Playtime's Over, CEO: She's Really Done With You-Chapter 453: She Loved Passionately, Yet Left Resolutely
Isla Lawson suddenly lifted her head and looked at Serena Sterling.
Serena just looked at her, her eyes slightly red.
"So, Isla Lawson, am I enough now?" Serena asked, but she didn’t wait for Isla’s answer, answering her own question, "I think I am."
Isla wanted to say something in rebuttal.
But she opened her mouth and couldn’t say a thing.
She was a member of the Lawson Family; she knew perfectly well how difficult the transformation was.
So when Julian Lawson led the entire Lawson Corporation through this transformation, she greatly admired him.
The last time she sought out Xander Linton, he patiently explained everything to her, but deep down she didn’t believe it, thinking he said it just to help Serena.
She had once thought the decisive factor was the Lawson Corporation’s technical breakthrough, that Serena was completely unimportant.
Until now, seeing the video, and the subsequent evidence Xander had collected.
She suddenly became aware of something unprecedented.
Xander was telling the truth.
The glory of the Lawsons should be shared with Serena.
Back then, Serena truly risked her life, building the Lawson empire alongside Julian.
Even risking the lives of her two children.
And her body full of injuries.
Is this not enough?
Even with Isla Lawson’s life as payment, it couldn’t amount to a fraction of this. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
Serena was the pioneer, whereas Isla... was the one enjoying the fruits of her labor.
Even her being revered as Miss Lawson in Aeston seemed to now owe to Serena.
Yet despite this, Serena almost left with nothing.
Then, in just a few months, let everyone see how she returned to the peak.
"I loved your brother," Serena said softly, "but now, I don’t love him anymore."
"There was never love between me and Xander or Jasper Ford."
"My lover now is Silas."
No matter how many times Serena or Xander had said this to her before, she never believed it, but this time, she finally did.
Only because undeniable facts were placed before her.
No matter how unbelievable, she had no choice but to believe.
After seeing these, she was certain that once, Serena had deeply loved Julian Lawson.
In those fragments, her eyes held only Julian, never anyone else.
She loved passionately and left decisively.
"Let her go, June," Serena softly said in the underground parking lot.
June Hawthorne was still a bit worried, but Serena waved her hand, signaling it was okay.
June released Isla but still watched her warily, afraid she would suddenly lash out again at Serena.
But at this moment, Isla’s face held no ferocity, only confusion.
The bewilderment after her worldview had collapsed.
She looked at Serena, dazed.
Serena also looked at Isla.
The next moment, Serena raised her right hand—
"Smack!"
A slap landed hard on Isla’s face.
Unprepared, Isla was knocked to the ground, her face stinging fiercely.
Covering her face, she looked back incredulously, seeing only Serena’s cold eyes.
Isla knew she should feel humiliated, angry, should jump up in retaliation.
But she didn’t.
Looking into Serena’s eyes, she found she had no will to resist.
Serena said not a word, just shot Isla a slight glance, then looked over to the approaching car of Silas Hawthorne.
Ignoring Isla, she walked towards Silas’s car.
Isla remained on the ground, while June rolled her eyes, turned, and returned to her car.
Several cars left one after another.
Only Isla and Jasper Ford were left there.
Jasper squatted down to look at Isla.
Isla still covered her face, already swollen high, with blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
Serena had not held back.
"Such a fool," Jasper deliberately rubbed salt in the wound.
Isla glared fiercely at Jasper.
"Don’t glare at me, I’m just kindly telling you some things," Jasper shrugged and said, "Serena has reminded you so many times, advised you so many times, and look at you, you didn’t listen and infuriated her."
Isla stared, sulking at Jasper.
Jasper sighed deeply, took out his phone, and searched for the received messages.
"The one who spread your affairs was Vernon Gates, not Serena."
Jasper said, "Recently, Gigi has been close to you and already noticed your low-priced sale of overseas assets; I knew, Serena knew too—if she wanted to get at you, she wouldn’t wait until now."
Vernon Gates?
Isla looked at Jasper’s phone screen.
Her eyes slightly unfocused, she recalled her argument with Vernon Gates.
So it was Vernon who did it?
Not Serena?
"Serena never targeted you; she was just doing her own thing, you just went up to get hit," Jasper said helplessly, "Not only Serena, none of us had any issue with you at first—at most, we thought you were just obsessed with Xander."
"And even then, your being love-struck, we didn’t find it absurd. Look at Serena, Silas, me—we’ve all been there, nothing funny about it."
The surroundings dim, Isla looked at Jasper, unexpected that he would try to help her.
And... it seemed genuine.
"Initially, Serena wanted everyone to collaborate," Jasper sighed, "that’s why she proposed involving Xander, having everyone lay out the cards—it’s better to resolve than to escalate, look at what happened now."
"Isla, you should calculate for yourself; if, in this time, you had cooperated instead of opposing her, think of what you could have achieved."
"I’m cooperating with her, very clear," Jasper saw Isla’s bewildered eyes, he said, "Serena never cared for fame, the glory you wanted, she could give it all."
"I’m being sincere," Jasper added.
After speaking, Jasper drove away.
Only Isla was left in the underground parking lot.
She lay there alone, feeling her entire worldview had collapsed.
The supposed opposition with Serena, she never intended to confront her.
The assumed weak, only relying on men for gain Serena, was pivotal in the Lawson’s history.
And Xander...
Isla kept rummaging, found her phone.
Previously smashed, it was almost beyond repair.
She pressed multiple times, barely getting it to start.
She found Xander’s number, dialed it.
After a moment, Xander answered.
"It’s Xander," a voice came from the other end, "Isla? What is it?"
Isla suppressed her surging emotions.
"Xander," she said, "between us, truly..."
She hesitated, struggling to continue.
Taking a deep breath, she gathered her words, "Did you never love me?"
"No," Xander replied.
"Then back when we met, you dropped everything to save me..." as Isla spoke, suddenly, a realization hit her.
"I saved the wrong person," Xander’s voice came through, "Someone from my team said the person from Lawson and the group was in danger, a young beautiful woman.
