The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep - Chapter 79: Chapter 79

As soon as Serena stepped out of the company building, a cool breeze hit her face. She held her phone close to her ear, listening to Keith's steady breathing on the other end. He didn't say anything, just waited quietly for her to speak first.
"I'm fine. It was just a little misunderstanding," Serena said, trying to keep her voice light.
Keith stayed quiet for a moment before his deep voice came through again. "That doesn't sound very convincing, Ms. Gray. You're really terrible at lying."
Serena closed her eyes briefly, her voice dropping to barely a whisper. "They're saying I leaked company secrets. All the so-called evidence is fake, and the witnesses are lying through their teeth... but I swear it wasn't me."
"Where are you right now?" Keith asked.
Serena instinctively gripped her phone tighter, staring off into the distance as she listened to his voice. "Still at the office," she replied.
"Stay put. I'm coming to get you," Keith said with finality.
"I'm really okay. You don't need to go out of your way," Serena said, pressing her lips together. She didn't want to be more of a burden to him than she already was.
There was a brief silence on the other end before Keith spoke up, "It's Alyssa. She hasn't been eating much lately."
The moment Serena heard Alyssa's name, she pictured her tiny frame. With everything that had been happening recently, she realized it had been way too long since she'd last seen her.
"What's going on with Alyssa?" Serena asked.
"She keeps asking about you. I think she just misses you too much," Keith explained.
"Okay, I'll wait for you," Serena said. After she hung up, she leaned back against the glass wall of the office building and took a deep breath. She glanced down at her phone, feeling surprisingly relieved.
Serena headed back to her office and quietly began packing up her belongings. She carefully placed each item into a cardboard box, and as she worked, her coworkers started whispering among themselves once they noticed what she was doing.
"Is Serena actually leaving?" one of them asked.
"Sure looks like it. She's so talented though. Why would she do something like that?" another replied.
"Do you really think she sold our ideas to a competitor?" someone else wondered aloud.
"I've worked with her a few times. She just doesn't seem like that kind of person," another colleague chimed in.
"Who knows? This whole creative leak scandal is everywhere, and all the evidence keeps pointing back to her. I don't want to believe it either, but what else can we think?" someone else sighed heavily.
Less than 20 minutes later, Keith's sleek black Maybach pulled up and stopped smoothly at the building entrance.
The car door opened, and Alyssa came running out as fast as her little legs could carry her. She was wearing a white dress and light pink shoes, and she headed straight for Serena.
"Alyssa!" Serena quickly set her box down and crouched to catch the little girl who threw herself into her arms.
Alyssa wrapped her arms tightly around Serena's neck and clung to her like a little koala.
"Have you been good lately?" Serena asked gently. "I heard you haven't been eating well. Is that true?"
Alyssa didn't answer right away. She quickly looked back at Keith, who was standing behind her.
Keith leaned against the car door with one hand in his pocket and the other pinching the bridge of his nose. He watched Alyssa's hesitation and couldn't help but smile helplessly.
Serena followed Alyssa's gaze and saw Keith raising an eyebrow at her, silently urging her on. Alyssa pouted for a moment, then slowly lifted her little hand and made a few graceful sign language gestures.
Keith watched Alyssa's nimble fingers dance through the air. She had just signed, "Daddy's lying to you."
Keith kept his expression completely neutral as he told Serena, "She says she just misses you."
Serena's heart instantly melted. She sighed and gently pinched Alyssa's soft cheek. "Are you cute?" she said with obvious affection.
Alyssa puffed out her cheeks and shook her tiny fist at Keith, clearly annoyed with him for the translation mix-up.
Serena caught the little gesture and immediately knew Alyssa must have overheard Keith complaining about her poor eating habits. It was obvious Keith had been genuinely worried about Alyssa's meals.
"Alyssa, can you promise me you won't skip your meals anymore?" Serena asked gently.
Alyssa nodded enthusiastically, her small hand gripping Serena's tightly. She might not be good at expressing her feelings with words, but the way her little feet wiggled with pure excitement completely gave her away.
Serena's misunderstanding didn't matter to Alyssa. She just wanted to spend time with her. Alyssa gripped Serena's hand tighter and tried to pull her toward the car.
"What are you doing?" Serena asked, confused by the sudden urgency.
Alyssa pointed at the car, then quickly started tracing something on Serena's palm. The light touch made Serena look down—Alyssa was drawing little circles in her hand, which was their secret code for "time to eat."
A second later, Alyssa pointed at the car again with obvious excitement.
"You want me to take you somewhere to eat?" Serena asked, surprised by the request.
Alyssa nodded enthusiastically and stood on her tiptoes, trying to push Serena's arm forward. When Serena didn't move, Alyssa looked up at her with such hopeful eyes that Serena couldn't bring herself to say no, even though she had no appetite.
"Alyssa, today I—" Serena started to explain, but before she could finish, Alyssa's small hand shook her arm with determination.
Serena's heart skipped a beat. She looked over at Keith, who was standing nearby, silently begging him for help. But Keith just raised an eyebrow and smiled, standing there like he had no intention of getting involved.
"Mr. Brannon..." Serena called out softly.
"This is out of my hands. Kids her age can be really stubborn," Keith said, throwing up his hands in defeat.
Serena paused and looked down at Alyssa, who was staring up at her with a look that clearly said she wasn't budging until Serena got in that car.
Serena let out another sigh, but she couldn't help smiling. She gently patted Alyssa's head and said softly, "Okay, I promise. But just for a little while, alright?"
Alyssa's face lit up instantly. She grabbed Serena's hand and started pulling her toward the car again. While Serena wasn't looking, Keith gave Alyssa a quick thumbs-up behind her back.
Alyssa caught his signal and flashed him a sweet smile. Then, she noticed the box on the ground. Keith bent down, scooped it up, and hurried to catch up with them.
Serena carefully lifted Alyssa into the car and settled her into the car seat. She took her time buckling the little girl in, double-checking to make sure everything was secure. Then, she got in beside her.
Keith walked around to the driver's side and slid into his seat. He placed the box on the passenger seat, then reached up to adjust the rearview mirror. His gaze lingered on Alyssa for a moment before shifting to Serena.
Serena sat with her head down, looking completely out of it.
Keith didn't say anything—he just pressed the gas pedal and pulled the car forward.
Alyssa swung her little legs from her car seat, stealing glances between Serena and Keith with her lips pressed together, trying to be as quiet and well-behaved as possible.
When Serena looked up, she gave Alyssa a small smile. After hesitating for a moment, Alyssa dug into her tiny backpack and pulled out a crumpled piece of white paper. She held it up high, pointing at the drawing and then at Serena.
"Is this supposed to be me?" Serena asked, surprised.
Alyssa nodded eagerly, her little hands fidgeting as she passed the drawing to Serena, watching nervously for her reaction.
"You did such an amazing job, Alyssa," Serena said with a warm smile.