[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-260322A01459-503":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},503,10,"Chapter 10: The Wrong Front Door","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I reached the corner and froze.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">This neighborhood was a blank map in my head. I pulled out my phone to hail a ride.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">In the app, under the \"Saved Locations\" tab, two entries sat there in silence. Both were labeled \"Home.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">One was in the East End, the other on the West Side.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Which one was actually mine?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I closed my eyes and tapped one at random.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The car pulled up to a suburban villa. The sycamore tree in the yard was bare, its brittle limbs stripped naked. I had watched that tree grow for as long as I could remember.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Somehow, I had ended up at my parents' estate.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The door creaked open. Mrs. Knight stared at me, eyes wide with confusion. \"Serenity? What are you doing here at this hour?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I was speechless.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I couldn't exactly tell her that I had forgotten where my own house was.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Desmond Knight pulled up, his face a storm of fury. He didn't waste a second; he grabbed my arm and shoved me into the passenger seat of his car.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I'm sorry,\" I whispered, staring at my lap. \"I got the address wrong.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Desmond didn't even look at me. \"Serenity, stop playing these games. You shouldn't have involved my parents in this.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I shook my head violently, panic rising in my chest. \"I didn't! I swear, I just made a mistake.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Desmond slammed on the brakes, the car screeching to a halt in the middle of the road. \"Serenity! When did you become like this? Is this your new strategy? Pulling these little stunts?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He turned to me, his gaze cutting right through me. \"How many times have you been to the hospital? Do you honestly think this performance is funny?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"You're the one who asked for the divorce! What, having second thoughts? Trying to use my parents to force me back into this?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I clamped my mouth shut.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Admitting that I couldn't even remember which house I lived in sounded pathetic, even to me.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I followed Desmond back to our place in silence. Just as we reached the driveway, he stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes shifted to a figure standing near the entrance.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"What are you doing here?\"\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272916091]