Chapter 10
Sienna‘s pov
He had the kind of charm that could still make women swoon.
Five years. Harrison had done more cruel things to me than I could count. And yet here I was.
His chest was taut beneath my palm, firm and warm, and I pressed closer while refusing to meet his eyes. For now, I would play the obedient wife. I had the right to want sex, too.
My fingers drifted lower, slow and deliberate, testing how far he would let me go.
The world tipped, and I fell back onto the soft bed. Harrison’s tall body came down after me, the blanket trapping us together.
His voice was rough. “Sienna, I didn’t know you’d become so insatiable.”
The words scraped. He could stir me up and still refuse me tenderness, as if the way he’d pulled me into his arms was nothing but reflex.
“Yeah,” I said, forcing lightness into my voice. “I’ve been insatiable for a long time.”
I lifted myself toward his neck, letting the rush drown out everything else.
“Harrison, you’re not as good in bed as you used to be.”
I tilted my head back on purpose, baring the skin beneath my collarbone. I wanted him now not because I still believed in anything, but because Elena Whitmore was trying to take my place, and I needed something that felt like revenge.
It wasn’t only him who could indulge in betrayal. I wasn’t the pathetic Mrs. Blackwood who could only swallow humiliation.
In this moment, I told myself, I was in control. Harrison, who claimed to love Elena, couldn’t stop himself because of me. The thought gave me a bitter pleasure.
“If you don’t satisfy me,” I whispered, “I’ll find someone else. Julian Vane seems like a good choice—he looks like he knows how to treat a woman.”
I knew what that could cost me. I said it anyway.
“Sienna,” Harrison murmured. “I underestimated you.”
I couldn’t see his expression, only the weight of him. His voice sounded almost emotionless, and it hit the same sore place it always did: no matter what I tried, I was still performing for someone who didn’t care.
So what?
I didn’t get to finish the next line. Harrison pulled me into another relentless round.
“Don’t try to provoke me,” he said. “You can’t afford the price.”
But I laughed, because for a moment it felt like I’d forced him to respond, and that illusion was all I had.
If only I could stop loving him.
The next morning, when I woke, Martha Wilson told me Elena had moved in.
To my surprise, I felt calm.
“Mr. Blackwood arranged a room for Ms. Whitmore before leaving for the office,” Martha said. “She’s staying next to Adrian’s room.”
Was he afraid I would go after Adrian?
I nodded. “I see. You can go. I want to sleep a little longer.”
Harrison had kept me up until dawn, and my body still felt heavy with it.
Martha had barely opened the door when she ran into Elena, who was about to knock.
“Sienna, are you awake?” Elena asked, polite with Martha there. “Harrison asked me to move in. You’re the lady of the house, so I thought I should come see you—although Harrison said I could treat this place as my own home.”
I was long past tired of her careful enthusiasm.
Without looking at her, I lay back down. “Since you know I’m the lady of the house, call me Mrs. Blackwood. Martha, ask Ms. Whitmore to leave. I need to rest.”
“Sienna, did I say something wrong?” Elena asked, pushing the door wider as she walked in. “Tell me, and I’ll apologize immediately.”
I sat up, deliberately letting the marks on my collarbone show.
“As you can see,” I said evenly, “I’m exhausted. I want to sleep. Leave my room.”
Her tricks always worked. Men loved her type. She must have come with another plan.
I watched her eyes land on the bruises.
“You…”
No matter how disheveled I looked, that sight struck a nerve.
“Harrison is good in bed,” I said. “It’s a pity you can’t satisfy him. But I can.”
Then I lay back down and closed my eyes.
If Martha hadn’t been there, Elena might have slapped me. Instead I heard her footsteps retreat and the door shut.
But sleep wouldn’t come. I could pretend I didn’t care, yet the pain in my chest stayed sharp.
How was I supposed to win against Elena?
As long as Harrison loved her, I had already lost.
That morning I managed to sleep for an hour before my phone rang—an unknown number. Because of work, I never ignored calls on this line.
When I answered, a measured male voice came through, faintly amused.
“Hello. Is this Ms. Price?”
Julian Vane. We’d only met twice, and both times he’d seen me at my worst.
“Yes,” I said. “This is Sienna.”
My voice was hoarse, so I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry for dragging you into yesterday, Mr. Vane.”
No matter what, the problem was between Harrison and me. Julian had only shown concern for my injury.
There was a brief pause, then a soft laugh.
“How’s your injury?”
I touched my forehead and felt dried medicine. The wound had already been treated.
“It’s fine,” I said. “It wasn’t serious. Thank you for asking.”
I couldn’t remember when the medicine had been applied, or by whom.
Could it have been Harrison?
I dismissed it. He never believed a word I said.
“That’s good,” Julian said.
Silence lingered. When I was about to end the call, he spoke again.
“I have a voice-over project under my supervision. Would you be interested in auditioning?”
The question was polite, almost careful, and my instinct was to say yes. Elliot Hayes had chosen Elena last time because of Harrison’s pressure. If Julian was overseeing this—
It felt unreal.
“Mr. Vane,” I said, “you must know my situation. I appreciate the opportunity, but Harrison won’t let me succeed.”
“There are too many complications. I don’t want to trouble you.”
A light laugh came again.
“You’re overthinking it,” Julian said. “This project conflicts with Elliot Hayes’s schedule.”
“Business is business. If you pass the audition, no one can stop you.”