My first fanfiction of this s**t hot pairing, glad they are popular
Staring at the envelope, Serena instantly recognised the handwriting, poised with such great care and attention; it could only have come from Henrik Hanssen. The man who stolen her heart over coffee, the man who promised her the world, but only to up and leave for pastures new, without giving her a second thought.
She often wondered if that kind sensitive man she fell in to bed with was just a test, to see how far she would go to get her dream job. Maybe Henrik, after all, was just a cold enigma. When he said he loved her, it clearly was a lie; you do not love someone then leave them with no real explanation. He promised her upon leaving that she would take his place as CEO; he never spoke a word of their relationship as much as she tried to fight him.
That man broke her heart, and it taken him three months to get in touch with her, by letter. If their shambolic relationship breaking down wasn't hard enough to take, Serena found herself stripped of the CEO title, for a male candidate with half the qualifications she held. It stood as another promise Henrik failed to keep.
Opening up the envelope, Serena's heart began to pound, she almost wished that Henrik were hiding in the office behind, ready to take the letter from her, and surprise her by saying he had returned to Holby - just for her.
She had fallen in love with Henrik, and had fallen hard. He treated her like a Lady, although he came across as rather nervous in the early days of their six-month love affair. He blossomed in to a great lover, but then it just changed, and he had gone.
Grasping the expensive looking paper on her hand, she smiled; Henrik always put the right sentiments in to the things he did. Such as ensuring her paperwork handed to her in an organised fashion, always taking his shoes off when he came to her house, so he would not bring outside dirt on to the carpets. He would always make sure he put the right amount of bubbles in her bath and that it was the right temperature.
My Darling Serena,
They say time is a healer; I would like to think that is true. I sincerely hope that you can forgive me for the way I treated you.
Leaving you has been a massive mistake on my part, I regret doing so deeply, but leaving Holby, it is the best thing I have ever done.
I am only sorry I could not take you with me, but your home is in Holby, your daughter, your mother, your career - it is all in Holby. My life, it is here in Sweden, my heart although with you, it is ultimately here in Sweden. I could never, ask you to join me out here; it is a truly unfair and selfish request. It is not that I do not have love for you, I do. Nevertheless, I believe our paths are no longer to find themselves crossed.
Perhaps, I took and I am still taking the coward's way out. Leaving you in such way, it felt safer this way. I did not want a tragic heartbreaking goodbye, I did not want to acknowledge that pain, I didn't think of you, my love.
I also offer my sincere commiserations regarding the CEO job, the best woman lost out. I could never see anyone more suited for the job, other than myself, of course. I hope you do not live in sorrow, your chance will come, - I know as much.
Take care.
Yours truly
Henrik x
A few tears fell down her cheeks and upon the words Henrik had written, Serena felt her heartbreak a little more, she had never forgotten their time together and she always held out for a reunion.
Yet in this short letter, she didn't get the answers she craved, he didn't explain why he had left in the first place, all she knew was that he left for his son, his grandson. She didn't feel she had received absolution, more of an every growing gaping hole in her heart, a hole that Henrik caused.
Why could he not just ask her if she wanted to go to Sweden? She would have said yes in a heartbeat, Eleanor was at University, and she was an adult who didn't need her mother around. Serena's own mother Adrienne would welcome the distance. Most of all, when she fell in love with Henrik, her career didn't seem to matter, being his professional second in command stood perfect for her. She had found herself the happiest she had been in almost a decade and she was willing to give up everything for love. Something she would never do for anyone else.
The phone on her desk ran, startling Serena; she wiped away a few of her tears and answered the phone, the final string in her heart holding out for Henrik. Unfortunately, her presence requested to AAU, "Yes, I will be there straight away"
For a moment or two, after placing down the phone, Serena just sat in her office chair without moving, not feeling the sense of urgency, taking a few deep breaths she placed the letter neatly in her draw, in an almost Hanssen like fashion. She thought the letter too precious to find itself tossed on a pile. An impulsive thought crossed her mind. If he was not going to come back for her, she was going to go out to him. Life is too meaningful to waste.