Falling For My Accidental CEO Husband
Chapter 125: Refusal

Chapter 125: Refusal

Serena swallowed hard. There was no way she could agree to this. It was too easy to rely on someone else, to trust again. And look where that had gotten her with Owen. Almost dead and sold off to a stranger... literally. A part of her wanted to defend Aiden, to believe that he was too honorable to betray her—but trust wasn’t something she could give freely anymore.

She had made that mistake before. With Owen. Forget Owen—she had never even felt anything real for him. He had been a pawn, someone she had intended to use for her own ends and pay him handsomely. But his greed had interfered with her plans.. However Sidney... Sidney was different. He had been someone she truly trusted.

The memory of him brought a bitter smile to her lips. Sidney could serve as the perfect reminder of her flawed judgment when it came to men she deemed trustworthy. Even someone as noble as Aiden wasn’t exempt from that growing distrust. Trusting anyone again felt like a luxury she simply couldn’t afford.

Her heart thudded in her chest as her mind scrambled to find an escape from the conversation. Aiden’s proximity was unnerving, his hands subtly brushing against her skin as he waited for her answer continuing to distrace her. But before she could formulate a refusal, a knock on the door shattered the tension in the room.

Grabbing the chance to distance herself, Serena quickly stepped away. "I’ll get it," she muttered, her voice sharper than intended. She almost stumbled in her haste to reach the door, as if every second closer to it would grant her the clarity she so desperately needed. Her fingers hovered over the doorknob for a moment, her mind convincing her that with this distance, she could regain control of the situation and tell Aiden ’no’ without hesitation. But as soon as she opened the door, any sense of relief vanished.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Standing there, as if summoned from the very thoughts she had been trying to push away, was none other than Sidney. Dressed impeccably in a tailored suit, his appearance was as polished as ever. His dark hair was slicked back, and his charming smile was just as she remembered since forever.

Her hand gripped the doorknob tighter, her fingers turning white as she tried to suppress the rush of memories. She felt herself harden, her face setting into a cold, controlled mask as he spoke her name, "Serena..."

Sidney’s gaze locked on her, and all the words he had carefully planned to say melted away. He had spent the entirety of last night and this morning mentally preparing for this moment, crafting the perfect lines to coax her into winning her trust and getting her to listen so that their past misunderstandings would clear up.. He’d even considered bringing her favorite food, knowing how easily that gesture would soften her up. After all, they had been friends for as long as he could remember that he knew everything that made her tick. But now, standing at her door, those well-rehearsed words seemed utterly useless.

It had been more than a year since he had last seen her before yesterday and even then, he had been too shocked by her fainiting and then her rejection to look at her carefully. But now, with her standing before him, something in him shifted. She looked different, or maybe it was just the time apart that made him notice what he hadn’t before. He didn’t know what it was, but Serena was even more striking than she had been in his memories.

Her wet hair fell in loose waves, framing her face and shoulders, with droplets of water glistening against her skin like they belonged there. Her face flushed naturally gave her a glow that caught him off guard. She looked... unreal. As if she had just stepped out of a dream, a vision so effortlessly beautiful that it was disarming.

He had never seen her like this.

In the past, she had always been a vision of calm strength, or at least that’s how he remembered her. At first, she had only ever been prickly with him and her appearance always been simple. And then later, as they started to grow up, she had preferred to bury her nose in a book than pay attention to her looks. Even him, who had met her almost everyday until he had gone away, had not known how beautiful she was.

And then later, when he returned, even though she had treated him like a friend, there had been something unattainable about her. And her dresses had always been light and pale, as if she wanted to merge into the background.

But standing here now, in a sunny yellow dress, she looked radiant. Almost as bright as the sun itself.

The contrast unsettled him. Every line he had rehearsed, every strategy he had laid out to win her back and clear the past, crumbled in the face of this moment.

His mouth went dry, and it took him longer than it should have to speak. When he finally did, his voice was barely above a whisper. "Serena..."

Unable to stop himself, he took a step forward, intending to walk into her room, but she shut the door halfway, staring at him as she questioned, "What do you want?"

Her coldness was like a slap in the face. He could only gulp and give her a glance," Serena... Can I come inside?"

"No."

"Look, I just need to talk. There are things in the past that I..."

"Mr Price. I am busy right now. And I don’t think there is anything in the past to discuss right now. If it is anything related to business, you might have to wait a few days and then I will have my assistant contact you."

"Rena. Don’t be like this. We are more than just..."

Before Sidney could continue however, his gaze fell behind her and he stilled.