Chapter 576
She unhurriedly closed the distance, lifting a hand to brush lightly over the wrist Jarred had just gripped, acting as if she were wiping away something filthy.
“Ms. Carlyle p>
Sienna tilted her head slightly, staring directly into Celeste’s pale, bloodless face.
“Since you’re so passionately eager for him and me to reconcile, why don’t you stand right in front of him and confess the entire truth about what happened back then p>
Celeste’s wheelchair rolled backward half an inch, the tires crunching loudly against a stray pebble.
The color vanished completely from her lips.
She looked like a withered leaf caught in a vicious updraft, entirely stripped of her anchor.
Yet, facing Sienna’s aggressive interrogation, she forcefully maintained her composure, holding Sienna’s gaze without breaking.
Sienna smirked. “It’s not that I refuse to forgive him. I told him a long time ago.
The supposed savior from his past is drowning in inconsistencies. It’s highly unlikely that it was you.
But he couldn’t let go of his imaginary debt to you, continuously misunderstanding and hurting me.
Simultaneously, he refused to sit down and uncover the actual truth, dragging out this exhausting limbo of half-truths.
He protected you while harassing me. Tell me, who on earth would feel secure building a life with a man like that p>
Those words completely obliterated Celeste’s psychological defenses.
Her eyes darted involuntarily toward Jarred, who stood by with a deep scowl.
He was too calm today—so remarkably calm that it filled Celeste with an overwhelming sense of dread.
Panicking and desperate to flee, Celeste didn’t dare stick around another second. She hastily threw out an excuse: “This is between you two. I’m staying out of it. I can’t fix this p>
With that, she spun her wheelchair around and scrambled away from the battlefield, fleeing as if she were being chased by the devil.
Sienna watched her retreating back, her eyes brimming with pure contempt.
The surroundings finally quieted down, leaving only the shifting shadows beneath the streetlights.
Jarred looked down at Sienna.
He flexed his hand, as if he hadn’t yet processed the sudden emptiness between his fingers.
Then, he reached out, his fingers firmly gripping Sienna’s chin. The hold was restrained but impossible to break, his eyes swirling with a dark, complicated frustration.
“Sienna, you are really bored, aren’t you p>
His voice had dropped lower, shedding the earlier teasing tone, replaced by something that hovered dangerously between resignation and deep torment.
Sienna tilted her chin slightly, meeting his gaze without a hint of fear. “You’ve never actually had the courage to dig into the past, have you?
Does it feed your ego to watch her play the tragic victim every single day, just waiting for your pity p>
The ghost of a smile on Jarred’s lips finally vanished.
He slowly withdrew his hand, sliding it back into his coat pocket before staring intently at her.
“You constantly pick fights with her precisely because you know she doesn’t hold any real weight in my heart. So why do you even care p>
“Are you sure I shouldn’t care?” Sienna fired back. “Are you absolutely certain she holds no weight p>
Jarred was momentarily struck speechless, unable to formulate an answer.
Seeing his hesitation, the mockery in Sienna’s eyes turned lethal.
“Owen Sloan only needed one surgery to make a full recovery.
But because of Celeste’s malicious kidnapping p>
He now has to endure dozens of agonizing rehabilitation surgeries, suffering a hundred times the pain and torment.
It’s still a complete mystery whether he’ll ever be able to stand on his own two feet again.
You knew every single detail about this bloody history, and you still have the nerve to ask me to let her go p>
A faint smile still hung on her lips, but her eyes were a frozen, desolate wasteland.
“You ask me what I want? I want Celeste Carlyle to pay for every single one of her atrocities!
I want her to pay for every drop of blood! I want her utterly and entirely destroyed p>
Jarred stared at her blankly. Seeing this level of raw, agonizing hatred she had never shown him before made his chest physically tighten.
This was the first time he had ever seen Sienna look so shattered, yet so razor-sharp.
All her usual calm elegance had evaporated. The corners of her lips were turned up as if she were smiling, but her eyes were bloodshot and feral
Jarred’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
He wanted to say something, anything, but the words died in his throat.
Sienna stepped closer, closing the distance until they were less than an arm’s length apart.
She tilted her head up to look at him and smiled.
It was a smile that sent a freezing chill straight down Jarred’s spine.
“So let’s play the game. You stick to your principles. Go ahead and use all your vast resources to shield her.
But if I fail to drag her to hell with my own two hands, then I’m a failure p>
Jarred’s brow twitched.
He had always known Sienna despised Celeste, but he had never fathomed that her obsession ran this terrifyingly deep.
A profound, crushing wave of loss swallowed him whole.
For the very first time, it truly dawned on him that the woman standing before him might never have loved him at all.
All those rare, tender moments from their past—they had merely been his own pathetic delusions.
Perhaps he simply wasn’t enough to secure her heart. No wonder she could be so ruthlessly cold to him.
But even with his heart ripped open, he still couldn’t bear the thought of letting her go.
Jarred ruthlessly suppressed the storm inside him, forcing his expression back to a hardened mask I know Silas Draken is the one investigating Tristan for you.
This syndicate is highly dangerous. Digging into them is a quick way to get yourself killed. Stop seeing him p>
“My inner circle is none of your dama business. Focus on cleaning up your own family’s mess,” Sienna replied, refusing to give him an inch.
With that, she completely ignored the awkward stares from the passing staff and brushed past the emotionally wrecked Jarred.
She walked straight toward the waiting Cadillac without ever looking back.