Her eyes narrowed. "If you're implying what I think you are—"
"I'm implying exactly what I mean," he said coolly.
"Then you haven't changed at all," she said, her voice shaking now, though her poise remained. "You still think cruelty makes you honest."
He didn't reply.
She looked away, blinking hard. "You think I came back to rise again. To seduce and scheme my way into safety. You think that's all I am."
"Isn't it?" he said quietly.
The question hung like a blade between them.
For a long time, neither spoke.
Then Serena's composure finally cracked — not into confession yet, but something close. "You don't know me anymore, Charlton," she said, her voice raw. "And maybe you never did."
He didn't move, but his silence was heavier than any words.
"I'm done explaining myself to men who left me to drown," she whispered. "If Christopher sees use in me, then so be it. I'll let him. Because for once, I'm the one choosing it."
