Chapter 96

“What are you doing?” Sienna asked, her back to him. She had no idea what stage of undressing he was at. “Did you take it off yet?”

Josiah snapped back to reality, his eyes narrowing slightly to mask the cold glint within. Sienna meant well, after all. Besides, her back was to him; she shouldn't see his scars. He raised his arm and peeled off his damp shirt. “Yeah, I did.”

“Here,” Sienna tossed a man’s shirt over her shoulder, still facing away. “Put this on for now.”

“What’s this?” Josiah bristled instinctively. Men were naturally sensitive about such things. Without unfolding it, he could tell it was a man’s shirt. How does she have a men’s shirt? he thought.

“It’s a men’s shirt,” Sienna replied casually. “It should fit you.” She had deliberately bought an oversized one.

Without waiting for a response, she picked up his wet shirt. “I don’t have a dryer here, so I’ll rinse it and hang it up. I’ll get it back to you later. Is that okay?”

“Whatever,” Josiah muttered; he wasn’t in the mood to care about that right now.

“Alright, hold on,” Sienna said, turning and heading to the balcony.

“Wait a second,” Josiah, still shirtless, followed her. The washing machine was on the balcony. Sienna tossed his shirt in and began gathering clothes she had washed earlier.

As soon as Josiah stepped onto the balcony, his face darkened. “Sienna!”

His sudden growl caught her off guard. She turned to see his face filled with anger and confusion. What’s his problem now? she wondered, baffled. Why doesn’t he wear the shirt? Is he planning to stay shirtless like this forever? she thought.

Standing tall, Josiah easily reached up and yanked something off the drying rack. Holding it out to her, he said, “What is this?”

“That…” Sienna froze, then became embarrassed. “You’re a man. Don’t you recognize it?”

“Huh?” He recognized it all too well. And that was precisely why he was so furious. There, hanging on her balcony, were men’s items: shirts, underwear…

“Whose are these?” Josiah’s voice was cold and sharp, his gaze icy. “What man’s clothes are these?” He shook the shirt in frustration before crumpling it and tossing it to the floor. “Some random guy’s clothes, and you expect me to wear them!”

“Hey!” Sienna snapped, bending down to pick up the shirt.

Seeing this, Josiah became even angrier. “Sienna, don’t pick it up!”

“I will!” Sienna glared at him, seething. “I bought this with my own money. I washed it clean. What’s the big deal? Is it too cheap to be worthy of you, Josiah?” She had already picked up the shirt and was brushing off the dust.

“You bought it?” Josiah’s thoughts were elsewhere. He suddenly grabbed her wrist. “What kind of jerk makes you spend your money on him!” he roared.

Their commotion must have been loud because the neighbors started complaining. “What’s with the late-night fighting, you lovebirds?” one voice called.

“Yeah, some of us are trying to sleep here!” another chimed in.

Sienna hurried to apologize. “I’m so sorry, everyone! Won’t happen again.” She turned to head inside.

“Sienna…” Josiah began, still fuming.

“Shut up,” she snapped, cutting him off. “Do you want my neighbors to call the cops on us?” She lowered her voice, her patience wearing thin. “What man?”

“There is no man. I’m a single woman living alone. Don’t you think I need some sort of safety precautions?” Hanging men’s clothes on the balcony was a common trick many single women used to deter thieves and burglars. It wasn’t anything new, and it wasn’t a big deal. Lots of women used the same tactic.

Josiah froze, blinking rapidly as understanding dawned on his face. Is that what this is about? he thought. It hit him all at once. He had misunderstood her. What is wrong with me? I should’ve figured it out if I’d taken a second to think. Instead, I just lashed out at Sienna without reason, he wondered.

“Sienna,” Josiah started, his tone softer as he tried to explain, but Sienna wasn’t interested. Without looking at him, she turned and walked away.

Josiah quickly caught the men’s shirt she’d dropped, suddenly finding it far more agreeable than before. He slipped it on smoothly, surprised by how perfectly it fit.

Sienna didn’t glance back. “It’s late. I need to rest.”

“Okay,” Josiah nodded, though it was as if he hadn’t heard her. Buttoning the shirt, he moved closer, his voice uncharacteristically mild. “Sienna, it fits perfectly. Just my size. What a coincidence.”

She didn’t respond. “Are you leaving or not?”

One look at her face told him she was genuinely upset. Alright, that’s enough for tonight. There’ll be another chance, he thought. He gave a small nod. “I’ll go.”

Sienna stood to show him out. At the door, Josiah lingered, reluctant to leave.

“Sienna,” he murmured softly, almost wistfully. “I’ll treat you better from now on.”

For a moment, Sienna was speechless. She couldn’t deny his attitude toward her had been drastically different recently. But so what? It didn’t matter anymore. She wasn’t the type to fall for someone just because they treated her well now. If that were the case, there would have been plenty of others before him.

She shook her head. “I appreciate your help tonight, but like I’ve said before…”

“Sienna,” His expression was unusually solemn, with a hint of self-mockery in his smile. “I know I’ve treated you badly in the past. Honestly, I haven’t treated myself much better.”

The truth was Josiah had never really lived for himself. His entire existence had been for the Flynn family, for Howard. To him, everything related to the Flynn family came before his own desires. But he couldn’t explain that to Sienna, so he simply smiled faintly. “Trust me. I’ll prove it to you.”

Sienna opened her mouth to reply, but Josiah cut her off. “It’s late. Go inside. Goodnight.”

He paused at the doorway, remembering something. “By the way, what’s the scent of your shampoo?”

The question caught her off guard. She hadn’t expected him to ask something so random.

“Lily fragrance,” she said simply.

“I see,” a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Alright, close the door. Goodnight. I’m leaving now.”

Josiah turned and disappeared into the dimly lit hallway. Sienna watched the door for a moment before shutting it quietly. She found herself mulling over his words. What did he mean when he said he hadn’t treated himself well? she wondered.

Although Sienna’s grandmother and Miranda had known each other for years, Sienna had only visited the Flynn family occasionally and hadn’t been close to Josiah—not until she was adopted at fifteen. Her memories of him were vivid: Josiah always trailed after Howard, following his every word, doing whatever Howard ordered. If Howard wanted the stars, Josiah would move heaven and earth to fetch them, probably grabbing the moon while he was at it. Back then, Miranda took great pride in how close her two grandsons were.

“So what’s so unusual about that?” Sienna couldn’t make sense of it. Then another thought popped into her mind. What did Josiah mean earlier at TeeMall when he mentioned the mantis?

She grabbed her phone and immediately searched for information on mantises.