Chapter 86
Sienna's pov
Martha had served the Blackwood family for years. She’d moved to Blackwood Estate when Harrison got married, and if anyone knew the family’s history, it should’ve been her.
“Martha,” I asked, keeping my voice even, “what exactly are you referring to?”
Her expression stayed careful, polite in a way that felt practiced. “Mrs. Blackwood, what do you mean?”
I paused. “Let’s start with the feud between the Blackwoods and the Vanes.”
I knew the two families were at odds, but Harrison had never told me what sparked his grudge against Julian. Julian hadn’t mentioned it either. The silence didn’t feel accidental; it felt agreed upon, like I wasn’t entitled to the truth. And Martha had warned me the first time I met Julian not to get too close to him, then refused to explain why. She knew something.
“Is it something you can’t talk about?” I asked. “It’s not exactly a secret, is it?”
Martha sighed and shook her head. “Mrs. Blackwood, you misunderstand. I’ve been with the family a long time, but that feud began long before I ever came here. The grievances between the Blackwoods and the Vanes aren’t something we servants can discuss.”
The answer was gentle, but final. I rubbed my temples. “All right. Forget I asked.”
Back in my room, the air felt too still, and the thought that I was being kept ignorant made my skin itch. I hesitated before contacting Alexander Jakes. He was Harrison’s friend, which meant he likely knew what no one would volunteer to me, and he’d always been direct, even when he was cold.
When I asked, he answered without stalling. “The current Mrs. Blackwood—Catherine—was your husband’s father’s first love. They’d been engaged since they were kids. But Harrison’s biological mother was Theodore Vane’s former lover and ex-fiancée.”
My fingers tightened around my phone. The pieces slid into place with an ugly ease: old engagements, overlapping loyalties, a feud that could outlive everyone involved.
Alexander’s voice stayed calm. “Sienna, I’m advising you sincerely. Try to live well with Harrison. He cares about you. Sometimes you have to feel it with your heart; seeing isn’t always believing.”
He’d told me something like that before. This time it only lit me up.
“Harrison told me himself that he doesn’t love me,” I said, my voice sharpening. “So how am I supposed to believe he cares? You’re his friend, so of course you take his side and blame me. What did I do wrong? If you really want us to be okay, don’t just advise me. Talk to him too. Maybe if he stopped being so two-faced, things would turn out the way you want.”
Alexander didn’t respond. The silence on his end made my anger feel wasted, like I’d thrown it into empty space.
I forced a breath and ended it coldly. “Instead of advising me, think about how you’re going to handle your relationship with Luna. If you can’t make her happy, don’t lead her on.”
I hung up and stared at my phone until the screen dimmed. I didn’t want to untangle anyone’s relationships, least of all my own, because every thread seemed to lead back to the same truth: I didn’t know what was real, only what I was allowed to know.
Not long after, Martha brought a plate of reheated food. I ate because my stomach felt hollow.
When I finished, I asked, “Did he eat?”
“I took food to the study earlier,” Martha said. “I heard Mr. Blackwood handling some issues with Solstice Group remotely. He probably hasn’t eaten yet.”
Her gaze lingered. “Mrs. Blackwood, you still care about Mr. Blackwood.”
“I was just asking,” I said quickly. “If he gets sick from not eating, I’ll have to deal with it. The divorce date will get pushed back, and it’ll be more trouble for me.”
Martha looked like she wanted to say more, but I lifted my hand. “Go tell him to eat. I’m not going to feed him the way Elena did.”
After she left, I opened my laptop and downloaded the voice-over app I hadn’t used in a long time. If the divorce was inevitable, then I needed to focus on my career and save money.
When I logged in, notifications stacked up—message after message—until my pulse stuttered. Collaboration requests. All of them.
I clicked back to the homepage and understood immediately. A radio drama produced by Julian had gone viral, and my stage name—Lyra—was on the poster.
My throat tightened as I opened the project page and scrolled through the comments.
Are the voice actors all new? I don’t recognize any of them.
The quality is so high. Total hidden gem.
Lyra’s roles are so distinctive. That kind of talent shouldn’t go unnoticed.
Before Victor Price cut me off, praise had always come wrapped in my family name, as if my value was inherited. Now people were praising my work, and it hit me harder than I wanted to admit.
I called Julian. A text didn’t feel like enough.
He picked up quickly, faint typing in the background. “Sienna? Is something wrong?”
“No,” I said. “Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to thank you. You put a lot of effort into promoting the radio drama. Thank you.”
Julian chuckled. “Promoting the drama is part of the job. If you want to talk about effort, Elena’s project had even more promotion, but it didn’t do as well as yours. That’s your talent shining through. I didn’t do much.”
What Harrison couldn’t give me, Julian did.
“No,” I said again, because I needed him to hear it. “You helped me a lot. Thank you.”
“Sienna,” Julian replied, his tone sharpening slightly, “if you thank me again, I’m going to get mad.”