Chapter 88

“Hey,” Sienna let out a mirthless laugh, her anger barely contained. Let him say whatever he wants. When the time comes, I’ll do whatever I need to do, she mused.

Reaching her stop, she disembarked the bus and entered the office building, heading for the elevator. The dance studio was on the fifth floor.

As soon as she stepped inside, a familiar voice rang out. “Sienna!”

Sienna looked up to see Yvette, smiling brightly. “What a coincidence! Long time no see!”

“Humph,” Sienna thought, casting a brief glance but saying nothing.

Yvette’s smile faltered, her expression darkening. “Sienna, don’t you have the basic courtesy to respond when someone greets you?”

Sienna turned to face her. “Whether I’m polite or not isn’t the point, but you don’t need to put on this act in front of me. Josiah isn’t here, and neither is Miranda. Who are you performing for?”

“You…” Yvette was momentarily speechless.

“Or is it that you’ve been pretending for so long that you’ve started believing you’re actually a good person? Who do you think you are? Do you even deserve that title?” Sienna’s lips curled into a mocking smile.

“You…” Yvette’s face darkened with anger, her humiliation evident. If you’re going to hurt someone, aim for their weak spot, Yvette thought, smirking coldly.

“You’re looking for a job, aren’t you?” Yvette sneered, narrowing her eyes. “Let me save you the trouble; you won’t find one. In Jeiserity, it’s impossible.”

Sienna froze. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What do you think it means?” Yvette repeated mockingly. “Don’t you find it strange? Are you really that incompetent?”

Yvette gave Sienna a disdainful once-over. “I won’t comment on your skills, but at the very least, you graduated from the Flinty University of Arts. Are you really so terrible that no place is willing to hire you?”

“What exactly are you trying to say?” Sienna snapped, her patience wearing thin. It was clear Yvette was deliberately prolonging this.

“If you have something to say, just say it. If not, then drop it,” she added.

“No need to rush. I’m getting to it.” Yvette finally dropped her coy act. “It’s because Josiah gave the order. In all of Jeiserity, no dance venue is allowed to hire you,” Yvette said.

Sienna froze, stunned. She hadn’t expected this.

Suddenly, her recent struggles to find work made sense. So it wasn’t because I’m not good enough. It’s because Josiah blocked every possible path for me, she thought bitterly. “What’s his goal? To push me into a corner?”

Silent, Sienna clenched her fists tightly, her hands turning cold as her complexion paled.

Yvette, clearly enjoying her reaction, added nonchalantly, “Honestly, I wasn’t going to tell you, but watching you run around like a headless chicken… it’s just too pitiful. I couldn’t help myself.”

With that, Yvette pulled a pair of sunglasses from her bag, put them on, and stepped out as the elevator doors opened.

Sienna stood there, her face pale and unmoving. There was no point in going to her interview anymore. She wouldn’t get hired no matter what. Her efforts would be futile.

Driven by a mix of anger and frustration, Sienna felt an overwhelming urge to confront Josiah and settle things once and for all. Stepping out of the building, she pulled out her phone and called him. The line rang repeatedly, but no one picked up.

Josiah wasn’t deliberately ignoring her; he was genuinely busy.

Sienna bit her lip and reluctantly put her phone away. He said to wait for him tonight, right? Fine, I’ll see him tonight, she decided.

At 6 PM, Josiah finally called her. “Hello?”

“I’m on my way,” he said without preamble. “Get ready, change your clothes, and come out with me.”

Sienna tugged at the corners of her mouth in a silent, mocking laugh. “Okay.”

When Josiah arrived at her apartment, he found the door unlocked and pushed it open. “Why didn’t you lock the door? That’s not safe…”

He stopped short when he saw Sienna sitting rigidly on the couch, staring straight at him.

“What’s going on?” he asked, sensing something was amiss. He walked over and sat down across from her. “Rough day? Something bothering you?”

Sienna narrowed her eyes, watching him play dumb. That’s enough! she thought with rage.

Sienna held herself back, again and again, lowering her stance as much as she could. She pleaded, Josiah, please, I’m begging you… just let me go, okay!

“Huh?” Josiah looked momentarily stunned, raising an eyebrow. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand you.”

Sienna’s nails dug into her palms. “You told all the dance places not to take me in, didn’t you?”

Josiah’s expression flickered. How did you find out? Who told you?

If you don’t want others to know, don’t do it in the first place. Does it even matter who told me? Sienna thought.

She didn’t answer his question. The only thing that concerned her was her livelihood. Please, just let it go. I really need this job.

“Job?” Josiah frowned deeply. “You know what you’re doing is a job? Sienna, if you keep dancing in those places, you’ll ruin yourself.”

“Even if it’s bad, leave me alone, okay?” Sienna snapped without thinking.

Her eyes turned red, tears threatening to spill over. She knew the places like Maze weren’t high-end. But life had forced her to lower her standards.

With a hoarse voice, she pleaded again. “Don’t push me anymore. What do you want? To force me back to your side? That’s never going to happen. Even if you drive me to the edge, I’ll never go back.”

Josiah was visibly frustrated, at a loss for words as he stared at her with those inscrutable eyes.

“We’ll talk about that later. For now, go change and come with me,” he finally said.

“No.” Sienna turned her head away. Negotiations had failed, and she had no intention of going anywhere with him.

“No!” Josiah gave a sharp, incredulous laugh, his gaze sweeping over her. Sienna hadn’t dressed up, just a simple T-shirt and jeans, with what looked like a touch of light makeup. She had probably been out earlier. "Still works, though. She's pretty enough," Josiah thought.

“Fine,” he said, nodding slightly before suddenly getting up and striding toward her.

“What are you doing?” Sienna asked, a sense of foreboding creeping over her.

“I’m giving you one more chance. Stand up and come with me,” Josiah said.

“No… ah!” She barely got the word out before Josiah bent down and scooped her up with ease.

Sienna was both furious and embarrassed. Put me down, right now!

Josiah smirked. “Stop squirming. If you want to keep dancing, you’d better behave and come with me.”

What? Sienna froze, her mind racing as she wondered, What does that even mean?

While she was still in shock, Josiah carried her out of the room. Along the way, they drew plenty of stares and murmurs from passersby.

“Where are you taking me?” Sienna asked, her face flushed with embarrassment. “Put me down! I can walk on my own.”

“I don’t trust you,” Josiah said, shaking his head. “If I put you down, you’ll bolt, and I’ll have to chase after you. Too much effort. This works just fine.”

He carried her all the way to his car, set her down inside, and fastened her seatbelt.

Sienna bit her lip. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a great place. I promise you’ll like it,” Josiah replied.