Chapter 268

Sienna turned her head, confused, to find Chelsea smiling. The hostility in Chelsea's expression was as intense as it had been when she'd confronted Yvette. Sienna frowned, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you know?" Chelsea tilted her chin, gesturing toward the door. "Your boyfriend was here, but he didn't even look at you. Funny, isn't it?" She laughed, her gaze sweeping over Sienna. "When I left Jeiacrity, I thought Josiah would never give up on Yvette. But then I came back and heard he had a girlfriend. You."

Chelsea's voice dripped with mockery. "You're certainly beautiful, but what a pity—you've still lost to Yvette. Josiah doesn't care about you at all."

Sienna pieced together the backstory. Chelsea was an old acquaintance of Josiah's, someone who had known him for years. She must have left the country before the Flynn family adopted Sienna, which explained why she didn't recognize her.

Chelsea leaned in, smiling. "Since Josiah doesn't truly care about you, I guess I won't need to hold back." With that, she flicked her hair and strode from the room.

Sienna chuckled, thinking, So, Chelsea likes Josiah, huh? Well, Mr. Flynn certainly has no shortage of admirers.

Stepping from the rehearsal room, Josiah stared at Yvette. "Besides your face, are you hurt anywhere else? Can you walk on your own?"

Yvette scoffed. "Do you really care where I'm hurt?"

Josiah frowned, hesitating. "I'll call Howard and ask him to pick you—"

"No need," Yvette snapped, gripping his arm. "Why would I need him? He's just like you—neither of you actually care about me."

Josiah sighed, his tone helpless. "Don't say that. Howard only wants what's best for you."

Yvette laughed bitterly, tears spilling. "Really? He lied to me, and now you too. Is it because you've been a privileged young master for so long that you've forgotten you, just like me, once lived in the dirt and were insignificant?"

Yvette spun away. "Don't follow me. I don't need your fake concern!"

"Yvette!" Josiah called after her, at a loss.

Janet, looking unsure, asked timidly, "Mr. Flynn, what should I do?"

"Follow her," Josiah instructed, frowning. "I'll call Mr. Howard Flynn. Just keep an eye on her and don't let her wander off."

"Understood, Mr. Flynn," Janet replied.

Josiah called Howard. "It's me. Yeah, okay, got it." He hung up, exhaling in relief. Then, a sudden thought jolted him—Sienna. Without hesitation, he hurried back to the rehearsal room.

The room was empty except for a janitor mopping the floor. "Don't come in! The floor's wet!" the janitor shouted. Anxiety and fear gripped Josiah's heart.

He turned and quickly left, pulling out his phone to call Sienna. An unsettling mix of anxiety and fear pounded in his chest. Would she be upset enough to ignore me?

To his relief, Sienna answered. "Hello?"

"Sienna," Josiah said, relieved. "Where are you?"

"I'm in the dressing room," Sienna replied.

"I'll come to you," Josiah said.

Sienna, puzzled, thought, Hasn't she left with Yvette? She locked her closet and stepped out of the dressing room.

The moment she opened the door, she saw Josiah, slightly out of breath, clearly having run.

"Sienna," Josiah took a step closer, gently taking her hand. His gaze softened as he looked at her. His tone was cautious. "Are you upset?"

Sienna didn't answer. She slipped her hand from his. "Let's go. This isn't the place to talk."

"Okay," Josiah nodded. This wasn't the right place for a conversation.

Once in the car, Sienna leaned back, closing her eyes, clearly not in the mood to talk. Josiah felt a sharp pang in his chest. She was angry.

Josiah leaned closer, brushing her hair behind her ear. Her delicate earlobe, adorned with a small pearl earring, glinted softly.

He gazed at her frown. His voice was low and coaxing. "Don't be upset, okay? I couldn't just ignore her back there."

Sienna opened her eyes, staring directly at him. "Josiah, have you ever thought about when we'll break up?"

Josiah froze, his expression flickering before darkening. "Is your memory failing? When we reconciled, you promised not to bring up breaking up easily!"

"I remember it," Sienna nodded, letting out a soft, ironic laugh. "I'm not bringing up breaking up. I'm asking about your plan."

Josiah stared at her, pain and frustration in his chest. "I've never thought about breaking up." Marriage had been on his mind; breaking up was the last thing he wanted.

"Sienna." His heart clenched. He opened his arms and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Didn't Howard already tell you? My feelings for Yvette are just out of gratitude."

"Just gratitude?" Sienna raised a hand, her finger pressing lightly against his chest, over his heart. "Maybe you and Howard are both wrong. What if your feelings for her go beyond gratitude?"

"Stop, Sienna," Josiah said.

"It's possible," Sienna ignored him, smiling. "Didn't Howard fall for Yvette the same way at first?"

Josiah sneered, his frustration evident. "Sounds right, but it's utter nonsense. I'm not Howard."

He clasped her hand tightly, intertwining their fingers. "Jealous, aren't you? Admit it. And honestly, I kind of like it when you're jealous." He thought her jealousy meant she cared.

Sienna smiled, her eyes fixed on his face. "Do you find it entertaining to fool me?"

"What do you mean?" Josiah froze, clearly not understanding.

Sienna kept her smile, though it held sarcasm. "You're always talking about love and marriage. Is teasing me fun for you? I'm not some naive little girl who'd believe it."

Josiah's expression darkened. "You've never taken my words seriously, have you?"

Sienna nodded calmly. "Yeah, because it's all fake. It—" Josiah suddenly grasped her wrist, his grip firm enough to sting. Sienna winced and glared, but Josiah, though trying to restrain himself, seemed caught between anger and amusement. "Do you think all that love and care I show you is fake?"

"Love and care?" Sienna's lips curled into a cold smile. No longer wanting to beat around the bush, she said bluntly, "I met Mr. Miller today."