Chapter 419
If you would just make a tiny compromise, just turn a blind eye, this could all be so much easier for both of us p>
The thinly veiled subtext of his demand was crystal clear: he wanted her to tolerate Celeste, swallow her own dignity, and force a smile just to salvage a relationship that had already rotted to the core.
It was pure, delusional insanity.
Sienna’s breathing grew shallow, the frost in her eyes plummeting to absolute zero.
Without an ounce of hesitation, she raised her hand and delivered a second, blistering slap.
Smack p>
Following the back-to-back strikes, a faint, angry red handprint began to materialize on Jarred’s flawless face.
His smile finally slipped away, his gaze sinking into a dangerous, lethal gloom.
Sienna glared at him with glacial hostility, her words slicing the air like frost-forged daggers. “Whether it’s Celeste or Daisy, I have already made myself abundantly clear.
The second they cross my bottom line, I will show absolutely zero mercy p>
She paused, her eyes sweeping over the damp sheen of his thin lips before flashing a smile dripping with chilling derision.
“Jarred, if you want to sell your body to get your way, you actually need some capital. Someone like you? You couldn’t pique my interest for a single second p>
As her final word dropped, she violently threw off his restraining arm, spun on her heel, and marched straight for his grandfather’s room.
Her retreating silhouette was so profoundly indifferent that Jarred’s chest suddenly hollowed out, leaving a gaping void.
He didn’t even have time to register the venom in her insult before an unprecedented wave of sheer panic hijacked his entire nervous system.
This was not how Sienna was supposed to treat him.
His brow black with fury, he instantly took a step forward to chase her down again.
But Sienna had already reached the top of the short stairwell. Spotting the two bodyguards stationed outside the old man’s bedroom, she delivered a commanding, icy order. “Stop him p>
The two bodyguards exchanged a quick look before stepping forward in total sync, forming a human wall directly in Jarred’s path.
Jarred’s expression turned pitch-black.
“Are you actually planning to raise a hand against me?” he demanded, his voice dropping into a lethal, rumbling warning.
The bodyguards glanced at each other, clearly caught between a rock and a hard place.
On one side stood the young master of Sterling Manor. On the other stood Sienną, a woman with a highly unique status who had diligently overseen the master’s medical care day in and day out.
Before either man could falter, Sienna’s frigid voice cracked like a whip, radiating unquestionable authority.
“Why shouldn’t you stop him? Your job is to block anyone I don’t want to look at. And remember, I mean absolutely anyone p>
Armed with a direct command, the bodyguards simultaneously took a half-step forward, seamlessly barricading Jarred’s advance.
“Sir,” one of them spoke up, his tone intensely respectful yet utterly unyielding.
“When Ms. Sloan is administering treatment to the old master, nobody is permitted to interfere. We really don’t want to hurt you, so how about you just head back down on your own p>
Jarred stared viciously at the proud, unbothered silhouette standing at the top of the stairs, a roaring inferno of rage torching his chest.
A crushing sense of powerlessness completely drowned him.
He had never been rendered so utterly pathetic in his entire life.
“Sienna p>
He roared her name, his deep voice cracking under the weight of suppressed betrayal and raging refusal to accept reality.
But the woman at the top of the stairs never turned around. She didn’t spare him so much as a single backward glance.
Sienna walked straight up to the bedroom door, pushed it open, and stepped inside.
Jarred stood rooted to the spot, his chest heaving violently.
The handprint on his face was still burning. The ghost of her warmth and the brutal bite mark still lingered on his lips. His empty arms could still feel the soft curve of her body.
Jarred took a ragged breath, and then another.
He spun around and stormed down the stairs.
As he marched down the hallway, Daisy’s timid face appeared right in his path, still carefully balancing the bowl of soup in her hands.
“Jarred she whimpered softly. “Are you okay p>
Jarred didn’t even look at her. He strode right past her, his voice slicing through the air like an ice pick. “Go back to your room p>
Daisy bit her lip. Staring at his retreating back as he descended the stairs, and then glancing up at the tightly shut door on the second floor, her clamped into a death grip around the edge of the bowl.