Chapter 675
From the corner of her eye, Sienna quietly observed Jarred’s haggard, desolate profile, noting the exhaustion he couldn’t hide between his brows.
Yet she remained completely indifferent to his current despair.
She didn’t look at anyone in particular, her gaze sweeping lightly over the entire room.
The conference room felt dead; every face was grim, every head bowed.
The oppressive atmosphere was so suffocating it was hard to breathe.
Sienna frowned slightly, but quickly regained her composure.
Her clear, cool voice rang out again, stripped of all personal emotion.
“I brought this report here simply to force everyone to face reality as soon as possible.
“Given Maloney’s current physical condition, there is absolutely no chance of him waking up or recovering in the short term p>
She raised her eyes, her gaze landing on Jarred’s ashen face, and then shifted to Marcus, whose expression was equally grave.
“Rather than dragging this out, it would be best to finalize a suitable successor as quickly as possible.
“The executive authority I currently hold needs to be handed over immediately p>
She spoke with absolute bluntness, leaving no room for negotiation.
Everyone in the room was shrewd enough to instantly grasp the deeper meaning behind her words.
Both Jarred and Marcus’s pupils constricted simultaneously.
They knew perfectly well that the authority Sienna held was the only stable trump card keeping the chaotic Sterling Group afloat right now.
By voluntarily offering to hand it over at this exact moment, it was clear she was determined to wash her hands of them entirely. She wanted nothing to do with this mess.
Jarred’s dark eyes trembled violently.
A thousand words were buried in his heart, countless pleas to make her stay stuck in his throat.
But facing her emotionless gaze, he found himself entirely unable to speak.
Sienna couldn’t be bothered to waste another ounce of energy on this.
Without waiting for a response, she sharply withdrew her gaze, turned on her heel, and headed straight for the conference room doors.
Just as her fingertips were about to brush the door handle.
A tall, dark figure carrying a rush of frantic energy suddenly closed in on her, moving so fast she barely had time to react.
A familiar, imposing presence instantly enveloped her, firmly blocking her only way out.
It was Jarred.
The usually arrogant, untouchable man was now stubbornly standing in her way.
His posture was no longer imposing or dominant; instead, it radiated an unspeakable loneliness.
The cold sharpness in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a suffocating blanket of helplessness.
All that remained was a desperate, all-or-nothing vulnerability—a fragility Sienna had never seen in him before.
He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice to a volume only the two of them could hear. Could you please not leave? Stay. Save Maloney p>
Jarred stared deeply into her cold, unreadable eyes.
His normally sharp and piercing gaze was now brimming with insecurity.
It was as if he had already glimpsed her answer.
His Adam’s apple bobbed heavily before he added, his voice even softer, “Even if even if it’s just for the sake of the history we shared all those years. Stay and help me this once, please p>
Sienna’s eyelashes fluttered.
If he hadn’t brought up their past relationship, she might have remained unaffected.
But he just had to weaponize their history.
A flicker of mockery flashed through Sienna’s eyes as an icy wave swept over her heart.
She admitted that if the Sienna from a few years ago had heard those words, she probably would havë melted on the spot and agreed to whatever he asked.
It was undeniable that she had truly loved him once.
She had loved him with her whole heart. loved him until she had completely compromised her own self-worth. She had been disastrously in love with this cold, domineering man.
But things were different now.
The foundation they had built over those years hadn’t simply worn away; he had dismantled it himself, brick by brick.
He had torn it down until nothing remained but a clean, hollow shell. Not even the ashes were left.
Looking at the redness pooling in the corners of his eyes, Sienna suddenly found the whole situation utterly absurd.