Chapter 289

Sienna knew she had to say something. If she didn’t, people might start thinking she was stealing luck on purpose, and that was the last thing she wanted. She didn’t want Cain to realize she knew what would happen to him after she borrowed his luck. And she definitely didn’t want Maddox or Raylan to start thinking the worst of her.

Jamar watched her reaction, unimpressed. Damn, she’s good. If she doesn’t make it in the entertainment industry, it’d be a waste of talent. He wasn’t sure about the others, but he wasn’t buying it. No way she didn’t know Cain would be the one paying the price.

Maddox wasn’t fooled either. “You sound like you’re trying to cover something up. Feeling guilty?”

Phoebe, who had been about to speak, held back; Maddox had already said exactly what she was thinking.

Sienna clenched her jaw. Again! Why is it always Maddox? Why does he always have to come after me? She forced herself to look hurt. “I didn’t know. I really didn’t.”

Maddox just chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t buy it. And I doubt anyone else here does either.” Then he glanced at Cain with a smirk. “Pretty sure only an idiot would believe that.”

Cain frowned. “Why is he looking at me?” He had his doubts, of course, but he didn’t want to think of Sienna as a bad person. So, he quickly changed the subject. “Master Flynn, can you help me fix this?”

Raylan raised a brow. “You really want to fix it?”

“Obviously,” Cain said. “I don’t want to keep being unlucky.”

Kaylan gave him a knowing look. “It’s not that simple.”

Cain’s frown deepened. “That bad, huh?” After a beat, he glanced at the bracelet on his wrist. “So as long as I keep wearing this, I’ll be fine, right?”

Phoebe, for once, actually agreed with Cain. Finally, he was asking the right questions.

Sienna’s face stiffened. She knew exactly how long this bracelet would last and what would happen once it stopped working. She shot a look at Kaylan, her eyes practically pleading. Don’t say it. Not here, not in front of everyone, not on a live broadcast! And especially not in front of Cain. If he found out, he would never trust her again. She didn’t want him to turn into another Leon, Joshua, or Jamar, keeping his distance, looking at her like she was someone to be wary of.

Raylan, of course, caught the desperate look in her eyes and completely ignored it. He smirked at Cain. “You really think this little trinket is gonna keep you safe forever? If luck worked like that, wouldn’t anyone be able to just hand it out like candy!”

Cain’s stomach clenched. “Walt, so you’re saying this thing isn’t permanent?”

Raylan nodded. “Not even close. And once it wears off, you’re gonna be way more unlucky than before.”

Cain blinked. “What! But ever since I put it on, nothing bad has happened.”

Raylan chuckled. “That’s because the bracelet is just holding back your bad luck. It lasts for a month. Once time’s up, all that suppressed misfortune? It’s gonna come crashing down on your head. Maybe even worse than before.”

Cain’s hands curled into fists. He glanced down at the bracelet, the same one he had been treating like a lucky charm. Now, it felt like a ticking time bomb.

Raylan kept going. “Everything has its balance. You gave away a third of your luck, so you lost it. No object is gonna change that. Think about it. If this actually worked, why do you think she didn’t just use the bracelet herself instead of taking your luck!”

Cain’s pulse pounded in his ears. “So you’re telling me that no matter what I do, since I already gave away my luck, I’m just stuck being unlucky!”

Raylan nodded. “Yeah. But to be clear, you won’t be this unlucky forever.” He gave Cain a knowing look. “For the next ten, maybe even twenty years, your luck will go back to how it was before you put on the bracelet. And next year! You might see a slight improvement, but don’t get your hopes up too much.”

Cain was stunned. It had only been twenty days, and he was already falling apart. If this went on for decades, he would lose his mind. His throat felt dry. “So… if I take off the bracelet now, and my bad luck, uh, unravels, what exactly happens?”

Raylan studied him for a moment, then said, “Well, judging by your facial features, the moment the bracelet stops working, you’re in for a serious car accident. Not enough to kill you, just enough to make your already messed-up body even worse.”

“You’ll be stuck in bed for at least two or three months before you can even stand up again.” Raylan continued. “And while you’re in the hospital? Oh, it gets better. A nurse will trip, spill scalding hot water all over you. If you go to the bathroom, you’ll hit something sharp and start bleeding. You’ll probably choke on your food. Maybe even on water.”

Raylan shrugged. “Basically, you won’t die, but you’ll wish you did. And since you used the bracelet to suppress all that bad luck for a month? Well, now it’s coming back three or four times worse.” He smirked slightly. “Meaning, by the time you do get back on your feet, you’re looking at least three or four months of pure disaster.”

Cain felt his scalp go numb. Everyone else just looked at him, half-sympathetic, half thinking, “Well, that’s what you get.”

Janar, Joshua, and Leon, who were watching the live broadcast, felt nothing but relief. They had barely dodged that bullet. After experiencing that kind of misfortune before, they knew it could drive someone insane.

Then, Cain turned to Phoebe, desperate for some reassurance. But she just raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh, it’s real. And staring at me isn’t gonna change that.”

Raylan wasn’t just sharp; he could see the bad luck hanging over Cain like a storm cloud. However, what really caught Phoebe off guard was how he didn’t sugarcoat a thing. Right there, in front of everyone, he laid it all out. He exposed Sienna’s lie. He revealed the truth about the bracelet’s rebound effect.

I just like that, Sienna was shoved into the spotlight. Raylan didn’t know her and didn’t even care. He was just telling the truth. Phoebe couldn’t tell if he did it on purpose to throw her off, but she wasn’t riling it out yet.

Meanwhile, Cain was struggling to wrap his head around it all. He knew Phoebe well enough to trust her word. If she said something was true, it was. Which meant… he was really screwed. His stomach churned as he turned to Sienna.

He said, his voice tight, “That’s not what you told me when you gave me this bracelet. You said it was your protective charm. That you didn’t want to see me suffer, so you gave it to me,” His hands clenched. “You said if I wore it, I wouldn’t be unlucky anymore. So tell me, why does it only work for a month? And why does my bad luck double afterward?”

He had already been through hell once. Even thinking about going through that again made his skin crawl. And now, knowing it could get even worse, his blood ran cold. Sienna had lied to him, and Cain struggled to accept it. He needed to hear her explanation straight from her mouth.