Burn the Marriage, Keep the Crown novel Chapter 266

Finn, standing a little ways off, caught the exchange and lifted his head slightly.

If spending every moment in the office scouring the news for updates on Miss Sullivan counted as “not intentional”…

Well, then it was certainly unintentional.

“Stick to the original plan, then? Nothing else needs to be done?” William asked.

Serena nodded.

“Alright.” He didn’t agree with her approach, but he respected her decision.

As they were talking, Serena’s phone rang.

It was Abby Thomas calling.

She answered.

On the other end, Abby’s anxious voice rushed out, “Serena, are you alright? I’ve seen everything online—I’m so sorry, I wanted to clear things up for you right away, but the network executives told me to stay out of it, that someone else would handle it. I never expected things to blow up like this.

Is there anything I can do to help? Anything at all, just say the word.”

Serena knew Abby didn’t have much influence at the network.

The fact that she was calling now, trying to help, was already more than Serena had expected.

Serena hadn’t fully forgiven Abby for deceiving her, but out of respect for Director Thomas, she kept her tone polite. “No need. Really.”

Abby paused, obviously sensing the distance in Serena’s voice.

She knew the reason why.

Honestly, the network bosses had never anticipated any major players joining the show. That’s why they’d let Abby decide who got the final slot for the Eldoria artifacts exchange event.

That was the only reason she’d dared to make Serena those promises.

When she’d called Serena into her office that day, she’d felt guilty the whole time.

“I’m sorry, Serena… about the spot for the exchange—”

She arched an eyebrow. “Oh? Well, I only smiled because you did.”

His gaze turned gentle. “Then I suppose I was smiling for you.”

“For me?” Serena’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly tamped down the flurry of thoughts threatening to take over. She met his eyes, forcing her voice to sound casual. “Why?”

William hesitated, then said, “For a while, I worried that all this online drama would hurt you. But now I realize I was overthinking it. You’re a thousand times stronger than I imagined. Serena…”

“Yes?”

“When filming wraps up, come with me to Northern Europe.”

Serena looked up, caught off guard by the earnestness in his gaze. Her heart stumbled over a few beats. “Northern Europe?”

He nodded. “Just the two of us.”

Her pulse quickened. Gabrielle’s warning echoed in her mind, making her thoughts swirl even more. For a long moment, she couldn’t find her words. Finally, she managed, “Why?”