Ignored When Chasing: Why Cry After I Got Engaged-Chapter 34: Serena Hughes’s Background

"I’ve told you everything I can remember. You know I’ve suffered a head injury... Mr. Hawthorne, I have no reason to lie to you."

Serena Hughes’s voice was laced with a sob.

Facing Damian Hawthorne, she was both nervous and distraught.

’She had thought Mr. Hawthorne liked *her*, but in reality, the one Damian Hawthorne had always liked was Luna.’

Serena Hughes’s fingers tightened, and her heart began to race.

’From now on, I am Luna.’

"I’ll have my assistant take you home," Damian Hawthorne said without looking up, waving a dismissive hand at her.

Serena Hughes had wanted to mention going to her university that afternoon. Her lips parted, but she ultimately didn’t dare say another word.

’Damian Hawthorne already suspects me. I can’t push my luck.’

Serena Hughes gritted her teeth, turned, and left.

Damian Hawthorne glanced at his computer, where news about Cecilia Nathan and Hugo Grant was displayed on the screen.

He picked up his phone and dialed Cecilia Nathan’s number, but she didn’t answer.

Just then, Hugo Grant called.

"Damian, did you have the news about me and Cecilia buried?" Hugo asked, his tone even.

Damian Hawthorne hummed a soft "Mm."

"Your relationship with her isn’t official yet. News like that coming out would be bad for both of you."

"Cecilia isn’t as fragile as you think. I wanted to kill the story, but Cecilia said there was no need because we have nothing to hide." Hugo paused. "Damian, is that Luna really so important?"

"I have a feeling that if you lose Cecilia, you’ll definitely regret it."

The smile vanished from Damian Hawthorne’s lips. "Hugo Grant, you think you know me so well?"

"I know Serena Hughes," Hugo chuckled. "And that woman is bad news."

Hugo Grant hung up abruptly.

On the screen before Damian Hawthorne, the photograph remained paused on the image of Hugo Grant handing Cecilia Nathan a bowl of chicken soup...

After leaving the Hawthorne Group, Serena Hughes dragged her exhausted body back to her small courtyard home.

Unlike usual, the entrance to the small alley was surrounded by bodyguards.

Serena Hughes’s heart skipped a beat. She hurried forward and saw a familiar old woman.

The old woman sat in a wheelchair, her gaze fixed straight ahead.

’She must be here to try and extort money from us,’ Serena Hughes thought immediately.

Just then, her mother walked out, a guilty look on her face, clutching something in her hands.

Seeing this, Serena rushed forward, pointed at the old woman, and snarled, "You old fraud! How dare you come to my home to extort money?"

The old woman watched Serena Hughes calmly without a word. It was Mrs. Hughes who, seeing her daughter berating the old woman, hurried forward to pull her back. "Serena, you’ve misunderstood! She’s..."

"She’s a professional con artist!" Serena Hughes pulled her mother back. "Mom, this fraud tried to extort me before and failed. I can’t believe she actually found our house! The world is full of these decrepit old scammers..."

SMACK! Mrs. Hughes’s hand struck Serena Hughes across the face.

Serena Hughes clutched her cheek, staring at her mother in disbelief. "Mom... you hit me? For *her*?"

"Who are you calling decrepit? Do you have any idea who she is? She’s your..."

"My what? My long-lost grandmother?" Serena demanded, clutching her face and crying.

The slap seemed to unleash all the frustration Serena Hughes had bottled up over the past few days.

Since her relationship with Damian Hawthorne had entered a crisis, she hadn’t dared to confide in anyone, forcing herself to smile in front of everyone who congratulated her.

The appearance of this old woman felt like another vicious slap in the face.

’She didn’t want anyone to know she was too scared to even help a fallen old woman.’

’Even more, she didn’t want anyone to know how pathetic her life had become.’

"Serena..." Mrs. Hughes felt a pang of guilt and started to step forward to comfort her, but Serena backed away, crying, then turned and fled.

Mrs. Hughes started to chase after her, but then remembered her own mother was still there and stopped in her tracks.

"Mom, Serena... I’ve spoiled her," Mrs. Hughes explained. "She was just worried I’d be scammed. After all, we’re not well-off."

"It’s nothing," the old woman said, seemingly unbothered. "I heard she’s engaged to that boy from the Hawthorne family?"

Thinking of the recent explosive headlines, Mrs. Hughes felt a little awkward.

’An informal, private engagement... it really wasn’t how things were supposed to be done in a proper family.’

"That boy isn’t bad. He might have some scandals, but what rich man isn’t a philanderer these days? The fact that he proposed to my granddaughter proves how outstanding she is," Fiona Sinclair said, beaming with pride. "However, with Serena’s current status, she still can’t marry into the Hawthorne family."

Mrs. Hughes nodded with a bitter smile.

Back then, her mother had been all about arranged marriages. But she had been in love with her high school sweetheart, and under her family’s immense pressure, she had no choice but to elope with him—the man who was now her husband.

If her own daughter hadn’t fallen for the heir of a wealthy family, she might never have taken the initiative to contact the Sinclairs.

’She knew that if Serena wanted to marry into the Hawthorne family, she needed a proper identity.’

"The head of the Bennett family is about to celebrate his eightieth birthday. Although he says it’s just a family dinner, he invited me." Fiona Sinclair pulled two golden invitation cards from her purse. "Here are the invitations. You take Serena with you, and I’ll announce her identity at an opportune moment. Then, this marriage will be set in stone."

"Rest assured, since that Hawthorne boy proposed to Serena, there’s a ninety percent chance this will work out." Fiona Sinclair herself didn’t understand why Damian Hawthorne would fall for her granddaughter.

’To be perfectly honest,’ Fiona thought, ’this granddaughter of mine is a far cry from that Cecilia Nathan girl.’

Damian Hawthorne was the one in power in the Hawthorne family. He had taken control of the entire family enterprise on his own—he was no ordinary man.

’A man like that wouldn’t give his heart away easily, yet he had fallen in love with her granddaughter.’

At this thought, Fiona Sinclair’s fondness for Serena Hughes grew.

"Solidifying the engagement at the birthday banquet... isn’t that too fast?" Mrs. Hughes said, thinking of how her daughter seemed to resist any mention of the proposal lately.

She wanted to ask for details about the proposal, but Serena would always change the subject, sometimes even getting impatient.

Mrs. Hughes had a feeling Serena was hiding something from her, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.

"Too fast? It’s not too fast at all. As long as Damian Hawthorne was sincere when he proposed to her, then nothing can stop this from happening."

...

Unaware of the surprise her family was planning, Serena Hughes arrived at her university in a daze, carrying her violin case.

Even though Damian Hawthorne couldn’t make it today, she couldn’t miss her own graduation ceremony.

Thanks to her connection to Damian Hawthorne, the university had even arranged a solo performance for her during the ceremony.

’This was a great chance to be in the spotlight, and she certainly wanted to make a good impression.’

She went to her former mentor’s office and knocked on the door.

Cecilia Nathan opened the door and immediately noticed Serena Hughes’s slightly swollen face.

There were already other people practicing their instruments in the room. Seeing Serena Hughes, they all stood up in surprise.

"Serena, you’re here."

Aside from Serena Hughes’s roommate, other students from the university were there as well.

’I didn’t expect Cecilia’s classes to be so packed after she became a TA,’ Serena thought.

Serena Hughes took a deep breath and walked in, clutching her violin.

"Well, well, if it isn’t Damian Hawthorne’s fiancée?"