Chapter 710
Staring up into a gaze that looked ready to incinerate everything, her heart remained flawlessly pristine and absolutely freezing.
So what if he finally knew?
All those years of endless grievances she bled onto paper, the agonizing, sleepless nights, the bitter agony of watching him favor another woman p>
The crushing chill of shattered hopes over and over had completely frozen her heart long ago.
Her innocent first love had been real.
Her utter, absolute heartbreak later on was even more real.
Sienna calmly turned her head, dodging his suffocatingly intense gaze as her voice dropped like freezing water.
“Jarred, since you spent all night dragging that trash out of the mud, I might as well make it perfectly clear.
“If you actually bothered to look, you’d realize those were written years ago.
“My feelings now couldn’t be more dead.
“If you think you can use some pathetic scribbles to blackmail me, you’re only going to embarrass yourself.
“The smartest thing for you to do is take whatever you think you read and let it rot in your stomach p>
“Sienna, how could I ever blackmail you p>
He let out a low, raspy chuckle that vibrated deep in his chest, sending a tingle down the side of her body pressed against him.
Irritated by his amusement, Sienna turned back and glared at him.
“I’ve warned you more than once not to use that tone with me p>
Before she could spit out another word, Jarred’s face suddenly closed the distance.
He stopped only when their noses were practically brushing.
He looked down at her, his voice laced with an unprecedented, almost terrifyingly gentle warmth she had never heard before.
“It seems I truly ruined everything myself. I know it’s pointless now, but I still want to defend myself just this once p>
Sienna’s eyes went icy, keeping her silence.
“You investigated Celeste Carlyle’s background. You should know her real name was Cassie Ziegler p>
He raised an eyebrow, the affection in his eyes blooming like ink bleeding perfectly through water.
“So where exactly did the name Sian come from p>
Sienna froze for a second.
These were all details she had buried in The Hidden Journal.
Catching her reaction, Jarred’s smirk widened, his voice dropping even softer, like he was coaxing a highly defensive cat.
“When Grandpa first brought her back, he had already run a full background check on her.
“The entire family treated Grandpa’s word as gospel. We never had a reason to doubt it p>
Jarred’s gaze turned impossibly deep, locking firmly onto her eyes. “I never baked her a cake, nor did I ever plant flowers for her
“And as for that pigeon-blood ruby brooch p>
He remembered the moment Sienna had violently hurled the brooch at him, coldly stating that garbage didn’t suit her.
His very first thought back then had been that she was just throwing another senseless tantrum.
He never for a second realized the crushing injustice she was suffering.
Jarred took a ragged breath, a sharp ache piercing his lungs. “I spent six entire months hunting down that exact ruby.
“I hired the best master craftsman to forge that brooch, designed to symbolize absolute protection for you.
“Dream of Aurora was the piece I was trying to win for you at the auction, but she ended up outbidding me.
“The media just snapped a picture of my raised paddle and fabricated their own wild romantic fantasies p>
His thumb slid from her jaw to the corner of her lips, pressing against them gently.
“How could I ever give you a complimentary consolation prize? I was the one desperate to be yours p>
She was the woman he hadd meticulously plotted to marry, the girl he wanted nothing more than to spoil absolutely rotten.
Watching the fleeting mist gather in his intense eyes, Sienna’s pupils shrank slightly.
She stared at him, her voice suddenly tight. “Then why didn’t you clear it up back then p>