Chapter 197

The second Serena heard that voice, her whole body went stiff. All that bravado from earlier vanished. Fear came rushing in like a tidal wave, and she couldn't even look toward the door. How could she forget what that man had once warned her? If she didn't manage to marry Nelson Cooper, then she— Just thinking about the way he'd choked her that night, the breathlessness and sheer panic, made her chest tighten again. She swallowed hard, her voice trembling and overly polite. "You... What are you doing here?" "Me?" With a smile playing on his lips beneath the silver mask, the man casually strolled toward her. "I've been here all day. You didn't know? Well, considering your whole family was off at the wedding venue, I guess none of you noticed when I showed up. But hey, that doesn't really matter now, does it?" Serena instinctively took a step back. So many words caught in her throat, but not one came out. He kept coming closer, step by step, until she couldn't retreat anymore—her ankle h