“Let’s go together,” he offered.
His villa was halfway up a hill, making it nearly impossible to get a cab. Reluctantly, I accepted.
The car ride was painfully quiet. The tension in the air made my skin crawl, but thankfully, the office wasn’t far.
Unfortunately, as I stepped out of his car, I ran straight into Lance.
His eyes widened as if he’d seen a ghost. “Sienna, you...” He reached out to grab me, but a single cold glance from Howard stopped him in his tracks. Lance dropped his hand and mumbled awkwardly, “Uncle...”
Between the two of them, I’d rather deal with Lance. The awkwardness from this morning still lingered, making it impossible for me to face Howard.
Luckily, a secretary arrived in the nick of time to discuss work with him, so he disappeared toward the top floor after a quick glance in my direction.
However, I hadn’t even reached my desk when Lance dragged me into the break room.
“Sienna, you’ve got some nerve,” he sneered. “Knowing I won’t marry you, you’ve gone after my uncle instead? You’re not even good enough for me—what makes you think someone like him would want you?”
Before I could respond, he added, “Sure, I’ve agreed to the marriage with the Fowlers, but I never planned on breaking up with you. As long as you stay quiet and behave like you have these past few days, you’ll always be my secret girlfriend. We can keep this going forever!”
I stared at him, stunned by the sheer audacity. Just when I thought Lance couldn’t sink any lower, he proved me wrong.
When you were completely speechless, sometimes all you could do was laugh.
But Lance mistook it as a sign I’d forgiven him. Smiling, he leaned in, trying to pin me against the wall and kiss me.
Struggling, I grabbed the nearest cup of hot coffee and threw it in his face. “What do you take me for?”
For the first time, I didn’t meet his shamelessness with kindness.
Coffee dripped down his face as he wiped at it, his expression darkening like a storm cloud. “Sienna! I’m willing to sneak around behind Maia’s back for you, to promise I’ll see you every week—and you’re still acting out? You never used to be like this!”
“You’re right. But that was before—back when I thought we were in a real relationship,” I said calmly.
“We were, and we still are. We’ll always be together. Why are you acting so unreasonable all of a sudden?” Lance replied, frustration dripping from his voice.