Chapter 84
Jocelyn glared at Sienna and snapped, “Sienna, how dare you be so brazen? Aren’t you afraid I’ll expose you and turn you into an unfilial daughter everyone despises and wants nothing to do with?”
Jocelyn’s face twisted with malice, like a vicious demon. The sight sent a chill down Amber’s spine. She suddenly realized she was seeing a side of Jocelyn completely different from the person she’d always imagined.
Amber staggered back, her pupils dilating with stunned disbelief.
Linda had been slapped into terrified silence.
Jocelyn glared venomously at Sienna, searching for even a trace of fear or panic on her face.
To her surprise, Sienna simply scoffed and said coolly, “Go ahead and try.”
Jocelyn ground out through clenched teeth, “Sienna—”
Sienna commanded icily, “Security, escort them out.”
Linda, seeing they were about to be thrown out, went hysterical. She shrieked, “What do you think you’re doing? I’m the mistress of the Hart family. How dare you treat me like this? Sienna, you can’t do this to me. I’m your stepmother.”
Jocelyn clung to Amber’s hand, her voice trembling. “Amber, I can’t bear to leave you. It would break my heart to be apart from you.”
Amber stood frozen, finally realizing that no one could threaten Sienna, not even their father. In Sienna’s eyes, a father could simply stop being a father.
Just a few words from Sienna, and the authority from her dad, which Amber had always been so afraid of, was crushed.
Even Linda didn’t have the chance to make things difficult for Sienna anymore.
Jocelyn pressed on desperately, grabbing Amber’s hands. “Amber, listen to me. We’ve been together for so many years. You can’t just leave me behind, can you? Come with me. If we walk out now, we’re never coming back.
“This house has no place for us anymore. Sienna is ruthless. She sent Dad to a psychiatric facility today, and tomorrow it could be you. Do you really feel safe here?
“Amber, let’s go. Out there, we can still be happy, live however we want, and no one will ever hurt us. Just like before, I’ll always protect you. Won’t you come?”
Amber thought she really should’ve just said yes to Jocelyn right away. Ever since she was a child, she had always trailed after Jocelyn like a shadow.
'Has Jocelyn treated me well? Maybe she has,' Amber wondered. 'Jocelyn always tells me to take care of my feelings no matter when or where.'
But for some reason, Amber hesitated at this moment. It was not that she was clinging to the comforts of home. She can’t even explain what exactly she was reluctant to leave behind.
Just the thought of leaving now sent a sharp pang through her chest. There was only one thought flashing through her mind. She didn’t want to leave this place.
Amber waited for several minutes, and Sienna said nothing. Amber thought she would ask her to stay, but she didn’t. Sienna didn’t even spare her a single glance.
Amber bit down hard on her lip, overwhelmed by a sharp pang of bitterness welling up inside her.
Jocelyn had been with her since childhood. She was beaten, even spat blood. And yet, Amber’s heart didn’t ache at all.
But Sienna’s silence, her utter lack of response, cut deeper than any pain Amber had ever known. Her heart felt as if it were stuffed with wet cotton, heavy and suffocating. She felt abandoned.
It was just like ten years ago, in the hazy corners of her memory, when that warm, motherly figure left Amber and never came back.
Lana could tell Amber didn’t actually want to leave. She just needed an out. But clearly Sienna wasn’t going to give her one. It must be because what Amber said earlier had disappointed her.