CHAPTER 10: CHAPTER 10: JEALOUSY

"You take a taxi home yourself!"

Caleb Lockwood stared into her eyes with a calmness bordering on indifference.

Completely different from the way he looked at Claire Shaw.

Even though it was expected, Serena Jennings’ chest still ached.

She abruptly turned, her arm suddenly grabbed from behind by Caleb Lockwood.

Caleb’s grip was quite firm, more than Serena imagined, causing her arm to sting a bit.

Perhaps sensing Serena’s resistance, Caleb eased his grip slightly.

"I just want to remind you, don’t be so harsh to Claire out of jealousy. She can’t take your position as Mrs. Lockwood."

After saying that, Caleb sat in the driver’s seat, leaving Serena to stare into the air, opening her mouth but losing the purpose to explain.

Before the car started, the driver’s window rolled down, and Serena saw Caleb slightly lean out.

"By the way, don’t return to The Jade Pavilion. I won’t be coming back tonight."

Caleb’s deliberate reminder made Serena chuckle in anger.

The Jade Pavilion is the community where she and Caleb have their marital home.

"I wasn’t planning to go there anyway."

Serena intended to take the opportunity to bring up divorce with Caleb again. She hadn’t mentioned it before because Claire was in the car, and she didn’t want her to be too smug. But now seemed like a good chance, and she didn’t want to miss it.

However, Caleb seemed to have already seen through her intentions and blocked her from speaking before she could open her mouth.

"I won’t divorce. You can drop that idea."

The luxury car sped away, leaving the estate in silence.

Serena tried to walk along the main road, but getting a taxi wasn’t easy, even calling a ride-share app resulted in no drivers accepting the request.

Just then, a black Passat stopped in front of her.

"Miss Jennings..."

The driver was Caleb’s assistant, Mr. Miller, to Serena’s surprise.

"I had some business nearby, didn’t expect to see you here. Where are you headed? I can give you a lift!"

Mr. Miller’s words left Serena a bit puzzled, as there was nothing around here besides The Lockwood Estate.

"Thank you for the trouble."

Serena didn’t stand on ceremony with Mr. Miller; catching a lift was certainly better than walking alone down the road unable to find a taxi.

Along the way, Serena spoke no more than necessary, nor did Mr. Miller ask anything, only driving Serena home as directed.

Serena thanked him before getting out of the car.

Mr. Miller didn’t leave immediately but watched Serena’s figure enter the building, waited until the light on the second floor came on, then took out his phone.

"President Lockwood, Miss Jennings has safely returned home."

The voice on the line didn’t reveal Caleb’s emotions, his response was only "Good."

The next day, Serena got up early, bringing her documents to process her entry at the juvenile center.

This time, without Caleb’s interference, Serena breathed a sigh of relief.

Her role was a youth counselor, a volunteer position, unpaid.

Of course, Serena didn’t need the money.

The onboarding process was smoother than she expected, the headmaster personally showing her around the juvenile center, introducing basic information.

Serena didn’t tell him she was quite familiar with the place, having stayed here during her childhood.

Compared to ten years ago, the layout hadn’t changed much, but clearly remodeled, bringing a refreshing feeling.

Serena found this quite nice, maintaining the original state would instead evoke mixed emotions.

Here was where her love for Caleb began.

But trapped in this initial crush was only her, Caleb had long forgotten.

"If there’s anything unclear, feel free to ask me, Ms. Jennings?"

Serena snapped back to reality, nodding at the headmaster.

Her decision to volunteer at the juvenile center wasn’t to relive the sweetness of youthful love with Caleb or wallow in what has changed or stayed the same.

She wanted to do something meaningful.

Taking a deep breath, Serena was about to head into her office when she noticed something down the hallway.

A group of students who appeared unruly were surrounding a pretty instructor.

Since the students’ uniforms differed from the instructor’s, Serena could tell at a glance.

Though the instructor’s role was to discipline these troubled youths, his boyish looks made him seem too immature, surrounded by a crowd full of streetwise delinquency, only appearing as if he’d be bullied.

"What are you doing?" Serena approached.

The troubled students saw a professionally dressed beauty appear, one whistled, another warned Serena to mind her own business.

"You’re all minors. Engaging in fights won’t land you in detention, but if any conflict arises with an instructor, I can contact your parents to extend your stay here for a few more years, ideally frittering away your prime youth in this place."

Serena spoke lightly, but none of the troubled students appeared at ease.

The leader of the group scoffed, reluctantly leading them away.

"Are you alright?" Serena walked up to the pretty instructor.

"I’m fine, thanks for earlier!" The instructor rubbed his neck, smiling bashfully, looking even more like a high schooler.

He actively extended his hand to Serena.

"Hi, I’m Justin Nash. You’re the new psychological counselor, right?"

Serena shook hands with him, "Yes, I’m Serena Jennings."

"Actually, I’m new here too. I’m a volunteer like you, part of my university’s summer program."

Serena instinctively examined Justin Nash, who, despite wearing a uniform, indeed exuded a student vibe from head to toe.

Justin Nash also stared at Serena, his eyes sparkling.

"Ms. Jennings, you’re really pretty. You must have been the belle of your school, right?"

Serena was amused, not thinking she appeared as youthful as a college student.

"So, you’re only here until the end of this summer break?"

"Yeah, aren’t you?"

"I’m not part-time. I’m planning to stay long-term."

"But this is volunteer work, no pay!"

Seeing Justin Nash’s curiosity, Serena only shrugged with a smile, not revealing much personal detail.

After some casual chat, they parted for their respective duties. During lunch, Justin Nash proactively sought her out, saying he wanted to thank her for her help by treating her to a meal, and Serena couldn’t refuse, following him to a mall restaurant.

This was a self-service sushi restaurant. As Serena and Justin sat, they noticed Claire Shaw, Lily Sutton, and Owen Warren at the adjacent table.

Serena hesitated slightly but chose not to switch seats, unwilling to let Claire think she feared her.

Claire maintained her smile, secretly throwing a meaningful glance at her two friends.

"Oh dear, isn’t this Miss Jennings! As a married woman, spending the hard-earned money of your husband to treat a young stud to lunch, my, your cheek is thicker than the city wall."

Lily immediately raised her voice, attracting quite a few patrons to turn and gawk in their direction.

Justin Nash asked Serena in surprise, "You’re actually married?"