Chapter 3

I searched my memory and remembered having coffee with a woman.

It was an elite private yoga instructor I had hired for Serena at an exorbitant price.

I scoffed. "You were always whining about your waist not being thin enough and your legs not being toned enough, so I hired a top-tier private yoga instructor for you."

"She's a celebrity trainer with clients all over the country. Her schedule is booked out for years. But because you mentioned it, I pulled strings and spent a fortune to secure her."

"And what did you do? You accused me of abusing you."

"Serena, I'm only human. I don't expect you to match everything I put into this marriage, but you could at least appreciate it. If you don't love me, let's stop wasting each other's time!"

"But if you still care about me, I will only treat you better from now on."

Serena had a toxic trait: give her an inch, and she'd take a mile.

The nicer people were to her, the more arrogant she became. In the past, I loved her, so I put up with it.

Not anymore.

Sometimes, to get the ultimate revenge, you have to play the long game.

Serena panicked and grabbed my hand. "Christian, of course I love you! Why else would I marry you?"

Ethan rejected her because of her weight. Right now, only I could give her the luxury lifestyle she wanted.

I was her stepping stone for her twisted romance. She couldn't afford to let me go yet.

"Let's just live well together from now on. But honestly, starving myself and missing out on good food is miserable. Plus, being a little chubby is cute, right?"

"I won't interfere with your work, and you won't control my diet. Deal?"

Her eyes searched mine. I stayed quiet for two seconds, making her anxious.

Instead of arguing, I walked into the bedroom, pulled out the designer Birkin bag she had been drooling over, and stuffed five thousand dollars in cash inside.

"From now on, eat whatever you want. If you run out of cash, just tell me."

When Serena and her parents saw the cash, their eyes lit up.

Their attitudes did a complete 180.

"Christian, please don't take what we said to heart! It's so much better when a family gets along!"

"Exactly, you're the best son-in-law in the world. We'd never let you two break up!"

Serena wrapped her arms around mine, beaming, and rested her head on my shoulder. "Babe, cancel that yoga trainer. I don't need her, and it's a waste of money."

I played along. "Sure, whatever you want."

Watching her smug smile, a cold smirk crossed my face.

Since she was so thoughtful...

I really needed to prepare a proper "gift" for her.