Serena, hearing his voice laced with concern bit her lip to stop it from quivering. She shut her eyes to let her tears fall before wiping them off her cheeks. Then, she took a deep breath to calm herself.
Though she was feeling weak, and something kept gnawing in her chest, she knew that she could not let her emotions get the better of her. Aside from that, only a fool would not notice what was happening. After the shock has waned, her brain has started functioning properly again.
Serena was no fool and she was also not so dense as not to understand what was going on. Like she already suspected during the ball, Charlton must be being deliberate. Although it was only the second time they met since his return, she knew him well enough to know that if he doesn't have the intention, he would not have spent the effort to get her alone.