Chapter 71
Jasmine circled Serenity’s new car, her eyes wide with admiration. “Not bad. How much was it?” she asked, clearly impressed. Serenity hesitated for a moment before replying. “About a hundred thousand bucks.” Jasmine raised an eyebrow. “Was it paid in full, or are you taking out a loan?” Serenity smiled a little, her voice a mix of disbelief and amusement. “My man made the full payment.”
Jasmine beamed, patting her best friend’s shoulder. “Wow, Serenity. It didn’t take long for you to bag that man and get him to buy you a car.” She chuckled, adding, “I knew you had it in you, even though you didn’t know each other before the marriage. Mr. York must be blind if he didn’t fall for your charms.”
Serenity shook her head, trying to brush off the compliment. “You’re crazy.” She went to pour herself a glass of water, chugging down half before continuing, “Zachary found out that Shawn drove me home last night. We nearly got into a fight because he thought I was cheating on him. So, he felt like he did me wrong after I cleared the air, and now he’s giving me a car as an apology.”
Jasmine’s eyes widened in shock. She had imagined a romance worthy of a Lifetime movie, but Serenity’s reality seemed far more complicated. “Wait, what?!” Jasmine said, almost choking on her words. “So this car… It’s an apology gift?”
Serenity sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Jasmine, I’ll be honest with you about Zachary and me since we’re close. I haven’t even told my sister. The truth is, Zachary gave me a contract to sign after we met with our families on Saturday.”
Jasmine’s face shifted from confusion to concern. “A contract? What kind of contract?”
Serenity nodded, her tone lowering as she spoke. “The contract was in his favor. He seemed to think I was out to get his money. It was written that if we didn’t develop feelings for each other within six months, we’d have an amicable separation. He’d transfer the ownership of the house and car to me as part of the divorce settlement.”
Jasmine stared at her, speechless for a moment. “Wait… What? He wants to give you the house and car if you two don’t fall in love?”
Serenity shrugged. “I guess that’s the cost of losing my youth.” Her words were tinged with bitterness, but her expression was matter-of-fact. “He’s pretty generous about the matter. The house is fully paid for, and it’s a prenuptial property. I moved in with just my bags. I didn’t want to take what wasn’t mine, but since he drafted those terms in the contract, I just went along with it.”