Falling For My Accidental CEO Husband-Chapter 294: Relief

With that, Serena marched out of the room, leaving behind Ella in a daze as she looked at the door and realized... Serena was alive... That was not her ghost. She brought her knees to her chest and broke down in relief...

he door had barely closed behind her when Serena’s eyes met Aiden’s. She stilled. He was watching her, his gaze unreadable. Was he angry? Worried about what she had just said to his sister? But she had her answer before she could even dwell on it. Aiden stepped toward her, his expression dark with concern.

Without a word, he reached out and wiped her forehead. Serena blinked, realizing only then that she was in a cold sweat. He studied her, his brows furrowed, and then he spoke.

"Are you alright?"

Serena felt warmth spread through her chest. This was it. He was concerned about her. That was good. But before she could answer, a sudden shift of air behind her made her tense.

Then, she was engulfed in a hug.

At first, she almost panicked and hit the person. Was it an attack? Had Ella, still reeling from their confrontation, rushed out to retaliate? But then, in the next moment, she understood. The girl was clinging to her—her body trembling, her grip desperately tight, making it unable for her to even breathe.

"I’m just happy that you are alive and well! So happy you are back! I don’t want anything else... want nothing else..." Ella’s voice shook, her grip tightening as if she feared Serena would slip away again. "I did not kill you! You did not die! Now Aiden and you can be together! He will be happy... You will be happy together. It is for the best."

Serena stiffened, her breath catching as she listened to the words.

"Thank you for coming back... for not dying," Ella whispered, her words raw with emotion. "It’s okay even if you both never forgive me. If you are okay... that’s enough."

As Serena finally understood what Ella was saying, she was stunned. The person who had supposedly helped in her murder was hugging her and crying about being thankful for her being safe. And then she frowned as she felt a mounting pressure in her head. It seemed Ella had hugged her similarly before...

Serena pulled back slightly, enough to look down at the girl clinging to her. Ella’s face was streaked with tears, her lips trembling, but her eyes... They held something Serena hadn’t expected.

Guilt...Desperation...Hope. She frowned, unsure about what to do. She had just vented her anger on the girl and now the girl was thanking her for being alive...

Finally, it was Aiden who stepped in and pried Ella away from Serena. For a moment, Serena wondered if Ella was some kind of tree-hugging koala—she certainly had the grip of one!

"Ella. That’s enough." Aiden’s voice was firm, steady.

Only then did Ella seem to snap out of whatever trance she had fallen into. She blinked rapidly, her face still streaked with tears, before a shaky smile bloomed on her lips.

"Did you see, Serena?" she began excitedly, as if she had just made some miraculous discovery. Her gaze flickered to Aiden, her expression bright with a sudden impulse to embrace him too. But the moment she took a step forward, she faltered.

Realization struck her like a thunderclap.

Her brother had already known that Serena was alive. And yet, despite this miracle, despite the fact that the woman he had spent so long mourning was standing right before him, he was still looking at her the same way he had ever since she confessed her involvement in what had happened to Serena.

Not with relief. Not with happiness. But with quiet, restrained look reserved for a stranger.

Ella’s breath hitched, her body stiffening as the weight of reality crashed down on her. It was as if the feverish relief she had clung to—the desperate hope that Serena’s return would somehow cleanse her sins—had shattered in an instant.

Her knees buckled, and she dropped down onto the floor, bowing her head low.

"I..." Her voice came out hoarse, broken. "What I said is true. I know I’ve committed terrible sins—sins that deserve punishment." Her fingers curled against the ground, her shoulders trembling. "And I’m ready for it. Whatever punishment you decide for me, even if it means imprisonment... I will accept it."

She lifted her head slightly, her watery gaze flitting between Serena and Aiden.

"I just... I’m just grateful that both of you can be together now. At least now, I can live with myself knowing that." A bitter laugh escaped her lips, barely more than a whisper. "Even if neither of you ever forgive me... even if you hate me forever... it’s enough."

With that, she stood up and then stepped back into the room, closing the door behind her. And what she had said was indeed true. Now, once she was recovered she would go away from here. She would not appear in front of Aiden or Serena. Not even Nate.

That was to be her punishment. To live alone from now on. For the love of one person, she had hurt the rest of her family so of course she was not trustworthy to them. And she could not trust herself. What if she fell for some silly tricks again and ended up harming Aiden or Nate again. It was better to distance herself so that she would not be used as a pawn.

Outside the room, Serena was still staring at the closed door in shock. Of course she was not going to forgive Ella, but if what she said was true, then... maybe in the future, she would be prepared to see her. Only time would tell, of course.

But right now, she was worried about something else. Her head was hurting. Too much. She turned to look back at Aiden and opened her mouth to tell him but before she could say a word, she heard a ringing sound in her ears and then everything went black...

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