Chapter 712
“Jarred, touch me one more time and I swear p>
Before the threat could fully leave her mouth, the man caging her suddenly dropped his head heavily onto her shoulder.
“Okay p>
He rested his jaw in the crook of her neck and closed his eyes. His breathing rapidly decelerated, his voice dropping to a barely audible whisper,
“I won’t touch. Just let me hold you for a second p>
The echo of his words barely faded before a heavy thud slammed into the mattress.
The man with the blistering body heat collapsed onto the bed completely without warning.
Startled, Sienna instantly leaned over and pressed two fingers to his pulse.
The rhythm was smooth and steady. His chaotic energy had stabilized entirely; there were no lethal signs left.
It was just pure, absolute physical exhaustion.
Her eyes iced over. Without a shred of hesitation, she shoved the massive man who was still half-slumped over her away.
Completely unconscious, Jarred rolled with the shove, slumping against the headboard without twitching a muscle.
Sienna didn’t waste a single second looking back at the man on the bed. She spun on her heel, ripped the door open, and walked straight out.
By the time Jarred opened his eyes again, the room was bathed in bright daylight.
His body felt remarkably lighter than he expected.
The crushing weight and boiling heat from last night felt as though they had been violently vacuumed from his system, replaced by a surge of fresh strength flooding his limbs.
He sat up, rolling his wrists as his memory slowly pieced itself back together.
When his fever was at its absolute peak, someone had sat by his bed, pressing cool fingertips against the pressure points behind his ears and on his wrists.
His brain had been completely fried by the heat, yet he remembered the distinct coolness of that hand with absolute clarity.
He also remembered all those freezing, razor-sharp words Sienna had thrown at him.
Leaning against the headboard, he replayed the scene in his head, and instead of anger, his lips actually curled up.
He hadn’t taken a single one of those insults to heart.
Even when his mind was a chaotic blur, he had held onto The Hidden Journal like a lifeline.
Now entirely lucid, the only thing practically scorched into his retinas were the words written on those pages.
Jarred threw off the blankets and got out of bed.
His men had already preemptively left fresh clothes and toiletries in the bathroom.
He changed into completely fresh clothes and stood in front of the mirror, scraping away the rough stubble on his jaw.
The man in the reflection looked significantly better, despite his slightly pale lips, the dangerous, caleulating gleamin his eyes looked nothing like a man who just broke a massive fever.
Fully presentable, he reached out and pulled the door open.
And instantly locked eyes with the woman standing right in front of him.
Sienna stood dead center in the hallway, arms crossed tightly over her chest, projecting an absolute chill that suggested she had beer waiting for a while.
Their eyes locked.
Before Jarred could even open his mouth, Sienna fired the first shot. “Pack your things and get out of here immediately p>
The confident smirk on Jarred’s lips slowly flattened out.
Staring at the flawless sheet of ice in her eyes, he suddenly understood exactly what she meant by ‘get out p>
He was being completely replaced.
He was no longer permitted to guard the manor, or to protect her and Silas.
The warmth that had just bloomed in his chest was violently impaled by a jagged spike of ice.
Jarred’s eyes darkened heavily Shoving down the crushing tightness in his chest, his voice came out raspy “On what grounds? What exactly did I do wrong p>
Hearing his audacity, Sienna’s lips ticked up in a chilling smirk, her eyes overflowing with absolute mockery.
“Do you really need me to painfully list out exactly what you did p>
Jarred’s breath hitched violently, his fingers curling into a brutal fist at his side.
He knew exactly what he did.
In that blurry yet terrifyingly clear memory, he had pinned her down and aggressively kissed her.
Even though he didn’t cross the absolute final line, he had fundamentally shattered their agreement.
Regardless of whether he was delirious with fever, emotionally devastated, or drowning in undeniable love—a violation was a violation.
“Apology strictly denied,” Sienna shot back instantly, so fast it was as if she had the bullet loaded and waiting.
Jarred’s Adam’s apple bobbed heavily.