Serena lowered her eyes slightly. He’s long been in love with someone else, so what’s the point of knowing all that? Could she really expect him to feel guilty towards her? If guilt could make him return what belonged to her, then he wouldn’t have delayed after learning the truth about the tanzanite. Telling him would only give him another chip to hurt her. No reason to stay, she has plenty of things to attend to. Whether it’s the bet with Vera or Seraphina’s surgery in a few days, these are matters she needs to worry about. She wouldn’t spend another moment thinking about Julian Lawson. Serena retracted her gaze and was about to walk out, while Julian frowned and intended to follow. Serena sneered, glancing at Xander. "Didn’t you say you wanted to help me?" she said. "Then help me hold him back." Xander showed a slightly surprised smile, then he slightly bowed: "As you command." Then, he turned around and punched Julian directly in the face. Julian was unprepared, caught off guard and pushed back several steps by Xander’s punch, knocking over a coffee table, and the various items on it clattered to the floor, shattering with a loud sound. The office door was immediately opened. Secretary Chaucer and Isla Lawson rushed in together, seeing Julian knocked down on the floor and Xander rubbing his fist with a smile at Serena. Secretary Chaucer immediately went to help Julian up. Isla glared fiercely at Serena: "What on earth are you doing!" Serena chuckled indifferently: "As you can see." Xander made a gentlemanly bow, smiling as he looked at Serena. Isla’s anger intensified. "Serena, I’ve wanted to say this before, but could you inform us before you do anything?" Isla’s voice was full of ire, "Do you know how irresponsible this is? How much chaos it could cause for the company?" Serena looked at Isla and said, "Do you know Julian and I are already divorced?" "Did you learn from my platform updates?" Serena continued. "Yes." Isla replied, holding back her anger. "So, did you see the date in the inner pages of my divorce certificate?" Serena said coldly. This time, Isla didn’t answer. Serena glanced at Julian, who was pushing Secretary Chaucer away, standing up with a sullen face. "Not making it public on the day of certification was already my mercy." "So, Isla." Serena said, word by word, "Take out your anger on the person you should. I am not your outlet." Isla listened to Serena’s words, her face flushed with rage, wanting to say something, but Serena’s words immediately blocked her mouth. "Understood?" Serena’s voice was light, but it carried a heavy warning. Her demeanor seemed peaceful, but her eyes were cold as frost. Seeing this, Isla felt a jolt in her heart. For a moment, she really felt that if she dared to provoke Serena any further, the latter would truly destroy her. Strangely, she believed Serena could indeed do it. Even though there was no reason. In just one fleeting moment, Serena had already withdrawn her gaze. She took a look at Julian, who was wiping the blood from his face, saying nothing, and turned to leave with large strides. Julian still wanted to pursue her, but Xander was already blocking his path. He also rubbed his right hand. Outside the door was Serena’s departing "click-clack" of high heel sounds, inside, the tension between the two men. Secretary Chaucer didn’t know what to do, while Isla, eyes slightly red, looked at Xander and finally rushed out, intending to catch up to Serena. But she was destined not to catch up. Serena had already entered the elevator, the doors closed, swiftly descending. As the elevator reached the floor, Serena walked out of Lawson Tower but didn’t leave immediately; she waited outside the main entrance. About a minute later, another elevator door opened again, and Xander walked out from inside. He likewise exited the building and then saw Serena’s figure. He walked straight towards Serena. "Chat?" Xander spoke. Serena glanced at where Silas parked and then pointed to a nearby area where there were few people. Serena knew what he meant, yet she didn’t directly answer, instead surveying Xander up and down. "Xander," she said, "why come back?" Xander said nothing, just looked at her. "Don’t give me some nonsense about returning because you knew I divorced." "You were doing well in the overseas market; there’s no need to come to the domestic scene and wade through chaos." Serena didn’t avert her gaze, she said, "If I’m guessing correctly, something happened over there in Frelia?" Xander finally smiled, helplessly saying, "Sharp and witty, truly a little fox." He reached out and took out a small wooden puppet, carved into a fox. "A gift," he said, "for coming home, a meeting gift." "I find it rather fitting." Serena reached out and took it. The fox is indeed vivid, yet it’s still noticeable it was carved by his hand. "I originally planned to bring that bottle of wine to you." He seemed to guess her thoughts, saying, "Unfortunately, Isla brought it home first." Xander looked at her and said, "Do you like it?" Serena looked at the wooden fox, offering no comment. The sunlight touched her profile, yet he saw the sorrow veiled by her long eyelashes in her eyes. He knew, she was reminded of that child again. "Later," he said, "I tried hard." Serena still focused only on the wooden fox. "Like you said, putting away frivolous playful intentions, genuinely pursuing some of what I want, what I wish to control, loving and protecting the ones I wish to protect." "It took a long time." He smiled, but his eyes showed sadness. "But, I still couldn’t find, the person you mentioned." "That deep autumn year, the person you mentioned never appeared in my life from beginning to end." Serena’s gaze moved from the wooden fox to a certain point on the ground. The sun remained blinding, but her eyes were shrouded in shadow. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⟡𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕥⟡𝕟𝕖𝕥 "What I just said in Lawson wasn’t entirely a lie." Xander said: "I disdain Julian, and these years of dealings and renewals with The Lawson Corporation were solely because of you." "That year’s bet changed my life." "So, what about you?" He stared at Serena, missing nothing of her subtle expressions. "Did you get what you wanted?" "Still unyielding as ever, like back then?" His eyes were slightly red, and he softly said: "All these years, have you ever, regretted?"