he spoke. His hands gripped the hem of his shirt, his eyes wide and full of distress. "I-I was only passing by his room. I didn't even go inside."
Leon tried hard to explain, his words coming out in a rush, desperate for Victor to believe him. But the more Leon tried to defend himself, the more it sounded like he had something to hide.
Victor had always believed Leon was a kind and honest child, but recently, such situations came one after another. 'Could Leon really have done something wrong?' Victor wondered.
He was unwilling to believe it yet unable to ignore what he was seeing.
Oliver grabbed Leon's hand and pulled him toward the bedroom without giving him a chance to resist.
As he walked forward, he looked back and said, "Mom, Vic, come and see for yourselves. A good kid shouldn't lie."
He led them straight to Leon's room. There, Oliver started rummaging through drawers and corners until he pulled out a pile of things—his own toys, and one of Eliza's necklaces.
Victor's face instantly grew cloudy. The veins on his temple began to pulse as disbelief filled his eyes. He stepped forward and gripped Leon's slender shoulders tightly, his expression thunderous.
He demanded, "Leon, what is going on here? Why would you take these? Have you forgotten what I taught you?"
Eliza stepped in quickly, her face wearing just the right touch of disappointment. "Leon, how could you do this? I always think you are a good boy."
Leon stared at the items Oliver had just dumped out, his mind spinning. He had no idea how those things got there—he'd never even seen them before.
"I didn't put those items there. I don't know anything about them. I've never seen them," he cried, panic rising in his voice.
"Leon, are you still denying it?" Victor's anger flared. "Look at this. Tell me what this is."
"I didn't take it. I didn't STEAL. It was Oliver. He set me up." Leon tried to defend himself.
Eliza immediately coxed in a soft tone, "Leon, I know you didn't mean to do that. It's okay to make mistakes. If you apologize, Oliver and I won't blame you."
Leon looked at the false kindness in Eliza's eyes, feeling extremely hurt and angry. Without warning, Leon pushed Eliza hard and shouted, "You're a bad woman. You keep lying to my dad. I HATE YOU!"
Eliza let out a sharp cry and dramatically fell to the floor. She covered her stomach and moaned in pain.
"Leon Powell! How dare you push Ellie?" Victor's rage exploded. He raised his hand as if to slap Leon.
Leon's body was trembling, yet he raised his jaw, refusing to back down.
Victor's hand froze in the air. Finally, with visible effort, he lowered it. He pointed toward Leon's bedroom and ordered, "Now, go back to your room. Reflect on what you've done."