Begging for a Second Chance (Sienna Sloan and Jarred Sterling) novel Chapter 157

With that, she spun on her heel and moved to leave.

Jarred let out a careless laugh, effortlessly lengthening his stride to catch up.

His towering frame instantly eclipsed her in shadow, his dark, probing eyes locked dead on her face.

"I know you're itching to get rid of me, but is it really necessary to lie to a dying man?"

He closed the gap between them by another half-step, his warm breath grazing her ear.

"Don't forget the doctor's explicit warning. Grandpa's condition is incredibly volatile. This sudden burst of clarity? It could just be a terminal rally."

Jarred tilted his head slightly, his eyes drifting down to her white-knuckled grip as he offered a mocking reminder. "Tormenting a dying man... doesn't that weigh on your conscience?"

"I'm not tormenting anyone!" Sienna fired back instantly.

She had never intended to cause Arthur any pain; she simply refused to remain shackled to a dead marriage.

But Jarred wore that infuriatingly arrogant smirk, his eyes narrowing in amusement. "You gave Grandpa your word to delay the divorce by three months, and the moment you step out of the room, you try to kick me to the curb?

People who know the truth will say you're coldly abandoning me. But to people who don't—like Grandpa—it's just going to look like I'm the one bullying you again."

Watching him expertly twist the narrative, Sienna felt a suffocating surge of rage, but she was entirely trapped. She gritted her teeth. "What exactly do you want?"

Jarred leaned down to meet her at eye level, a dangerous, intoxicating amusement swirling in his gaze. "It's simple. We act like a deeply in love, newlywed couple for the next three months. We put on a flawless show for Grandpa."

Sienna stared at his infuriatingly handsome, cynical face, desperately wanting to turn and sprint in the opposite direction.

But the thought of the frail old man lying in that bed snapped her resolve right down the middle.

Her eyes hardened with absolute wariness as she snapped her warning. "I will play along when it's absolutely necessary, but don't even think about using this as an excuse to make unreasonable demands."

The way Jarred looked at her had always carried a dangerous, predatory edge. When they were alone, she didn't even dare wear anything remotely revealing.

But given Eleanor's raging obsession with alcohol, Sienna knew that destroying her wine cabinet last time meant the old woman wouldn't rest until she had restocked it entirely.

On top of the crates sat a few individual bottles of red wine. They didn't look like vintage labels.

Sienna hadn't even heard of the vineyard.

She knew Eleanor had impeccably high standards; she was a connoisseur and a collector. Why would she ever settle for garbage like this?

Sienna had zero interest in getting involved and stepped sideways to give them a wide berth.

Without warning, the trolley violently lost its balance and careened straight toward her. Sienna instinctively dodged.

"Watch out—"

Before the young maid even finished the warning, a deafening crash echoed out. The entire cart of wine shattered against the stone path, violently splashing all over Sienna.