4 . whai is the reason behind it

The atmosphere suddenly turned silent. Serena furrowed her brows as she saw David calling her.

"Are you not going to answer?"

Elena asked after noticing that her daughter seemed unwilling to take the call from her father.

"He probably wants to meet."

Serena replied, already guessing what David wanted.

Elena fell silent for a moment before gently holding Serena's hand.

"Mom may not be able to get back together with your father, S, but that doesn't mean I want you to keep your distance from him. I just want you to learn to distinguish between what's good and what's bad."

Elena advised.

"I know now, Mom. Don't worry."

&&&&&&

Serena decided to take the bus instead of a taxi when going to meet David.

The reason?

It was cheaper and took longer to reach her destination, giving her time to think.

Maybe before she was reborn, she had never thought about why her father, David, was only now asking to reconcile with Elena.

Why not sooner?

"Is he hiding something?"

Serena wondered.

"If so, what's his reason?"

Before she knew it, she had arrived at her destination.

Serena entered the restaurant that David had booked.

"Serena, over here!"

David greeted her when he saw his daughter.

Maybe he was in a good mood, so he wasn't paying close attention. Because if he had, he would have immediately noticed that Serena was acting differently.

Usually, whenever they met, Serena would always smile at him. But now, that smile was gone.

"Are you hungry? I've already ordered food."

David said with a smile as Serena sat across from him.

Without much thought, David started eating the meal that had been served on the table.

He ate heartily, completely unaware that Serena hadn't touched her food at all.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Serena asked flatly.

"Huh...?"

David was slightly confused by her question.

"Why did you ask me to come here?"

Serena asked again.

David frowned as he finally realized that Serena hadn't eaten and that her tone was a bit off.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you speaking to me like that?"

David asked back, ignoring Serena's question.

"What do you mean by 'like that'?"

Serena feigned ignorance.

A look of frustration crossed David's face at her response. Just as he was about to scold her, something suddenly came to his mind, and his expression changed.

His frustration disappeared and was replaced by concern.

"Did your mother say something about me that made you upset?"

David asked gently.

Serena remained silent, keeping her eyes on David.

Sensing that his guess was correct, David immediately tried to win Serena over.

"Don't believe what your mother says. None of it is true."

David coaxed.

"And don't blame her either. Maybe she just hasn't been able to forgive me, even though I don't know why she's so angry with me."

If you listened closely to what David was saying, it was as if he had done nothing wrong, and it was all Elena's fault.

"Why now?"

Serena asked, ignoring his words.

"What?"

"You divorced Mom nearly 20 years ago. Why are you asking for a reconciliation now? Where have you been all this time?"

David opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Are you hiding something from me?"

David remained silent and stared at Serena intently.

"Ah… let me guess why you suddenly want to reconcile. Do you want something that belongs to Elena, and the only way to get it is by marrying her?"

"You…!!!"

David snapped in anger at Serena's guess.

Seeing his reaction, Serena knew she had hit the mark.

"Ah… from your reaction, it seems my guess was correct."

Serena said casually, leaning back in her chair.

Even though she looked relaxed, her expression and gaze were anything but.

Instead, she radiated a cold and threatening aura.

"What's wrong with you?! You're being disrespectful and rude to your father!"

David protested, raising his voice.

"Respectful? Polite? If I weren't being polite and respectful to you, I wouldn't be speaking in this tone right now."

Serena retorted coldly.

"You ungrateful brat!!"

David yelled, attempting to slap Serena.

But before his hand could reach her face, Serena caught his wrist.

"Don't touch me!"

She warned, her gaze sharp and icy.

David was stunned by the aura Serena emitted.

An aura like that usually couldn't come from a young college student but from someone older who had endured the harshness of the world.

What David didn't know was that the Serena before him was no longer the same Serena as before.

Her body may have been in her twenties, but her soul and mind were 35 years old.

No wonder David felt something unusual about her.

"From now on, don't ever try to approach me again with the excuse of reconciling with Mom, because that will never happen!"

Serena warned firmly.

"You—"

"Don't even think about going near or doing anything to Elena! If you try, you'll see what I'll do to you."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Of course! Because now I know exactly what kind of person you are."

David yanked his arm away forcefully, causing Serena to almost fall.

"Damn it! My body is too weak. Looks like I need to start working out."

Serena thought to herself.

"Shit!!"

David cursed angrily.

"You think I'm scared of your threats? Keep dreaming."

He sneered.

"Try me."

Serena challenged.

"Don't think I don't know the real reason you divorced Mom! Maybe she was too afraid to report you, but I'm different.

If you dare go near Mom or try to hurt her again, I won't hesitate to report you to the authorities."

David shot her a sharp glare.

"I knew it… you and your mother are nothing but bad luck. I should have pushed that wretched woman harder when she was pregnant so that you would have died back then!"

"David!"

Serena shouted in fury.

"Say that again, and I won't hesitate to report you to the police right now!"

David was livid.

He grabbed his coat from the chair and stormed toward the door.

But just as he was about to leave, Serena called out.

"David."

He turned to look at her.

"Don't forget to pay for the food."

Serena said with a mocking smile.

"Bitch!!"

David spat before storming out of the restaurant.