Chapter 323
Jarred listened quietly to her volley of accusations. His dark eyes remained bottomless and utterly calm as he replied in a flat, emotionless tone. “I don’t love her p>
Once upon a time, Sienna might have believed such absolute certainty.
But Celeste kept reappearing in their lives, over and over, every single time fueled by his silent permission and boundless indulgence.
Those four words now sounded more insulting than the worst possible lie.
Jarred stared at her trembling shoulders, watching the light completely shatter in her eyes, and a wave of agonizing regret crashed over him.
He quickly stripped off his suit jacket and draped it over her. “The wind is cold tonight. Let’s just go home p>
“That’s not what I want to hear p>
Sienna squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, her sharp gaze pierced straight through him like twin daggers.
“I’m only going to ask you one last time, Jarred. Are you absolutely dead set on protecting Celeste?
No matter how much evil she commits? No matter how she’s manipulated you p>
Jarred stared deeply into her eyes, seeing the sheer devastation swimming in them. His Adam’s apple bobbed.
His voice was gravelly, weighed down by an endurance no one else could comprehend. “From the very beginning, the only person I have ever wanted to protect is you.
But it seems you neither need it nor care for it p>
Sienna scoffed, her eyes dropping to freezing temperatures as she met his gaze. “You want to protect me? Simple. Go arrest Celeste right now p>
A shadow crossed Jarred’s face, though it vanished in a fraction of a second.
His eyes quickly returned to their impenetrable calm, and his tone took on an almost terrifyingly refined cadence.
“Are you willing to trade Luna for it p>
The air inside the cabin seemed to freeze solid at those words.
Sienna felt the blood turn to ice in her veins.
She stared at those exceptionally callous eyes.
An unprecedented, bone-deep chill violently assaulted her senses, seeping into her very marrow.
She had never realized just how terrifyingly ruthless the man sitting in front of her could truly be.
She gritted her teeth, her eyes rimmed with angry red tears. Every word she spoke was a lethal, ice cold warning darred, if you dare touch Luña, I swear to God p>
The man’s expression remained perfectly smooth, untroubled by her threat.
He slowly raised a hand, his touch almost cruelly gentle as he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
The gesture was as intimate as a lover’s caress, yet his tone carried an absolute, non-negotiable ultimatum.
“I promised to save Luna, and I will,” he said softly, as if coaxing a rebellious child.
“On the condition that you stop going after Celeste. At least p>
Smack.
The very last trace of color vanished from Sienna’s lips.
Before he could finish the sentence, she swung her arm back and delivered a vicious slap across his cheek.
She poured every drop of her remaining strength into the strike. Her hat numb from the impact, a fiery sting radiating across her palm.
Jarred’s head snapped to the side, a glaring red welt already blossoming across his cheek.
Seizing his moment of stunned silence p>
Sienna mustered a final burst of adrenaline, practically flying toward the door latch. She threw the door open and launched herself out of the vehicle.
The instant her feet hit the pavement, her vision went completely black.
A loud ringing roared in her ears.
She felt herself plummeting downward, collapsing toward the asphalt like a puppet with its strings cut.
In the final second before she lost consciousness entirely, a pair of arms wrapped securely around her waist, catching her fall.
Someone was calling her name.
The voice sounded so far away, yet right next to her, echoing through a dense fog.
“Sweetheart p>