THE TYRANT'S CONTRACT BRIDE

CH.21

~Meanwhile~

Rest had been a total stranger to Serena throughout that pitch-black night from hell, completely oblivious to the latest scheme her dear husband had plotted against her.

Her eyes were haunted and sunken, weighed down by sheer exhaustion like a pair of concrete blocks.

Her voice had cracked like a fragile leaf about to be torn apart by the wind. Desperation seeped into every ragged syllable she had uttered until this moment.

The salty tears brimmed on the precipice of her thick lashes, threatening to spill over at any second. "You have to believe me," Serena had pleaded. "I'm innocent. I swear on my life that I didn't do anything wrong."

These words had become a haunting mantra, echoing relentlessly in the hollow corners of her mind ever since she'd been forcibly hauled into this cold, dank cell hours ago.

A sickening wave of nausea surged over Serena as the crushing weight of those damning accusations bore down on her like a torrential storm. Each word from the officers felt like another massive boulder being piled onto the unbearable burden already threatening to break her.

"I didn't kill Diana," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head slowly. "I could never..."

Despite the fiery anger that had ignited between them when Serena uncovered Diana's slimy affair with Alex, death—Diana's death—had never even flickered across her thoughts for a second. She couldn't count how many times she had repeated those words in utter disbelief.

Doubt gnawed relentlessly at Serena's core as she struggled with the stark, nightmarish reality unfolding around her—a reality steeped in pain and betrayal. Disbelief intertwined with suffocating grief coiled within her like a venomous serpent, squeezing out any last vestige of composure she desperately clung to.

Images from last night's chaotic events darted through Serena's mind like haunting fragments from an insidious nightmare refusing to release its stranglehold on her consciousness.

"I confronted Diana about her affair," she mumbled, raking trembling fingers through her tangled hair. "We fought, but I swear I never touched a weapon..." She kept muttering to herself as though she had lost her mind.

Alex had accused her of stabbing Diana mercilessly with a knife. The mere recollection caused bile to surge up in Serena's throat; it felt as if she was being choked by the horrifying enormity of his accusation.

Her thoughts swirled chaotically like leaves caught in a violent storm as she wrestled with the gross injustice of her predicament.

Yes, they had quarreled heatedly, but to wield a deadly weapon against Diana was beyond Serena's comprehension. It shattered her entire self-image into countless jagged shards.

Raw emotion fractured her being like delicate glass teetering on the edge of shattering entirely. Her eyes glistened with desperation, silently begging for even a shred of understanding and mercy from those who held her fate in their hands. "You have to believe me—I didn't hurt anyone. I would never, ever kill her, no matter what happened between us."

Yet despite Serena's impassioned pleas and tear-streaked face seeking compassion, the stone-faced officers remained utterly unmoved by her obvious distress.

Their expressions were like those carved out of granite when they had roughly grabbed her by the arms and frog-marched her through dimly lit corridors towards a small, suffocating cell that felt like a coffin about to be sealed shut.

An eerie silence descended around Serena as the barred door slammed shut with a loud, menacing clang that reverberated through the deserted hallways.

She was trapped in a full-fledged nightmare where deception and truth danced incessantly and dizzily.

Serena was overcome with memories of Diana as she settled inside her small cell and sat on the harsh, unyielding floor.

Could it really be true that Diana, someone she had once trusted as a dear friend, was no longer among the living?

The weight of unanswered questions bore down heavily on her chest like an immovable tombstone intent on suffocating her very existence. How had their once-solid friendship deteriorated into such an unthinkable, tragic catastrophe?

Serena's eyelids fluttered shut as she waged a fierce internal battle against the deluge of tears that stood ready to spill over at any moment.

She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms as she fought for control.

"Get a grip, Serena," she muttered through gritted teeth. "You can't lose it now..."

But despair, like an icy insidious fog, had already begun seeping into her very being, wrapping her in its frosty, unforgiving clutches.

She had always strived to be a beacon of virtue and kindness, but now it felt as if the essential threads of her very existence were coming undone and fraying at the edges.

Would there ever be a respite from this terrifying waking nightmare that kept her prisoner? Would she wake up to find it had all been an appalling delusion?

The faint clatter of metal keys and hushed whispers from somewhere down the corridor were grim reminders of the harsh reality she was now thrown in.

Each muted sound burrowed deeper into her psyche, hollowing out a cavern filled with dread.

The confused sequence of events that led to this gloomy moment kept repeating itself like an imaginary chant on repeat in the dark recesses of her worn-out rationality. They all merged into an unsettling, dizzying whirlwind. Here she was, confined like a common criminal and accused of a reprehensible crime she vehemently denied committing.

Just when the last flickers of hope started to fade from Serena's delicate heart, the heavy door to her cell creaked open, and Kate made her entrance, looking as distraught as Serena felt.

Deep furrows of worry marred Kate's face while she approached with tentative steps, her expression a mask of trepidation. "Serena..." she began softly.

"Kate..." Serena managed to choke out through the tears now flowing freely. "You returned so soon. Where's Jenkins? Please tell me you found some evidence to prove my innocence and secure my release from this nightmare?" Her voice trembled with desperation. "And where is my father? Why hasn't anyone from my family come to support me yet?"

Kate's face fell and she averted her gaze, suddenly looking like she'd been gutted. "Serena... there's something you need to know," she said quietly.

Serena felt her heart lurch in her chest as she lifted her reddened gaze to meet Kate's. Anticipation and fear mingled together into a knot in the pit of her stomach. "What is it?" she asked in an anxious voice. "Just tell me, Kate..."

The other woman faltered momentarily, clearly wrestling with how to convey the devastating news that had befallen them both. She didn't know which news to break, between the President's death and Alex's latest press conference.

"It's about your father," Kate finally murmured. "He... he's no longer with us, Serena."

The words weighed heavily in the air between them.

Serena felt like all the oxygen had been sucked from the room as her mind struggled to process Kate's words.

"What...?" she croaked out, her brow furrowing deeply. "What do you mean he's no longer with us?"

Kate blinked rapidly to clear the moisture glistening in her eyes. "Your dad... he's dead, Serena," she said. "He died in an accident last night. The news was just announced about an hour ago."

Disbelief gnawed at Serena's core as the room seemed to spin around her. How could it be that her beloved father - her steadfast rock - was suddenly gone from this world?

"No..." she whispered, shaking her head vehemently as her face crumpled. "No, that can't be! He couldn't...he wouldn't leave me. Not like this." Hot tears streamed down her cheeks unchecked.

Kate's eyes brimming with tears met hers, confirming what words failed to express fully.

Serena felt as though the ground beneath her had splintered into irreparable shards. The walls seemed to inch closer around her fragile form as the brutal reality descended on her shoulders like an unbearable wave.

Serena was swept off her feet by a tornado of emotions. Darkness began to creep into her consciousness as she teetered on the verge of oblivion amid the eerily quiet that followed.