Chapter 37 LIAR
SIENNA
I stomped out with my fists tightened and lips pursed, anger coursing through my veins. What I thought would be a settlement had instead begun another rift between my mother and me.
It was ironical and annoying at the same time. When I loved him, she warned me against him, and now that I hated him, she advocated for him. When did they start getting close? For what reason? I could bet that it wasn’t before we divorced. Their closeness was definitely recent. I just didn’t understand what made my mother change her mind. The gifts?
Steps away from her house, I halted, inhaled, and blinked back the tears in my eyes, clutching my dress to reduce the shakiness of my body. I chuckled. When did my mother start caring about these things? Or has she always been like this? I still needed to talk to her. Why? Why did she do this to me? Why did she lose her dignity over some designer bags and clothes?
“Sienna.” The voice I hated to the core wafted into my ears. Anger swirled within me, causing my grip on my dress to tighten and my jaw to clench.
Instead of responding, I resumed walking. But before I could take another step, he moved forward and spread his arms, forcing me to halt.
“I… I know you’re angry, Sienna, but trust me, I did all this to show you how sincere I am about us,” he mumbled.
I sneered as my shoulders dropped. “I don’t think I have anything to say to you, Ethan,” I snapped. “You didn’t come here for me, did you? Go back to my mother. She’s the one who invited you here.”
“But I’m doing all this for you,” he paused. “For us.”
“There’s no us, mister.”
He stretched his hand forward, trying to touch me, but I leaned backward, glaring at his hand with disgust. “Don’t you dare touch me.”
“I know I did wrong. I shouldn’t have cheated on you. I shouldn’t have divorced you,” he said, tucking his hands into his pockets. “But you don’t need to keep pretending you don’t miss me. Stop playing hard to get, Sienna,” he added.
I don’t know how it happened, but I found myself laughing before I could stop it. Yeah, that was how foolish and funny Ethan sounded. The more I encountered him after our divorce, the more I realized how poor my taste was in choosing a partner. How did I fall in love with a clown like him?
Holding my stomach, I pushed out my palm to gesture “wait” while still laughing. It took a few more seconds before I could finally tame my laughter.
“What!” I spurted out. “You don’t have to be this foolish, Ethan. I miss you? How? Why should I?”
His expression morphed from excitement to shock, and then to anger. “You didn’t just call me foolish, did you?” His tone held disbelief.
“Well, I just did, Mr. Ethan. You’re a fool,” I challenged.
“Sienna!” he yelled. “Stop playing with me.”
I chuckled and leaned my face forward, closer to his. His gaze softened and filled with confusion. “You. should. not. play. with. me, Ethan. I’m not the Sienna you knew years ago,” I warned. “I bite now.”
Afterward, I stood straight, flashed him a smile, and brushed past him, intentionally hitting my shoulder against his. As I walked, I heard him calling my name, but I didn’t stop.
I hailed a taxi and hopped into it. That was when I released a deep sigh. I didn’t know how long I’d been holding my breath.
The truth was, I hadn’t summoned enough courage to face Ethan properly. Yeah, I wasn’t the weak, naive Sienna from the past anymore, but my heart still skipped at some point while talking to him.
“Your destination, ma’am?” the driver’s voice drifted into my ear, jolting me back to the present.
I blinked. “Huh… Square Avenue,” I muttered, and the journey began.
Five minutes into the trip, my phone lit up and buzzed. When I checked the screen, it was a message from my boss. Subconsciously, I clicked on it immediately.
“Join me at Derek’s Bar. I’ll be waiting,” the message said.
I hesitated for a moment, but with the surge of emotions I’d been experiencing since morning, I thought it would be unwise to decline my boss’s offer. All I needed at this time was a distraction, and it was right at Derek’s Bar.
“Hello, sir. Can you detour to Derek’s Bar?” I asked.
“No problem, ma’am,” he replied.
Twenty minutes later, the car pulled over at the bar, and I alighted. After making my payment, I strolled into the bar while texting my boss to inform him about my arrival. In the process, I bumped into a couple who were walking out.
“Watch your steps,” the girl shouted. “Don’t break my head with yours.”
Raising my head, I flashed a smile. “I… I’m so sorry. I’m really sorry.”
They didn’t reply. Instead, they threw me a sharp, hateful glare, and I could only accept it. I was at fault, and arguing would only make things worse. I mouthed a final “sorry” and continued walking.
As soon as I stepped into the bar, a red-haired lady sashayed to my side.
“Lucien asked me to bring you over,” she informed me.
I nodded with a faint smile. She led the way, and I followed.
If I hadn’t gone there, I wouldn’t have known there was a different section apart from the general bar we just left. We turned and walked into another room.
And there he was—Lucien Dray, my boss. He was the only one in the room, and he had just put a glass of wine to his lips when we walked in.
“Enjoy,” the lady waved with a teasing smile and left afterward, leaving just Lucien and me in the room.
That was a twist I wasn’t expecting. I thought it wouldn’t just be me and him, but alas, I’d just found myself in a private moment with my boss. My face instantly reddened, and heat crawled to my neck.
“You’re not going to stand there forever, are you?”
That was when I realized I hadn’t moved an inch from where I stood since I walked in. Clearing my throat, I stepped forward, looking everywhere but at my boss. I tried all I could to avoid his gaze.
“Where’s this place?” I asked, settling on the couch opposite him and glancing around.
“A private bar,” he responded, pouring wine into a glass. He pushed it toward me afterward.
“Hmm… Didn’t know a private bar was a thing.” I picked up the glass and took a few sips of the wine. This was the only way I could ease the tension surging within me and reduce the awkwardness in the room.
He snickered. “In a standard place like this, there’s a private room for everything. At the club, there’s a private lounge, private rooms… you just name it.”
I nodded in response to his explanation, still not sparing him a glance. I was afraid. Surprising, right? I didn’t even know why, but it just happened.
A deafening silence filled the atmosphere afterward, making the loud beat of my heart audible. I just hoped he couldn’t hear it. At that moment, I blamed myself for coming over without thinking twice.
“Sienna,” Lucien called, breaking the silence in the room. The way he said my name made my heart stutter, and heat overwhelmed my body.
“Hmm,” I answered, taking the glass and sipping the wine once more. I still hadn’t gathered the courage to look at him.
“Look at me.”
Those words came out authoritatively. I obeyed without thinking, without struggling, as if I’d been possessed.
Our eyes met—sharp and direct. Now, I couldn’t look away. I was hypnotized by those eyes, glowing under the colored lights of the bar. They kept drawing me in, tempting me to move closer. My nails dug into my skin as I licked my lower lip, struggling with the urge.
“Why did you come over?” he asked, setting his glass down and standing.
I gulped. “Be… because you invited me…?” My brows raised, and my heart raced faster. He had started walking toward me.
“Remember, you can always decline.” He was getting closer, and my breath grew heavier.
Damn it. Somebody should tell my boss it’s dangerous to be this close. I don’t trust myself. I don’t trust him. I don’t trust what he does to me.
My lips trembled as I dug my nails deeper into my skin, afraid my senses might slip away if I didn’t keep pulling myself back to reality.
“I…”
Before I could say anything, he was already beside me. He leaned closer, leaving only a half-inch between us. If either of us moved even slightly, our lips would meet. I held my breath as my lowered gaze fell on his full, red lips.
Subconsciously, I licked mine.
“You are here because you missed me,” he whispered, our eyes searching each other as though looking for something. I wanted to know what my boss was thinking, but he was complicated. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get through his thoughts.
My lips curled into a flirtatious smile. “I came here because you invited me.”
“Liar,” he breathed, and captured my lips with his.