Chapter 8

Sebastian overheard Jamar and Sienna’s conversation, and surprisingly, he didn’t find them pretentious at all. In fact, he was quite pleased because it could potentially make the show trend right after it started.

Sebastian threw up his hands helplessly and said, “There’s nothing we can do. This is the only way to the village.”

Jamar was clearly unhappy. “Can’t you do something about it? Can the motorcycle get up there?”

Before Sebastian could even say anything, Maddox shot a look at Jamar and Sienna and said, “You knew we were coming to this remote village to film a variety show, but you still dressed like that. Who can you blame?”

He was just wearing casual sneakers. And everyone was dressed for hiking except for Jamar, Sienna, and Erica. It was their choice.

Maddox then added, “You guys weren’t really prepared for this trip, were you! So why the pretense now?” This totally took everyone by surprise, as they didn’t expect him to be so straightforward.

The other guests also thought that the rumors were true—Maddox had quite a sharp tongue.

Even Lexie and James were left speechless by the way these three people were dressed. “Going to participate in a survival variety show dressed like that! They were just asking for it,” they whispered to each other.

Jamar’s expression turned serious when Maddox teased him. “We didn’t expect to be living in the mountains,” Jamar argued. He had seen a similar variety show, and all the villages they had visited were easily accessible by flat road.

And Leon had been hoping that Sienna’s look would really impress the audience. They didn’t expect the production team to be so harsh. Maddox raised an eyebrow. “The production team told us we’ll be shooting in the middle of nowhere. Even if you didn’t expect a mountain road, why the normal outfit! Looks like you’re all set for an award show or something.”

That cracked everyone up, and it was kind of fitting, in a twisted way.

Sienna didn’t see that coming. Maddox being blunt and sarcastic in public? It stung a bit.

“He’s clueless about romance, for real,” she thought. But the more he acted up, the more she wanted to win him over.

She held her ground. “I’m good. I can handle it.”

Jamar looked pretty annoyed, and Sienna was on the verge of tears. In her heart, Phoebe was cheering Maddox on.

Then Reece chimed in, “She probably didn’t expect a mountain road. It’s normal for girls to like skirts and heels, you know. Enough talk for now. Let’s figure out how to help the two ladies walk up without any trouble.”

Phoebe watched as Reece stepped up for Sienna, and she knew he was not just being nice. He was really trying to help Sienna out.

Maddox wasn’t having it. “So, Mr. Hill, our esteemed Oscar winner, what’s the plan now?”

Reece just stayed quiet. He had no idea what to do. But then he looked at Sienna, and when she shot him a grateful look, he turned to Sebastian. “Can you get a few motorcycles to take the ladies up there?”

He made sure to include all the ladies, not just Sienna. He didn’t want her to get special treatment and risk her popularity with the audience.

Sebastian said, “The mountain road is steep. Riding a motorcycle up there won’t be easy. Some locals do it, but we can’t take the risk of something happening. So, no go.”

Now they were all stuck, not sure what to do.

In the live broadcast room, things got heated between fans of Maddox and fans of Jamar and Sienna.

The fans of Jamar and Sienna were calling out Maddox for being rude and toxic towards Sienna while praising Reece for being a gentleman and warm-hearted.

Maddox’s fans weren’t backing down, though. They argued that Maddox was just being honest and that Sienna’s outfit was too showy for the rural life variety show, and that it was a burden to everyone. It was quite a showdown, while everyone was watching the live broadcast and commenting. Their support for Sienna dropped a bit.

On the mountain road, Sebastian turned to the group and asked, “Does anyone have a solution! It’s impossible for Miss Jenkins to get to her destination in high heels.”

“It’s an easy fix,” Phoebe said as everyone eagerly waited for her suggestion.

Phoebe continued, “She probably has some flat shoes in her suitcase, so she can just switch into them.”

She added, sneaking a glance at Jamar, “If she doesn’t have any, she should just ask someone she knows well to carry her up the mountain.”

This implied that Sienna couldn’t walk but still had her brother Jamar to carry her. Phoebe tried to cause trouble for Jamar and make Sienna’s image unsustainable.

Jamar’s face froze. It was hard enough for him to walk up there by himself, let alone carry Sienna on his back. Turning to Sienna, he asked, “Do you have any comfortable walking shoes?”

Sienna inwardly scolded Phoebe for meddling. If Phoebe hadn’t spoken up, she could have maintained her tough, independent image. Now, she had no choice but to admit, “Oh, if Phoebe hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten that I brought my flat shoes.”

Everyone was left speechless, wondering how she could have forgotten something like that.

Maddox was totally skeptical. When he joined the showbiz, he noticed that a lot of people were saying one thing in public and something totally different in private. But as long as they didn’t rile him up, he wouldn’t even notice them.

He really wasn’t feeling Sienna. At a previous party, she acted all innocent but was actually trying to hit on him. “Like, seriously? Do I look like a guy who’s into that kind of woman!” he thought then.

Even though she knew they were going to be filming in a remote area, she still dressed up and then conveniently forgot her shoes. It was like she was trying to act all tough or something.

Maddox was on guard and decided to keep his distance from her in the future.

Sienna felt pretty annoyed seeing him act like that. She thought he was going too far. But she also knew that the best move now was to change into flat shoes as soon as possible.

So she had to track down the staff who helped with the luggage to get her shoes, Jamar stopped her and said, “I’ll get them for you.” He was worried about the rough road and didn’t want Sienna to twist her ankle.

And Phoebe wasn’t sad to see Jamar taking care of Sienna. She hoped Jamar would show his caring side in the show. After all, nobody knew Sienna wasn’t Jamar’s real sister. When their real relationship was revealed, Phoebe wouldn’t be the one getting all the flak.

Jamar totally ignored his real sister, Phoebe, who had been missing for years and was almost sold off by human traffickers, but he was all over Sienna. They weren’t even blood-related.

Their closeness would make people think there might be something more going on between them.

Phoebe found out that Sienna was super possessive of her brothers in the Jenkins family. Sienna loved to be physically close to her brothers, even as adults. They still hugged and cuddled without any awkwardness.

For instance, in the living room, Sienna acted all spoiled and asked her brothers to carry her to her room. She often leaned her head on her brothers’ shoulders and even held their hands.

Ollie had a fiancée, but whenever his girlfriend came home, Sienna always tried to make herself known. She got Ollie to pay attention only to her, acting like she was in charge.

And then there was Leon, who fell for a female star and wanted to go after her, but Sienna totally ruined his plan without a second thought. She made Leon not only give up on his crush but also start hating on the actress.

Since this was a live show, the audience might catch Sienna and Jamar’s private moments without them even realizing it. The more people hyped up their sibling love now, the more backlash it would get in the future. Regular sibling relationships…

Phoebe wanted those who used to call her a player to really see who the true player was.