(Serena makes the decision to stop chasing Damian and starts thinking about her next move. The world is about to see a very different Serena Lancaster.)
---
Serena didn’t go back inside.
Instead, she walked past the VIP lounge, down the marble steps of the high-end club, and out into the crisp night air. The sounds of Westbridge University’s elite—her so-called peers—faded behind her as she made her way toward her car.
She needed to clear her head.
For two years, she had let her emotions rule her. And for what? A guy who never even saw her as an option? A father who still thought of her as a business asset instead of a daughter?
No more.
Tonight was a lesson.
Damian had never deserved her attention.
Her father would never stop seeing her as an heir first.
Chasing after people who didn’t appreciate her was a waste of time.
She reached her sleek, black sports car and leaned against the door, exhaling slowly.
For the first time in years, she felt… free.
I don’t have to prove anything to anyone anymore.
No more chasing. No more waiting. No more Damian.
From this moment forward, she was done being the girl who pined after a guy who didn’t want her.
She was going to live for herself.
And if that meant making some very strategic changes in her life? So be it.
---
Step One: Ignore Damian Westwood.
Not just for a few days, not just to make a point—for good.
She would never look at him the same way again. Not in class. Not at events. Not anywhere.
He was going to learn what it felt like to be invisible.
---
Step Two: Start acting like the real Serena Lancaster.
The real her—the one she had buried for the sake of fitting in, for the sake of seeming like a normal rich girl—was about to come out in full force.
She had spent years hiding her true nature because men found it intimidating.
But now?
She didn’t give a damn.
No more playing dumb in social settings to seem relatable.
No more pretending she didn’t have ruthless business instincts.
No more dimming her intelligence to make herself more approachable.
The world would finally see Serena Lancaster, the heir to the richest empire in Los Angeles.
And if that scared people? Good.
---
Step Three: Find a solution to the engagement problem.
She could deal with her father later, but she needed a strategy—a way to shut down any arranged marriages before they started.
Because there was no way in hell she was letting her father pick a husband for her like she was some asset to be traded.
She tapped her fingers against her car, mind racing.
She needed someone powerful enough to keep her father at bay, but not someone she’d actually have to marry.
A temporary distraction. A business arrangement.
Her phone buzzed. A text.
Theo Bennett: You left early. Everything okay?
Serena blinked.
Theo.
The heir to the Bennett luxury empire. One of the few men in her circle who wasn’t a complete idiot. Smart. Charming. And, if she remembered correctly, someone who also had a problem with love.
Her lips curled.
Maybe she didn’t need to find someone.
Maybe she already had the perfect candidate for a mutually beneficial arrangement.
She typed back:
Serena: Let’s talk. I think we can help each other.
---
End of Part 3.
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