Three chapters in less than two days, I'm really impressed with myself!
I don't know what it is, but I like it!

Hopefully I regain my story followers, as I feel I've lost so many of them over time, because I took way too long to update.
How do you guys feel about me inserting review replies into my story headers (this section right here)?

I've seen plenty of authors do it, but I want to know how you all feel about it.
I would hate to annoy anyone with my rambling replies if they're not wanted. If PM's suffice, I won't do it.

You know the drill: Read and review!
Share your thoughts with me, I love hearing the different perspectives of which direction the story should go in, and whom Serena should end up with.

-xoxo, Crys. (01.07.19)

"Picture Perfect"

Chapter 14

"Serena," Darien began, after hearing the soft click of Christina's office door close shut. They were finally alone. "What are you doing here?" He hadn't looked her in the eye, instead he was practically avoiding doing so. His heartbeat was finally steadying, and he definitely didn't want her to be able to sense his unease.

"Oh, you know," she said, ending in a sarcastic giggle. Maneuvering around his desk, she stopped just to the right of him, leaning against the corner of the hardwood surface. "just visiting my husband at work."

Finally, he looked up at her. Anger was now evident in his midnight blue eyes, as he made certain not to hide it. He was pissed off that she had come to his job unannounced. The situation could have gone so much worse than it had with his secretary. Serena really had no idea. Now that Christina could put a face to the name, matters were even more complicated.

"I was in the neighborhood and decided I'd stop by," she explained, innocently. However, the visit was anything but.

Annoyed, he wasn't going to play her game. "Stop by for what, Serena? I'm at work, working." She was lucky they were technically in a public place, despite his private office. Had they been at home, his composure would have certainly faltered.

Dropping her 'nice girl' act, she was ready to cut through the bullshit and just confront the man in front of her. He had things to own up to. "Fine, let's cut through the fake pleasantries and get right down to it." It didn't take much for her to hoist herself up onto his desk; crossing her legs, she pivoted to face him. "Why the fuck did you go through my phone, Darien?"

Taken aback, he immediately shifted his chair to face her. Her legs were mere inches away from him, and he could almost feel her body heat radiating in such close proximity to his own body. "What the hell are you talking about, Serena?"

"Don't play dumb," she scowled, unimpressed with his response. "You, for whatever reason, went through my phone, and I want to know why."

Darien rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "You're absurd, Serena." At that moment, he really didn't have a clue what she was talking about. Or, rather, what she was accusing him of. He had no interest to go through her phone. The woman was crazy, and last night was a little hazy.

"Darien, you're the only other person with access to my phone. Let's not beat around the bush."

"Goddamn it, Serena," she could feel the desk shake as his fist made contact with it. "What the fuck are you doing here? I didn't go through your goddamn phone!"

In that moment, he was thankful his office had reinforced walls. This was solely a precaution, implemented to ensure the safety of the hospital staff and patients during earthquakes, but one of the perks he enjoyed was that it made it hard for the offices surrounding his to hear what was going on inside. He knew there was no way Christina, or anyone else for that matter, could hear the confrontation with his wife.

"Lie and lie again, Darien." She accused, dropping her phone on the desk in front of him. The screen was lit up, displaying its recent text messages from Lita. "I know you read and deleted Lita's text messages, because I sure as hell didn't." The screenshot was right there, in front of his face, and realization dawned on him.

He now remembered the previous night; he had checked Serena's phone when he heard it go off in a panic last night, to make sure it wasn't the same mystery texter who texted his phone just moments before. When he saw that it was Lita, he had no choice but to delete them. It was an attempt to cover his tracks. He didn't think of the fact that the other party could see when Serena read the text, nor did he think they would call her out on not texting them back. 'Fucking Lita.' He cursed to himself.

Darien certainly couldn't tell her the real reason why he was snooping through her phone, it would only incriminate him further. He was not about to mention anything about the mystery texter to his wife, but he had to come up with something quick, because his wife was sitting in front of him, with her arms crossed now, waiting for his explanation. He wouldn't allow her to see him squirm under her scrutinizing gaze.

He had a plan.

"Okay, so I did delete the messages from Lita. It was all me. You caught me."

Serena furrowed her brow, confused by his sudden embrace of accountability. "Why, Darien?"

The ebony-haired man shrugged his shoulders in response, leaning back in his chair, visibly indifferent. "Blame yourself. You were the one who purposely misconstrued your whereabouts for the day."

"Excuse me?" she exclaimed, irritated. 'What the fuck is he talking about?'

"Oh, did you forget?" he questioned, amusement now evident in his eyes. "You tried to make me believe you spent the afternoon with another man." He sneered the last part. "You left out the part that you not only saw Nephrite, but Lita as well."

He was pinning this on her? "Don't you dare try to deflect, Darien."

"Oh, no, no, no, Serena," he was smiling now, devilishly. "I'm not deflecting, honey. I'm simply stating the facts. You had an afternoon out with your girl friend's, and you twisted the truth to make it seem as if you were solely around one of my best guy friends. You're to blame for why I went through your phone."

"I don't understand?" She wasn't going to deny the fact that she had indeed twisted the truth to get under her husband's skin. But that wasn't reason enough for him to snoop through her phone.

"Don't you know better than to try and make a man like me jealous?" he questioned, standing up now, his body mere inches from her own. "You," he said, placing his hand on her thigh and lifting it to uncross her legs from one another. "Lied – no, I'm sorry, bent the truth – to put alternative thoughts into my head." Darien was now standing between her thighs, causing her skirt to hike up, hands placed securely on his desk, on either side of her. He could see the straps of her garter, attached to her nude stockings.

Serena wasn't quite sure what it was, but she managed to catch a glimpse of something flash across his eyes. She was currently leaning back, away from him.

Turning her head away from him, she spoke, "Don't put this on me, Darien. You invaded my privacy without telling me."

He laughed, a devilish sound. Grabbing her chin in between his thumb and forefinger, he turned her face to look her in the eye. "I had to make sure your story checked out – which it only partially did. Blame yourself, Serena. I only deleted your text thread with Lita to get rid of the evidence that it had been read by someone prior to you seeing it yourself."

In this very moment, Serena's body began to betray her. Her husband was mere inches from her face, in between her thighs, and it was the first time in a long time they had been this close to one another. The position alone had her oddly aroused, and the scent of his cologne was clouding her mind. Did her twisted truth really bother him that much? Was he really made jealous enough to go through her phone?

If she was being honest with herself, despite the confrontations she had with him as of late, she yearned for his touch. Her heart was pounding, and her thighs were beginning to tremble, as she had a glimpse of him taking her right there on his desk. She was reminded of their younger years, and it made her weak. She had been so incredibly in love with him, and they could hardly keep their hands off of one another.

Serena hadn't been aware of the real truth, of the fact that he was actually not snooping and really trying to save face; he thought the text message was from his mystery texter, not one of her friends. It had appeared the mystery texter had bluffed, and not gone through with their threat to reach out to Serena. He would let her believe his story, because it was the only logical explanation he could come up with to get her off of his back.

Snapping back to reality, placing two hands against his chest, the blonde shoved her husband from out of her face. He landed back in his chair, visibly amused, as he watched her snap her legs closed. Her judgment may have been temporarily clouded with lust and memories of the past, but she had certainly not forgotten how he had treated her, or how he had hit her less than 14 hours earlier. This man was not the made she used to lust after. Her body may not have known the difference, but she sure as hell did; her newfound fear of him was the reason why she decided to confront him in a public place, rather than their home. There was no way he could hide any physical abuse once she left his office.

Darien sat in front of his wife, taking her in. Her face was flushed with either embarrassment or frustration, he couldn't tell which. He watched as she adjusted her skirt to its appropriate length and hopped off of his desk. "Don't invade my privacy again, Darien. I don't invade yours."

Watching her retreating form, his voice stopped her just as she was about to exit his office. "I see you put my money to good use," he spoke plainly. She knew he was referring to her new outfit.

She stopped walking, turning to look him dead in the eyes. "After last night, I'm glad I did." She scowled. 'If I had known I was going to be his punching bag, I would have spent more.' And with that, she left, leaving him to take in what she had just said.

Her husband really was full of himself. Mr. High and Mighty, Mr. Bread Winner. But also Mr. I Hit My Wife In Secret. He could tell she wasn't about to let him live that down any time soon, if ever.

Glancing at the platinum watch on his wrist, he was annoyed to see that his next appointment was due in half an hour – he had evidently spent the last half an hour arguing with his wife. The good news though? She had seemed to buy his story; Darien was in the clear, for now.

Approaching the front desk once more, Serena needed one last favor. "Trista?" she called, getting the woman's attention.

"Oh, Serena," she smiled, now recognizing the woman before her. "How may I help you?"

The blonde returned her smile. "Hey, I know it's a long-shot, because you haven't been here very long, but do you happen to know where Dr. Zoicite Grey's office is? He works with Darien. His wife, Amy Grey is a good friend of mine, I'm looking for her."

Trista seemed to be in thought, trying to figure out if she knew whom Serena was referring to. "Oh!" She began, "Dr. G?" Serena raised an eyebrow at the informal name. "Dr. Amy Grey, I mean. Sorry," she giggled, "It never occurred to me you might not know that to differentiate the pair, Mrs. Grey goes by Dr. G, and Mr. Grey goes by Dr. Grey… Anyway, yes, I've met them both, Dr. G was actually the one to show me around when I was hired."

'Typical Amy.' She mused, smiling to herself. After Serena had taken her under her wing in grade school, Amy made sure to always put forth an effort to make everyone feel welcome, no matter the atmosphere. She hadn't any friends before Serena, and she was really appreciative of the companionship she was offered back then. If it wasn't for Serena, Amy would've never come out of her shell, and she probably would've never met Zoicite – her own version of Serena's Darien.

"That's exactly the Amy I'm looking for," Serena chimed happily. "I know she no longer works in the Surgical Department full-time anymore, but now that I know you know who she is, I was hoping maybe you would know where she's working today?"

"Serena?" She heard someone call behind her. "Oh, my god, it is you!"

Turning around to look behind her, her eyes landed on the very person she was just inquiring about. "Amy!" she exclaimed, the high pitch in her voice giving away her excitement. "Oh my god, this is such a coincidence, I was just asking Trista if she knew where you were stationed today."

Amy beamed, approaching the blonde to embrace her in a tight huge. "It's been so long since I've last seen you!"

Returning the embrace, Serena apologized for the gap in time. "I know, I'm sorry! I've just been so busy with Annabelle lately." she explained, genuinely apologetic that she hadn't seen one of her best friends in so long.

"Oh, not to worry, Serena. You know that I, of all people, understand the concept of busy. Speaking of, what are you doing here?" It had been a really long time since she had seen Serena around the hospital.

"I just finished visiting Darien, I was missing him at home alone." She lied. "Annabelle is in school, and I had free time to kill."

Amy nodded in understanding. She sometimes missed Zoicite too when they were forced to work opposite shifts. "Tell me about it. I was just on my way to visit Zoicite for lunch." Pausing briefly, she decided to extend an invitation. "Hey, would you like to join us?"

"Oh, no, I couldn't intrude." Serena protested.

"Nonsense, Serena," Amy interjected, "You could never intrude. Now come," she insisted, pushing Serena back toward the corridor she just come out of. This time Trista didn't need to punch in a 4-digit code; a quick scan of Amy's badge did the trick instead.

"Wait, before I forget," Serena insisted, quickly making her way back to the front desk. "Thank you, Trista. For all of your help today, I really appreciate it." Trista smiled politely at her. "No problem, Serena."

Juuban Hospital was well-known for its beautiful property and landscaping; roses of all colors, tulips, and lilies covered the grounds in abundance, while beautiful, healthy orchids were placed outside of every entrance door. The staff concluded that in ensuring that the grounds were well taken care of, people would assume its patients would be well taken care of as well, and they were.

Dr. Shields and both Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Grey were a huge influence on the hospitals' admin committee; all three had a very close relationship with the committee chairman, and the individual had nothing but the utmost respect for the region's top 3 doctors. Darien Shields was effortlessly the top surgeon, with Zoicite Grey as a close second. Amy Grey had recently become the top neurosurgeon in the region. That being said, none of the three had a lot of spare time, if any at all.

It came as no surprise that Amy and Zoicite typically had lunch together under one of the outside pavilions, as it was their idea to extend the hospitals leisure grounds; the only difference this afternoon being that their long-time best friend, Serena, had joined them.

Amy was a petite woman, much like Serena - maybe a tad shorter - and she had short, deep blue hair, accompanied by innocent, sultry blue eyes, several shades darker than her friend's bright blue eyes. Amy hadn't changed much over the years – her hair was slightly longer, currently secured in a tight bun, but it was still considered short. Having grown up and no longer wanting to wear glasses - because as a surgeon they got in her way - she now wore contacts instead. The pitch in her voice became far less timid over the years.

Zoicite was someone she instantly became infatuated with when they met, because his intelligence rivaled her own. She had never met anyone before whom had been on her level intellectually. Zoicite was built a lot like Darien, with sculpted abs and biceps, but with long, auburn-blonde hair, and light green eyes. Whenever the pair decided to have children, Serena had no doubt that they would be gorgeous.

"Amy," the green-eyed man turned to question his wife. "Did Darien's secretary ever find you the other day?"

Amy looked surprised, she wasn't aware she had been searching for her. "No, why?"

He shrugged. "No clue. She came to my office the other day looking for you. I figured she had went to find you afterward."

"That's odd. I hope it wasn't important." Amy said softly.

"I doubt it," he reassured, unconcerned. "The woman is odd herself."

This gained a giggle from Serena, acknowledging their conversation. "What's her deal, anyway? I met her today – well, I wouldn't say met her, but I acknowledged her while in Darien's office just a bit ago, and the woman just gave me a weird look."

"Really?" Amy and Zoicite had said in unison, making the group laugh together.

"Yeah, it was really weird." The blonde explained to her friends. "I smiled at her, as if to say hello, and she just kind of raised an eyebrow at me, almost sizing me up, and then she left. I don't recall doing anything to offend her, all I did was turn toward her and smile… I would have said hello formally, had Darien not asked her to leave us in private."

Zoicite shook his head, taking in her story. "That woman is quite the character, Sere. I've heard horror stories about her from previous colleagues of hers who are affiliated with our hospital. No one seems to care for the woman, not even Darien, and he's her boss."

Serena nodded in agreement. "I guess I can see why," she said, "Darien is all about his work and being professional… she doesn't seem like the type to belong in a professional environment. Not if she can't be polite – first impressions are everything – and I was not impressed."

Amy didn't think much of the girl either, but she had only interacted with her for a few brief moments in the past. She didn't really know anything about her, as she was never the one to care about gossip in the workplace. Zoicite was usually the one she heard all the gossip from, if there ever was any worth mentioning.

"Enough about that woman," Amy piped up. Gossip really wasn't her thing. "I haven't seen you in ages and the last thing I want to talk about is someone who isn't you. Update me, Serena! How have you been? How's my little Annabelle? How are things with Darien?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Serena exclaimed, now bombarded with questions. "One question at a time, Ames."

At the sound of her nickname, the bluenette smiled. "Sorry," she giggled. "I got carried away. I've just really missed you. So, what's new?"

For the remainder of their lunch hour, Amy and Zoicite caught up with their best friend, enjoying her company. Serena had told them how Annabelle was beginning to learn how to read in school, and how proud of her she and Darien were. Her mentioning of her relationship with Darien was minimal – she didn't want to lie to her best friends, but she wasn't comfortable telling the both of them what had been going on recently. Zoicite was a lady's man – and by that, she meant he was all for protecting women and standing up for them. Serena held a special place in his heart, and she knew that – she was the reason he met the love of his life. Serena wasn't looking to turn her husbands' best friends against him – she could handle the situation on her own.

Before they knew it, time had flown by, and it was time for the couple to return to work. Saying their final goodbyes to their friend, feeling obligated, as to not cause concern, Serena had agreed to plan a date night with them. She hadn't the heart to tell them no or fabricate an excuse not to. How hard could it be for her and Darien to fake adoration for a night? He owed her, after all. It was the least he could do.

End Chapter 14

How long do we really think Darien's going to be able to keep Serena in the dark about his infidelity?
This isn't your typical "airhead Serena" story, the woman is smart, and it's only a matter of time before "darkness comes to light".

Dun, dun, dunnnn!

Now that this story is finally progressing, share your thoughts with me.
The good, the bad, and the ugly. I want to hear it all.

P.S. I generally write my chapters on a whim late at night, and I don't have someone to proof read, so I may not always catch my grammatical errors or typos, please feel free to point them out. I've discovered so many recently. Your help is appreciated.

I look forward to reading your reviews; until next time lovelies! ;*

-xoxo, Crys. (01.07.19)