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I don’t believe that Serena ever truly loved Pemberton. She may have felt briefly if at all. Throughout the novel Serena rarely showed any emotion other than greed and revenge. When her husband killed a man on the railway platform she felt no pity and no compassion for a daughter who lost her father, despite losing her own father. The Pembertons went from absolute strangers to married in less than three months. I don’t believe that they were ever more than attracted to each other. They made a hasty choice that obviously did not end well. You don’t poison the person you love.

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I believe Serena loved Pemberton with such a strong love that it was unhealthy love. She forgave him for cheating on her for Rachel. She was extremely distraught when she found out that Pemberton gave money to Sheriff McDowell to help Rachel and Jacob. This was not the Pemberton she knew and she felt like she could no longer love him. Eventually, this lead to her recruiting Galloway to bait the panther after Serena poisoned Pemberton. 🤢

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I think Serena loved the idea of a partner who was like her so she wouldn't feel alone. She saw Pemberton as a strong, driven, leader in the lumber industry not unlike herself. Unlike Serena, however, Pemberton cared for others and didn't see murder as the solution to every problem. He wanted to help his illegitimate child and baby mama, but Serena thought that he owed them nothing. This difference in opinion what is drove them apart, in addition to Pemberton disliking Serena's activities with Galloway. Serena didn't love Pemberton himself, just the idea of having a counterpart with the same goals and wills as her.

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I think in some way, shape, or form Serena loved Pemberton with the amount of humanity she did have. It may not have been that clear for someone besides Serena to see if but she does have some kind of humanity.

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Yes. I believe the humane part of Serena loves him dearly, but when he committed the perceived “betrayal”, she snapped and refused to let it go. She did love him, but not unconditionally. She loved herself more, and couldn’t disregard the insult he payed her by disregarding and deliberately disobeying her instructions. Spirit makes a great point, she did show emotion towards Pemberton when he almost died. And Pemberton was no fool, he wouldn’t have loved her so much had she not loved him back. Their love was volatile and explosive. So yes, she can and did love. It just wasn’t strong enough, because the only person she loves without fail is herself.

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no I don't think that Serena ever loved Pemberton. mainly because I don't think that she is capable of love. the reason I believe this is because of the things that Serena did. anyone who can maintain mental stability while doing the things that Serena did is some kind of psychopath. I don't think that she is capable of love. I think that she is manipulating and power hungry and most of all she is jealous. she is jealous that Rachel Gave Pemberton something she could not. to deal with her feelings of jealousy she resorted to murder which is not something most people do

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I think Serena loved Pemberton in the beginning, at least a little. Either that, or she convinced herself that she did. For example, when Pemberton was attacked by the bear, after he was saved, she showed her first real sign of weakness by crying. It was a split second and even Pemberton said he thought he imagined it. But it’s evident in this scene that she at least cared for him at some point throughout the story. That care/love might’ve been overshadowed by her own ambitions and goals, but it was there. Her ability to love is stunted for the most part, but I believe Pemberton was her exception.