Chapter 77
Sienna's pov
Whether anyone believed me or not, I had to defend myself.
Elena had engineered this on purpose, hadn’t she, just to make Catherine believe her?
If I didn’t explain, I’d look guilty. But if I did, they’d call me argumentative. Catherine might not buy a word, but there were other people here, and this would spread fast. I refused to end up in the news as the wife who never even tried to speak.
“My grandmother is sick. I slipped, and I miscarried,” I said, quick and clear, forcing my voice not to shake. “Julian and Luna came to see me. That’s it.”
Then I turned it where it belonged. “Elena, don’t assume everyone thinks like you. If we’re talking about who ruined my marriage with Harrison, it was you. You started this.”
I watched Catherine’s slap land hard across my face.
Her expression didn’t soften. If anything, her anger sharpened. “Sienna, I don’t care how wronged you feel. This is family business. You had no business dragging outsiders into it, especially Julian Vane.”
She pointed behind me. “And you had no business letting people think you’re having an affair with him. Do you have any idea what that means for the Blackwood family?”
I went still, then let out a small, humorless scoff. “No, I don’t.”
Of course I knew.
But what did it have to do with me? I just wanted to survive. To live quietly, if they’d ever let me.
Catherine slapped me again, the same cheek, the pain blooming hotter this time.
“Enough!” Luna rushed to my side, anger and panic colliding in her eyes. “Why didn’t you move? You don’t owe her anything. Why are you letting her hit you?”
Then Luna turned on Catherine, voice cutting. “Mrs. Blackwood, don’t go too far. Julian and Sienna didn’t do anything inappropriate. You’re listening to a mistress and doubting your own legal daughter-in-law. At this point, I have to ask—who exactly is Harrison’s wife?”
Julian glanced at me, but he didn’t come closer.
I understood. If he stood too near, it would be fuel. People would twist it, whisper, make it ugly.
So the only way out was to drag the spotlight back to Elena.
The Blackwoods were too powerful for anyone to smear freely, but Elena was a stain they could never erase.
“Mr. Vane,” Catherine said, icy, “I told you, this is family business. We don’t need your concern. We’ll handle it.”
Then she snapped her attention back to me. “Sienna, come back to the Blackwood Estate with me.”
I almost shouted on instinct, my throat raw. “I’m not going back. When Harrison returns, I’ll divorce him. You won’t have to worry about me anymore.”
“But you’re still part of the Blackwood family,” Catherine shot back. “Your words and actions represent the Blackwoods. What do you think it looks like, you refusing to come home?”
She wasn’t going to let me walk away today. I could see it in her posture, in the way she held the hallway like she owned the air.
“I don’t agree,” I said bluntly, and the edge in my voice made her eyes harden. “So what—are you going to force me?”
Her anger flared. “So what if I do? Harrison might tolerate you being out this long, but I won’t.”
“Tolerate.” The word nearly made me laugh.
Then she reached for a softer blade, the kind meant to shame. “Sienna, you’ve disappointed me. How can you face Arthur, after everything he’s done for you?”
Disappointed. Done for me.
I swallowed the sting and almost laughed anyway, this time from pure fury. “Mrs. Blackwood, lying in front of this many people—aren’t you afraid someone will call you on it?”
Neglected by the entire family. A cheating husband. My freedom stripped away. That was what she called tolerance.
“Fine,” I said, the pressure inside me finally cracking. “If you keep saying it’s ‘family business,’ then Elena driving my mother to attempt suicide is family business too, right? So does that mean I don’t have to go through the police, and I can deal with her myself?”
The corridor went silent. Faces tightened. No one spoke, but no one left, either.
All the humiliation and resentment I’d swallowed for so long finally found an exit. “And there’s more, Mrs. Blackwood. If you insist on dragging me back, I don’t mind making public every disgusting thing Harrison has done to me. Do you really think you can still control me?”
Maybe I’d been crushed down for too long, because the moment I stopped caring how I looked, everyone froze like they didn’t recognize me.
Catherine stared, disbelief flickering across her face. “You’re crazy,” she muttered. “A woman like you doesn’t deserve to be a Blackwood.”
There it was again—unworthy.
As if their cruelty hadn’t pushed me here. As if power could turn wrong into right just by saying so.
“Yes,” I said, steadying my breath. “When Harrison comes back, I’ll divorce him. I won’t cling to him. But right now I need to take care of my grandmother. Can you leave? You’ve disturbed her long enough.”
My gaze darted into the ward, my heart tight.
Agnes was propped against the headboard, her face calm. When she saw me looking, she gave me a small smile.
As long as she was okay.
Catherine didn’t speak. And in that pause, I noticed Elena hiding behind her, quiet as a shadow.
Using Catherine. Letting Catherine do the dirty work.
My lips curled into something like a smile. I made my voice sweet on purpose. “Elena, I’ve said all that, and you haven’t said a single word.”
Start the fire, then walk away clean? Not a chance.
Elena’s expression stayed composed. “Sienna,” she said softly, “I listened to your explanation. But you still haven’t clarified your relationship with Julian. Are you avoiding it?”
A mistress accusing the legal wife of having an affair. That would’ve been laughable if it didn’t make my skin crawl.
I was about to snap back when Julian spoke first, tone cool and unmistakably mocking. “Ms. Whitmore and I are completely innocent. I’ve said it many times. If your hearing is that bad, you should get it treated. I’m sure Mr. Blackwood has the connections to find you a top ENT.”
For all the years I’d known Julian, I couldn’t remember him ever being this openly cutting.
Elena’s face flushed. She turned to Catherine with practiced grievance. “Mrs. Blackwood, I’m only worried about Sienna’s reputation…”
“Shut up,” Catherine snapped, then looked back at me. “Sienna, I’ll give you one more chance. Are you really not coming back?”
What else was there to say?
Before I could answer, a man’s voice came from down the hallway, rough with anger, echoed by the walls. I could even hear his breathing—fast, hard, like he’d rushed here.
My stomach dropped.
Harrison was back. Too soon.
“What are you all doing?”
It sounded like a question, but it hit like a warning, and I knew it was aimed at me.
While Harrison was gone, I left the Price family. I filed for divorce without waiting for his permission. And the miscarriage—he must already know.
Now he was here to settle it.
The crowd parted on instinct.
Catherine stepped toward him, frowning. “Harrison, when did you get here? Go home and rest. I’ll handle this.”
For some reason, she didn’t look relieved to see him. She looked… displeased.
“Mom,” Harrison said, eyes still locked on me, “take Elena home first.”
His voice didn’t rise, but it cut. “I’ll handle it.”
Why didn’t he look at his mistress first?
I met his gaze without flinching, and that blurry photo flashed through my mind again.
Right. He’d found someone new. Elena didn’t have the same hold anymore.
Maybe my scorn showed, because anger climbed fast across his sharp, familiar face.
But my first thought wasn’t fear.
It was this, clear as a bruise: he’d lost weight.