Finalize the divorce. Then, at June Fox's birthday gala, deliver them a gift they'd never forget.
I came back to the home I'd lived in for three years. Every corner of it I had arranged with my own hands.
The nursery still held the tiny clothes and shoes I'd bought for our baby.
Once, Patrick had held me close, his forehead pressed to mine, his eyes impossibly tender. "Serena, let's have a baby. I want a daughter, as beautiful as you."
He used to rest his hand on my belly and read stories to the baby every single night without fail.
Worried I wouldn't like what the housekeeper cooked, he taught himself to make meals suited for a pregnant woman.
Back then, I believed we would be happy forever.
Now, all of it was ash.
I threw everything connected to Patrick into boxes. I was leaving, and nothing would stay behind.
With every item I cleared away, a memory surfaced. Every movie we watched together. Every trip we took.
But once it all went into the boxes, I could let go. And once I let go, it wouldn't hurt anymore.
Then I called the housekeeper and told her to take it all to the dump. Immediately.
I had just finished when the front door opened.
Patrick's brow creased as he scanned the half-empty rooms. "Why is so much stuff missing?"
I didn't spare him a glance. My voice came out flat and cold.
"It was old. Time to throw it out."
He took my indifference as anger over the incident with June and the sweet soup, nothing more.
He wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his chin in the curve of my neck.
"Come on, don't be mad. You know how June's been ever since she found out she isn't the Foxes' biological daughter. She's insecure. And you're the real daughter. She has nothing. That's why I..."
Before he could finish, a baby's cry pierced the air from behind him.
Patrick released me. I spun around.
June walked in carrying a child, maybe a year old. The baby's brow and eyes bore an unmistakable resemblance to Patrick.
My blood stopped moving. A high-pitched ringing filled my ears.
Patrick's gaze flickered. He shifted June and the child behind him, cleared his throat, and spoke.
"June and I have a child."
Something detonated inside my skull. Cold flooded every inch of my body. My fingertips shook.
"What did you just say?"
Patrick exhaled heavily.
"You can't have children anymore. But the Harding family needs an heir. Besides, you love kids, don't you? From now on, this will be our child."