★Twenty-Three★

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One week and a day, a few hours to add up, was the time Serene spent in her room, barely eating or getting out of bed. Depression had wrapped around her like a blanket and the pain of loosing a loved one hit her again, this time stronger.

It was a numb pain, it was like having an old wound opened again and poked, it was painful. It made her stomach turn, not in a pleasant way, and the feeling crawled up to her chest, gripping and twisting her heart until it ached, it traveled up her brain, reminding her of her loss.
So much for not going down with a fight, because she was down, and she couldn't even fight, her love was gone, and she didn't know where she stood when it came to her parents' property.

She hoped she wasn't in this alone, she hoped Ivan was as miserable as she was, that the thought of her made him lose his appetite, that whenever he thought of their past and the memories they shared, he felt a longing feeling like she did.

Her head felt heavy as she sat up, her back ached and her eyes burned from the tears she had shed, slowly and steadily, she got out of bed still dragging the sheets with her. She had to meet with her stylist yet again, the thought made her head spin, she clutched the edge of the study desk for support. She shut her eyes tightly praying she wouldn't fall and hurt herself again, she already had a cut around her elbow from a fall.
When she was sure she was stable, she moved to the door that led to the bathroom, and there in the bathroom she sat in the bathtub as it filled with cold water that chilled her body making her weak bones rattle to life.

She laid her head back, her eyes drawn close, even behind her eyelids, they still hurt and she reluctantly opened them back, she slid lower to the bottom of the tub until her whole body was immersed in cold water, the shock was enough to make her senses spring to life.


Then there came the knock on the door, that should be her stylist,  her assumption was confirmed when a maid led a young woman in her mid twenties into the room.
The lady's heels clicked as she strutted towards the couch at the corner, she sat herself down and the maid that brought her dropped her things beside her before leaving. She only turned to Serene when the maid closed the door.

"Good morning Miss Serene Addoo.. How was your night?"

It was terrifying. Serene had wanted to reply with those words, but she pressed her lips together and only gave the woman a curt nod with an upward tilt in the corners of her mouth.

"Your dresses are ready miss, but I'll have to do a few adjustments, do you have some suggestion to make too?"

"No"

Serene said to the stylist.

After an hour of conversation on the dresses and other things, Serene could finally breathe a sigh of relief, she dropped all her weight in her bed, the short dress she wore pulling up to her mid thighs
Her phone was beside her, and the screen lit up with a notification and the image of her and Ivan made her heart break.

She had set that particular picture as her wallpaper, it was a picture they took in the garden, a flower was fixed in Serene's hair by him, her smile was as bright as his in the picture, she had been reading yet another book he had recommended to her, when he joined her in the garden.

Serene didn't realise a tear had fallen from her eyes, not until her cheeks were wet did she realise she had been crying yet again.

Another knock on the door made Serene quickly wipe the tears from her face, she laid still in her bed when she heard the click as the door opened.

"We know you are not sleeping" There came Flora's voice,and Serene had smiled when she heard her voice, she sat up watching as the girls made themselves comfortable in her bed, they both looked at her, as if waiting for an explanation.

"Okayy...uh... How are you both doing?"

They both continued looking at her, their faces blank, Serene shifted her weight when they didn't answer her.

"You've lost weight"  Cassandra spoke up, her frown was deep and she moved closer to Serene as if scrutinizing her.

"You look sick. Are you sick?" Flora asked her, she placed one hand on Serene's forehead.

"I'm fine you both! Now tell how your day went"  Serene gave them a huge smile and pulled Flora closer to her, the girl laid her head on Serene's legs, letting Serene brush her finger through her hair.

"It went well, we went to get our dresses, though it's beautiful I'm still not happy, because you are not happy Serene." Flora looked up then a sad look on her face.

"Don't worry about that Flora, I'll be happy soon I promise"  Serene assured her in the same time assuring herself too.

"A marriage you don't want..." Cassandra paused and scoffed.

"How can you ever be happy when you'll be with someone you are not happy with?"

Cassandra asked quietly, her question made Serene think, it made her realise that everything that was happening was actually real. She thought of her future with king.
Will she ever be happy?

The thought of spending the rest of her life with someone she didn't love, put fear in her, it made her wished her parents never died, because she needed them more than ever.

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