Playtime's Over, CEO: She's Really Done With You-Chapter 433: Serena Sterling Is Only 25

"What do you mean?" Isla Lawson felt a jolt in her heart and immediately asked.

"Just what it sounds like." The other party chuckled and said, "Let’s meet. Aren’t you worried I’ll record our phone call, Miss Lawson?"

Isla gritted her teeth, looked up toward where Aeon stood, and felt even more hatred in her heart.

She had a fire of anger with nowhere to vent it; she almost wanted to scream and smash her phone.

But in the end, she understood that the matter here needed to be resolved first.

So she suppressed her emotions and asked, "The address."

After receiving a new message on her phone, Isla cast another hateful glance in the direction of Aeon before driving away.

Standing by the office’s floor-to-ceiling windows, Serena Sterling watched Isla’s car depart.

For the past few days, Isla wouldn’t let go of her.

No matter how much she explained, the other person remained obstinate.

In truth, she could understand Isla’s dissatisfaction.

Once...

Serena looked at the clouds drifting in the sky.

Once, when the Sheridan Family and her father were still around, she too acted recklessly and willfully. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Simply because she knew that no matter what she did, her father was there.

Although her father often criticized her harshly, she always felt confident and unafraid when facing many things because of his presence.

But later...

She thought of her father again.

Serena slightly lowered her eyes.

She grabbed her keys and told Raine she needed to go out for a bit.

Then she went to the garage, drove to the cemetery.

She bought some joss paper and burned it for her father bit by bit.

She didn’t say anything, just felt a hot sensation in her eyes.

In her life so far, the one person who loved her unconditionally, who appeared strict yet was infinitely forgiving, was perhaps only her father.

And... her once-loving mother, but later...

Once, she thought meeting Julian Lawson was her salvation, but reality hit her hard.

Silas Hawthorne loved her deeply and understood her, and they had always been in sync.

But it was different from her father.

In her lifetime, she might never find such a person again.

A tear fell into the flame, instantly burning away into ashes.

Serena wiped her cheeks.

Life seldom goes as desired; perhaps all of this is something she must endure.

Yet, it’s not what she wanted.

After burning the joss paper, she looked at her father’s black-and-white photo for a while before going to see the child.

With that, Serena checked the time and thought she should head back.

Taking one last look at the wind chimes in front of the children’s tombstone, the gentle breeze swayed them, playing a musical sound.

Serena withdrew her gaze and made her way out.

However, outside the cemetery, she ran into someone.

It was Julian Lawson.

Julian sat in a wheelchair, looking at her from afar.

Serena lowered her eyes slightly, intending to bypass him and return to her car.

But his voice came from behind.

"Serena."

He called out their old term of endearment.

Serena didn’t stop.

"I want to talk to you about Isla," Julian’s voice continued.

"I know you don’t want to see me right now, so these past days, I haven’t sought you out, nor have I disturbed you."

Julian watched Serena’s slender back, observing as she walked to the car, stretched out her hand, and grabbed the car door handle.

He said, "Avoidance isn’t your nature. Find the problem, solve the problem; that’s what you told me, your code of conduct."

"Are you going to go against that?"

Serena tightly gripped the door handle.

She didn’t look back at Julian.

Find the problem, solve the problem.

This was what her father taught her in her youth.

Don’t be swayed by emotions; stay calm, rational, and objective to discover the essence of the problem, and then resolve it one by one.

Once the issues that caused the emotions are resolved, the related emotions will naturally dissipate.

But she didn’t want to see Julian.

The sound of the wheelchair approached, finally stopping beside her.

Serena knew it was him.

Julian looked at Serena’s profile.

He knew she would come here.

After being together for so many years.

He knew her habits.

Happy times, sad times...

Other people’s children would report progress to their parents and receive rewards.

But she would come here.

She would come here as well whenever she was sad.

Because she had always been by herself, with no one behind her.

The breeze gently caressed, with Julian looking at Serena’s slender neck and the hair blown by the wind.

He still remembered many years ago when they had a fierce argument, and she cried until her eyes were red one stormy night, running out of the house.

Worried, he followed her out, ultimately discovering she had come here.

Back then, she said nothing, just knelt in front of the tombstone and cried.

Back then, he didn’t know what to do, could only stand a short distance away, accompanying her in the rain.

That day, she cried for a long time, until the rain stopped.

Eventually regaining control, he heard her nasal-tinged call.

"Dad..."

He knew she was calling Evan Sheridan.

She said, "I miss you so much..."

...

Distant memories surged forward.

Julian looked at the present Serena, more mature than before, her nature unlike before.

"I’ve heard about your recent actions," Julian said. "Efficient and decisive, even better than before."

Serena pursed her lips, released her grip on the car door handle, turned around, and looked at Julian.

Waiting for him to talk about Isla.

Julian understood and said, "Isla has been spoiled since childhood, often having no boundaries. I hope you won’t go too hard on her."

Serena’s expression was complicated.

She had never intended to go hard on Isla.

No matter the reason, it’s unwise to directly become a mortal enemy with The Lawson Corporation in Aeston.

But she also wouldn’t let Isla push her around; if the other person offered her face, she wouldn’t hesitate to slap it.

She knew all this was a contest among the younger generation, not escalating to the level of mortal enemies.

Moreover...

Serena wasn’t much older than Isla.

She was only 25 years old.

Perhaps simply because she’s been through many things, she appears more world-weary.

"Did you stop me just to say this?" Serena asked.

Julian nodded.

In truth, he just wanted an excuse to talk to her.

Because he missed her too much.

Preston Langley’s matter was unresolved, and he was growing impatient.

For once, she came by herself this time, without Silas Hawthorne around.

Isla was just a pretext he found; he had warned Isla before, and now she’s facing the consequences of her own actions.

After thinking for a moment, Serena said, "In fact, I haven’t done much. If you’re genuinely considering her well-being, advise her more."

She sighed deeply, earnestly looking at Julian: "She’s walking into a dead end. I never intended to become her mortal enemy."

She was serious.

Isla’s initial motivation was about Xander Linton, then about not wanting to lose, not wanting to resign.

Serena could well understand Isla’s mentality, but she understood more that these superficial things were the most useless.

If overly concerned, they not only failed to bring glory but instead became shackles.