Chapter 155
Jarred’s lips twitched into a smirk. He straightened up, his gaze fixing on the angry flush on Sienna’s cheeks, his tone returning to a lazy drawl. “Pretty sure I’m the only one taking the hits here p>
“Jarred Are you serious?” Sienna genuinely wanted to give him a slow clap.
Impeccable acting, flawlessly twisting reality—Mr. Sterling never failed to disappoint.
Jarred put on a look of sheer innocence. “I know you’re dead set on tossing me aside, but there’s no need to yell p>
Sienna glared right back at him, meeting that familiar, detached look in his eyes—as if absolutely nothing in the world mattered enough for him to take it seriously.
This was Jarred. Always capable of using the most infuriating words to churn up a storm in what should have been calm waters.
“Alright, both of you, quiet down p>
The faint, weary voice came from the bed.
They both jolted, having assumed Arthur had fallen asleep.
Arthur’s piercing gaze moved between them. After a long pause, he frowned and asked, “Were you two being honest with me today p>
“Every word,” Sienna replied without a second of hesitation.
Jarred didn’t answer right away. He stared at her uncompromising profile, a muscle feathering in his tightly clenched jaw. After a few agonizing seconds, he let out a low, noncommittal “Yeah,” going along with it.
Arthur fell silent for a moment before letting out a heavy, rattling sigh.
He turned to Sienna, his gaze softening considerably. “Sienna, then… for an old man’s sake, could you give this foolish boy one more chance? Consider it… fulfilling my final wish p>
Sienna’s throat tightened.
She remembered the early days of joining the Sterling family, the constant exclusion and hostility. It was Arthur who had fought everyone off, keeping her close, teaching her the ways of the world and the nuances of the business.
She remembered Eleanor punishing her by making her stand outside in the pouring rain, and it was Arthur who had personally marched out to retrieve her, declaring that no one else had the right to discipline a Sterling wife.
“Grandpa, I The rejection was right there on the tip of her tongue, but she simply couldn’t force it out.
She could reject Jarred. She could ignore the venom from Helena and Eleanor.
But she couldn’t reject the desperate plea of an old man who had just barely clawed his way back from death’s door, a man who had shown her genuine kindness.
Seeing her hesitate, Arthur smiled faintly, as if grasping a lifeline. “Did you really think I was afraid when your grandfather came to me with that so-called blackmail p>
Both Sienna and Jarred stiffened in shock.
“I’ve weathered a lifetime of storms. Do you honestly think I’d cower before a retired secretary p>
Arthur shook his head, his eyes gazing into the distance. “I knew your grandfather. He was a man who always saw the bigger picture. He resigned and took the fall to keep the scandal contained and protect the Sterling family’s reputation.
If he hadn’t been backed into a corner, completely out of options, he never would have resorted to such a method to secure a future for his only granddaughter. It wasn’t a threat. It was a dying friend’s… final plea p>
Tears violently pricked the back of Sienna’s eyes.
For years, she had carried the crushing guilt and deep-seated insecurity of believing her marriage was bought with dirty extortion.
And now… she was learning that wasn’t true?
“I never treated it as a business transaction, Sienna,” Arthur said, his exhausted eyes locked onto hers with profound sincerity.
“I was honoring a friend’s dying wish, and… trying to give my most reckless grandson a real chance p>
He shifted his complex gaze to Jarred. “I honestly thought that five years would be enough to thaw even a heart of stone p>
Jarred’s hands, buried deep in his pockets, slowly balled into tight fists.
The light filtering through the window hit his sharp jawline, casting his face in a mosaic of light and shadow, obscuring whatever emotion burned in his eyes.
It was evident the long conversation was taking a severe toll on Arthur.
He took several deep, ragged breaths, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead, but he forced himself to focus back on Sienna.