Falling For My Accidental CEO Husband
Chapter 171: The Gift

Chapter 171: The Gift

Serena strolled back to her ’room’, heels swinging from her hand, a soft smile lingering on her face. Sidney had made his choice, and he’d picked Ava. Or rather Ava had still picked Sidney. Well, fine. If that was how things were meant to be, she could accept it. After all, maybe she’d just sped things up a bit, forced him to make the decision he’d been dancing around. At least now he wouldn’t keep pestering her with his indecisiveness. And if a small part of her felt that bitter twist of regret, she’d deal with her own hypocricy. She didn’t want him for herself so resenting this would be her own hypocricy..

As for Ava, if she wanted to jump into a bottomless pit, she would be the first one to offer help to push her into it...

When she reached the greenhouse, she paused, her gaze sharpening. All the lights were off. Odd. She was sure she’d left the small light above the door switched on. Her steps slowed, suspicion flickering in her mind as she approached the door.

When nothing unusual happened along the way, she finally looked up, squinting at the bulb. Of course. The useless thing had gone out. With a sigh, she shrugged and stepped into the greenhouse.

The last thing she expected was to see someone sitting across the room. She gasped, hand clutching the doorframe as she took in the figure lounging on the bean bag at the far end, the dim glow of a phone illuminating his face. For a split second, she thought about grabbing something heavy and hurling it at the intruder. Thankfully, she saw his ’icy’ face.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, voice barely steady.

"Tsk, tsk. I’m your husband, Serena. Why can’t I be here?" Aiden’s voice was casual, laced with amusement as he lounged on the bean bag, looking completely at ease. "So, this is where you spent your childhood?"

Serena narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. "We’ve already signed the divorce papers, Aiden. You won’t be my husband much longer."

With that, she flicked on the lights, filling the room with a soft glow that cast long shadows over the plants and the scattered bookshelves. She took in the sight of Aiden, still sprawled out, as if he owned the place. His gaze followed her every move, his expression calm yet infuriatingly smug. Without another glance his way, she tossed her heels to the side, intending to ignore him entirely. But Aiden, of course, had other plans.

As she began to walk away, he rose from the bean bag and casually began exploring her space, his fingers brushing over a shelf filled with trinkets and books from her younger days. Eventually, he picked up a small, worn-out diary from the desk, flipping it open with a smirk.

"Your teenage diary?" he drawled, glancing at her with a teasing gleam in his eye. "You still read this, Serena? Going back to all those little memories? Dreaming about your first crush—the ’bad boy’ of the school? The one whose engagement you just tried to stop?"

Serena stilled. "Tried to stop?"

"Well, he did get engaged. I’d have heard otherwise. You prepared such a loving gift for Ava and still incurred a loss..."

"And you sound a little too pleased about it," Serena muttered, trying—and failing—to stop herself from staring at him. It hadn’t even been that long since she’d last seen him, yet she felt an overwhelming pull to just keep looking at him. Had he somehow gotten even more handsome in that short time, or was her memory playing tricks on her?

She sighed, catching herself, and tore her gaze away. "Why are you here, Aiden? Honestly? Did you come here just to poke around my room?"

Aiden raised an eyebrow, that smug, amused look still firmly in place. He glanced around, as if taking in every little detail of her space. Then, almost casually, he picked up a thick file from the table. His fingers traced its edges as he crossed the room, stopping just a few feet in front of her.

"I actually brought you something," he said, holding out the file. A hint of something unspoken glinted in his eyes, and Serena couldn’t quite tell if it was meant to be a joke or if he was serious.

Her eyes flicked to the file, and then back to him, suspicious. "A gift? What is it, Aiden?"

"Go on," he replied in his smooth voice. "Open it. You might find it... surprising."

Hesitating, Serena slowly reached out, her hand brushing against his as she took the file. The touch, brief as it was, sent a small, unexpected shiver up her spine. She forced herself to ignore it, focusing instead on the file in her hands. With a deep breath, she opened it, her eyes scanning the first few pages.

And then, her heart stopped. Her world tilted on its axis.

"How... how could they have already sold it?" she whispered, barely able to process what she was seeing. "There was supposed to be an auction..."

According to the terms of the will, if she took over Nvidia, then her own company would be auctioned off to balance the acquisition. But she hadn’t even formally accepted the takeover—there’d been no official decision on her end. So how was it possible that her company had already been sold? And what about Investor Ji and Sidney’s promise that he would protect her interests?

Confusion twisted her expression, and she looked up at Aiden, her brow furrowed, disbelief and anger flashing in her eyes. He watched her with a faint, knowing smile, as if he’d already anticipated her reaction and had come here with the sole purpose of witnessing it himself.

She gave him a look. "You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?"

He shrugged, unbothered by her tone as he took the file back from her. "Here you were, advising Ava not to trust Sidney. And yet, you made the same mistake."