Chapter 173

“Nice night,” Wette said, catching Josiah’s stare. This dress looked familiar.

Josiah nodded, still a bit puzzled. It wasn’t just a standard… similar… Verite clan design. With a grin, she declared, “The exact one you got for Sim!”

She proceeded to recount arriving earlier in Sienna. “The one you picked for Sienna, right?” she asked. “Perpetulant Italian… I loved it, and she just handed it over.”

Josiah’s eyes narrowed. Sienna gave up the dress? What was going on? And where was she? He scanned the room.

Yvette’s smile faltered slightly. “You looking for Sienna? Haven’t seen her. Maybe she’s running late.”

Josiah checked his watch and frowned. “Yeah, maybe. Wait here for her, will you?”

Yvette chuckled nervously. “I gotta bounce. Howard gets fussy if I’m out of sight too long.”

“Sure thing,” Josiah replied, his mind still on Sienna.

“Mr. Flynn! Right then,” Zach jogged over, breathless. He’d just tried to find Sienna, but she was nowhere to be found.

Josiah glanced at Zach, understanding instantly. “Guess she’s not coming then,” he said before Zach could speak.

“Maybe,” Zach suggested, “it’s the snow. Could’ve caused a traffic jam. Should we give her a ring and check if she’s on her way?”

Josiah nodded, stepping outside for some peace and quiet. He called Sienna.

Sienna was just mounting a shared bike when her phone buzzed. She answered with a simple “hello.”

“Sienna,” Josiah said, massaging his temples, “where are you? This snow’s coming down hard. Are you stuck in traffic?”

“Uh-oh,” Sienna replied, a hint of sheepishness in her voice. “My bad, I totally spaced on telling you… I can’t make it to the party tonight.”

Josiah’s brow furrowed. “And why’s that?”

“Well,” Sienna began, “I was trying on my dress for tonight and ran into Yvette. She fell head over heels for it, so I let her have it.”

“I don’t have another dress, and I’m not showing up in my gym clothes, right? That wouldn’t exactly reflect well on you, would it?”

Josiah was thrown. He sensed there was more to the story than just giving away a dress. And now Sienna was bailing on the party.

He followed his intuition and blurted out, “You don’t want to come, do you? You don’t want to be out with me.”

Sienna’s silence spoke volumes, but she wouldn’t admit it. “No way, man,” she said with a forced laugh. “You’ve seen Yvette in that dress; you know I’m telling the truth.”

“Sienna,” Josiah said, his tone hardening, “you did this on purpose. You gave Yvette the dress so you’d have an excuse not to be with me tonight.”

“I didn’t,” Sienna insisted, her voice firm.

Josiah let out a humorless chuckle, his eyes turning cold.

But Sienna made the first move. “Why are you getting so bent out of shape? I was just doing what you wanted.”

Josiah was speechless. “What are you talking about?”

“You told me,” Sienna guided, her voice light, “Yvette loved the dress, so what’s the harm in letting her have it?”

Josiah felt the blood drain from him. He’d dug his own grave.

“Don’t get all worked up,” Sienna said, her lips twitching into a smile. “Next time, I’ll pick out my own dress. Because you always seem to pick stuff Yvette goes for. If it happens again, I’ll just have to give it to her again, no!”

Josiah’s eyes narrowed in shock. “What are you getting at? What’s the whole ‘give it to her’ thing?”

Sienna nearly burst into laughter. “Like that pearl headband, the dress, and that time we had the same outfit, Mr. Flynn…” She paused for effect. “You were picking all that stuff with Yvette in mind, weren’t you?”

Sienna was cruising on her bike, heading towards the intersection at Lyceum Street. She was putting away her phone when a car sped past as she rounded a bend. She slammed on the brakes to avoid a collision.

But the snowy roads were slick, and her bike skidded out from under her. She tumbled into the snow with a startled cry.

The car screeched to a halt.

“What’s the deal!” Cedric jolted awake in the back seat, sitting up to see what happened.

“Sir, someone fell, but we’re okay. She slipped,” the driver explained.

Cedric immediately recognized Sienna sprawled in the snow. His heart pounded. He flung open the car door and stepped out, moving a bit unsteadily. His leg was still healing from an injury, and he should have been using a cane.

“Sir, you left your cane,” the driver said.

“Forget it,” Cedric replied, his focus solely on Sienna. Nothing else mattered. He would go through fire for her.

Sienna had hit her head on a streetlight pole. She groaned softly and then passed out.

“Sienna!” Cedric dropped to his knees in the snow, scooping her up and gently patting her cheeks. “Sienna, come on, wake up. Don’t do this to me. It’s Cedric. You with me?”

But Sienna was unconscious.

“Sienna, come on,” Cedric said, worry lacing his voice as he lifted her into his arms. His leg throbbed as he stood.

“Sir, let me help you. Your leg…” the driver said, looking worried.

“I got this,” Cedric said, determination in his voice. He wouldn’t let anyone else carry Sienna, even if it meant enduring the pain in his leg.

The driver could only watch.

Cedric carefully placed Sienna in the car.

“Drive to the nearest hospital,” Cedric told the driver.

“On it, sir,” the driver replied.

Cedric looked down at Sienna, carefully cradling her. He didn’t want to drop her, but he also didn’t want to squeeze too tight and cause her any discomfort.