Leap OF Fate novel Chapter 57

Because of their unexpected meeting, Elaina had isolated Serene from them. The two talked about art. From listening to their conversation, Justin gathered the reason Serene sat in her mother’s class was that she looked up to Elaina as an artist. So when she learned from a friend that his mother will teach the following semester, she had arranged her class schedule around Elaina’s class.

The two women were so engrossed discussing painting and the global art scene, they hardly noticed Bryan and Chester’s arrival. His brows arched when he saw Elaina animatedly talk to Serene.

“Mom’s uncharacteristically chatty today,” Chester expressed his observation.

“Uh-huh. Turns out, Serene attended her class when she was in college,” Justin filled him in.

“Huh? But Serene majored in Economics and your Mom taught art, right?” Bryan chimed.

“That’s right. She said she sat in Mom’s class with zero credits.”

Elaina felt that there were eyes looking at them, so she turned and saw Chester and Bryan had already arrived.

“Chester, darling,” she said, spreading her arms to welcome her son. Chester embraced his mother and gave Serene a nod.

“Well, since we’re complete, let’s have a quick family dinner before people trickle in,” Elaina said, motioning them to go to the dining hall.

She took Serene’s arm and tugged her forward, making Justin and Nick frown but just followed suit.

At the dinner table, Elaina asked Serene to sit beside her, which she promptly obeyed, taking the chair on Elaina’s left. Justin, who normally sat across Elaina, took the empty seat beside Serene.

When everyone had their seats, the helpers served the food. In contrast to the usually quiet Rains during mealtimes, Elaina continued to speak enthusiastically to Serene.

“I just remembered, Serene…” she said, speaking a little loudly. “There was a boy who was always with you. He also missed the same exam you missed, was he not an art major too?”

“That was my friend’s brother, Al. He’s not from the university, but there was a girl from your class that he’s trying to pursue. So, he would always come with me when I attend your class,” Serene explained.

“I see. He’s quite good too. Did he pursue art?”

“He didn’t. He established his business in IT. He’s my boss now.”

“Oh, I see. So did he and the girl end up together?”

“They didn’t. He’s still single.”

Everyone listened to their conversation. After a while, Nick asked, “If you were interested in art, then why economics?”

Serene’s face flushed at the Chairman’s question. She cleared her throat before answering.

“I wanted to go to the UK to study art, but my boyfriend at the time said he’d be taking Economics in Garnet University. So, I took the test and passed. When I learned he did not make the cut, it was already too late for me to try for Royal College of Art.”

“Oh, I thought you studied Economics because of Mary,” Bryan said.

“No, I actually convinced Mary to go to Garnet University. Her Dad did not agree to let her study fashion abroad. So Mary just wanted to be anywhere but Coast City, I asked her to go with me instead.”

“Did you want to pursue painting again?” Chairman Rain asked again.

“Professionally, not at the moment. But definitely in the future, I’d like to pursue art professionally.”

After answering all their questions, the Rains talked about business, making Serene focus on her food. As she quietly watched the family interact, she noticed Bryan and Chester felt odd. Chester did not touch the food Bryan put on his plate and also spoke to him sparingly. There were several instances where Bryan would hold on to Chester’s hand, but the latter would either pick up a glass to drink or put food on his plate and let go of Bryan’s hand.

She averted her gaze from the couple and focused on Chairman Rain. It’s hard to imagine that this formidable leader was just a regular father at home. He spoke with warmth to his wife and children, and would guffaw.

After the meal, they went back to the garden and greeted their visitors. Serene who avoided parties and engagements as much as possible had used up all her energy in greeting and having a small talk with the guests.

She excused herself and found a quiet place, away from the crowd, to sit in and recover. She looked at Justin from a distance. He felt so comfortable around people. He laughed with them and talked to them effortlessly. She wished she had a portion of his social skill.

“I told you countless times, we’re over.” Bryan’s voice startled her. He sounded distressed.

“Don’t you fucking tell me you’re over her when you’re obviously not,” Chester’s voice hitched. “You can’t even pretend, even for a day, that you’re not into her anymore.”

She heard Bryan curse. The two obviously had an argument, and it’s impolite to eavesdrop. She got up and had just taken a step when he heard Chester say, “I want a divorce.”

The gravity of Chester’s declaration stopped Serene from her tracks. Divorce?!? That’s something heavy.

She wanted to comfort Bryan but if she did, he would know that she heard their conversation and would just add to their already awkward treatment of each other. So she decided against it and walked back in the crowd's direction.

Justin scanned the venue and could not see Serene. He excused himself from the circle of people who wanted to talk to him and looked for Serene. He knew she did not like crowds and recalled that when she walked the runway for the launch of Mary’s swimwear line; she was in a dark, isolated corner of the venue. So he walked towards the farther end of the garden to look for her.

He almost lost his footing when Chester stormed out of the darkness. His jaws rigid, and his brows furrowed. He’s definitely upset. Not a minute passed, he saw Serene come out from the same direction Chester came from a minute earlier.

Now, it’s his turn to knit his brows and clench his jaws because after Serene came Bryan who walked with his head bowed and his shoulders slightly hunched. He looked like he lost from a huge bet.

What were those three doing?