Chapter 191

Sienna called her mother, Maria, and the call was answered almost immediately. Maria’s voice was soft and warm, filled with concern. “Sienna, are you alright? I saw your injury on the livestream and was so worried. But with your phone taken away, I couldn’t reach you.”

Hearing those words, Sienna’s cold expression softened slightly. “Mom, I got my phone back since I won’t be filming the rest of the show due to my injury. Reynard already visited me. It’s nothing too serious—I just need some time to recover.”

Maria let out a sigh of relief. “I’m glad to hear that. We were so worried about you. That’s why we sent Andrea abroad—to take care of you under the guise of joining the show.”

Sienna froze for a moment. “Andrea became a guest on the show… because you sent her?”

Maria replied matter-of-factly, “Of course.”

Sienna’s tone sharpened. “Who arranged it?”

Getting a guest spot on this show wasn’t easy. “Cesar helped. He was worried about you too, so he arranged for Andrea to join.”

Sienna’s grip on her phone tightened. Cesar… She knew who Maria was talking about—a powerful, wealthy, and mysterious man. Maria’s former lover. They had never officially been together, but their connection had never truly ended. And because of that, Cesar had always taken great care of Maria’s children. It was thanks to his influence that Sienna had been able to enter the Jenkins family as an adopted daughter. Yet, despite all these years, Sienna had never met him in person.

The sharp words she had initially prepared to throw at Maria vanished. After Sienna had joined the Jenkins family, Maria had secretly favored her over Andrea, far more than she ever had before. Over the years, their mother-daughter bond had remained strong. And every year, Sienna would send Maria a generous amount of money—something the Jenkins family had no clue about. They had no idea how deeply she was still connected to her biological family.

Sienna’s lips curled into a sweet, affectionate smile. “I knew it. Mom and Cesar always spoil me the most.”

Then, she put on a sad, wounded tone and sighed. “But Andrea… all she cares about is performing on the show. She hasn’t even come to the hospital to see me. Let alone take care of me.”

Just as expected, Maria’s voice turned sharp with anger. “That girl! Unbelievable! She only sent me one text after getting her new phone. I’ll call her right now and tell her to visit you.”

Sienna’s eyes flickered with satisfaction. She sweetly murmured, “Thank you, Mommy.”

After exchanging a few more words, they ended the call. What Sienna didn’t know was that the call had been automatically recorded and sent to a designated email address. The recording and the email log then erased themselves completely after being sent.

Meanwhile, after dinner, Phoebe’s group headed to an internet café for some gaming practice. Reece’s group, on the other hand, returned to their hotel. Just as they reached the entrance, Reece turned to Joshua and Jamar. “Are we going to the bar for another live gig tonight?”

Whenever he sat alone in silence, his mind would be flooded with memories of Phoebe—the beautiful moments they had shared. The more he thought about it, the more it hurt. And the more lonely he felt.

So he didn’t want to sit around doing nothing. He needed distractions—another night of singing for drinks would do.

Jamar shrugged. “I’m in. Better than doing nothing.”

Without the option to download games, sitting alone in a hotel room was boring. But Joshua shook his head. “I can’t. My throat hurts like hell.” The aftereffects of last night’s drunken singing had hit him hard—his throat was not only hoarse, but painfully inflamed.

Jamar scoffed. “I told you not to overdo it. Did you even take the medicine I got you?”

Joshua sighed. “I did. Twice today. But it’s not working.” After a moment’s thought, he hesitated before asking, “Do you think… if I ask Phoebe to make me some herbal throat lozenges, she’d agree?”

Jamar raised an eyebrow. “You cannot be serious.” Joshua actually thought he had a chance?

Joshua rolled his eyes. “Why not? It’s not like I’d ask for free. Maybe it’d even help smooth things over between us.” The more he reflected on the past, the guilt weighed heavier on him. If Phoebe hadn’t been able to prove her innocence, she would have been ruined because of his impulsive accusation.

Jamar gave him a deadpan look. “Joshua, I only have one thing to say to you.”

Joshua blinked. “What?”

Jamar stared straight at him and said, “Where do you get the audacity?”

Joshua was speechless. “This is my own brother—why does he always go straight for the heart?” Still, he stubbornly muttered, “How would you know if you don’t try?” He really couldn’t take the pain anymore. During the afternoon tour, he had barely spoken at all. Even swallowing hurt like hell. This wasn’t a new problem—he knew from experience that hospital meds were too slow. The only thing that had ever truly helped was Phoebe’s homemade lozenges.

He sighed. “She used to be softhearted with us.”

Jamar snorted. “That was before. Now? She’s ice-cold.”

“Last time I had food poisoning and asked her to make herbal soup for me, she ignored me completely.” Jamar brought it up deliberately—hoping Joshua would drop his delusional idea.

But instead, Joshua smirked. “That was you. Maybe she’ll treat me differently.”

Jamar gave him an exasperated look. “Where do you get this confidence?”

Joshua scoffed. “How would you know if you don’t try?” Then he changed the topic. “Besides, what’s the point of going to the bar every night? Let’s go to the internet café instead.” He didn’t want to admit it, but the idea of facing Phoebe alone made him a little nervous.

Jamar thought it over and nodded. “Yeah, fine. My stomach’s getting tired of all the alcohol anyway.” Honestly, he missed Phoebe’s oatmeal and herbal soups. And if Joshua somehow managed to get Phoebe to be kind again, Jamar wasn’t against mooching off the benefits.

Besides—after everything that happened, Jamar had started to suspect they had truly misjudged Phoebe. If Sienňa had been manipulating them all along, then they owed Phoebe a lot more than just an apology.

Turning to Reece, he asked, “Reece, you in?”

Reece didn’t hesitate. “Sure. I’ll go with you guys.” Even if Phoebe wouldn’t forgive him, just being near her made him feel closer to her.

As the three wrapped up their plan, they suddenly remembered—they had one more teammate now. Turning in unison, they looked at Andrea. “What about you? Coming with us?”

Andrea smiled sweetly. “Sure, I’ll join you.”

The group agreed to meet in half an hour at the hotel lobby. Andrea returned to her room to change, but as soon as she picked up her phone, the screen lit up with an incoming call. Seeing the number, her expression hardened. Still, she answered. “Mom.”

Maria’s voice was sharp with displeasure. “Why haven’t you gone to see Sienna?”

Andrea’s lips curled into a mocking smirk. Ever since Sienna had entered the Jenkins family, growing to resemble Cesar more and more, Maria’s attitude had completely flipped. Sienna became her precious treasure. Andrea? A burden. But Andrea knew exactly how to deal with Maria.

Chapter 192