Burn the Marriage, Keep the Crown novel Chapter 189

After all the commotion, the school anniversary event was delayed by a full half-hour before it finally commenced.

Fortunately, the performances on stage were captivating enough that the murmurs of discontent soon faded away.

"Rock, where have you been? You missed it—Serena was almost accused of being a thief."

Joy leaned over to Rock, who had just sat down next to Serena, masking her earlier annoyance. She whispered the entire ordeal to him in detail.

Rock wasn't particularly keen on listening to Joy. But the mention of Serena's name made him sit up straight and pay attention. Once she finished, he turned to Serena with concern in his eyes. "Serena, are you alright?"

Serena replied softly, "I'm fine," though her gaze drifted toward the front row where Yvonne was seated.

Yvonne was sitting next to Cynthia Lynwood, her arm linked with Cynthia's in a way that suggested they were as close as best friends. Right beside Cynthia was Aaron, with only a small gap between them. Cynthia needed only to tilt slightly to lean into Aaron’s embrace.

Serena looked away, understanding that with Yvonne’s current closeness to Cynthia, Aaron wouldn’t be on her side. After all, he thought she was a thief.

"Serena..." Rock started to say more but was interrupted by Joy tugging at his sleeve. "Rock, it's your turn to speak."

Rock suddenly remembered his important role at the celebration—to give a speech on behalf of the students. Normally, he wouldn’t give such events much thought and would speak off the cuff. Today, however, he felt uncharacteristically nervous. "Serena, I'm heading up."

Serena nodded slightly. "Go on."

With that, Rock made his way to the stage.

Joy watched him go, her eyes shining with admiration. Amidst the crowd's chanting of Rock's name, she leapt up and shouted, "Rock, I love you!"

Nearby, Samuel smiled wryly. "Sorry about that."

Serena chuckled. "When I was chasing after Aaron, I was probably even crazier than that."

Samuel seemed to recall something, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Indeed."