Begging for a Second Chance (Sienna Sloan and Jarred Sterling) novel Chapter 168

Aside from his personal butler, Barnaby, and his private lawyer, Dr. Clayton was the person Arthur trusted most in the world.

He had been with Arthur for over twenty years, so he understood perfectly well that the question was not to be taken at face value.

Arthur wasn't actually asking for his opinion on the marriage itself.

He was asking what he thought of Sienna as a person.

Dr. Clayton considered it for a moment, then smiled. "The young madam is brilliant and incredibly bold. She handles things cleanly and efficiently. She's a perfect match for Jarred."

Arthur opened his eyes, a glint of amusement flashing through his cloudy gaze. "Your judgment this time aligns perfectly with mine."

Dr. Clayton smiled back and lowered his head, continuing to pack up his medical bag.

Neither of them said another word, but there was a mutual, unspoken understanding.

With today's little performance, it was highly likely that Arthur had seen through the act long before the climax.

Meanwhile.

Inside Eleanor's room, the atmosphere was anything but peaceful.

The moment the door clicked shut, Helena slumped weakly against the furniture.

She clutched her chest, her face as pale as a sheet of paper. "How did it end up like this? Didn't that old traditional medicine doctor say that using this formula would, at worst, cause a loss of appetite?

"How could it lead to permanent paralysis or a vegetative state? Thank God nothing happened, or we would have gone down in history as the family's greatest sinners!"

Eleanor stood by the window, leaning on her walking cane with her back toward Helena.

Hearing Helena's panicked rambling, she stayed silent for a few seconds before shaking her head.

"That doctor was highly recommended by one of my oldest friends. He's quite well-known in the Capital. He wouldn't make such an amateur mistake. Furthermore, my old friend would never deceive me."

She paused, her voice dripping with ice. "It was Sienna. She deliberately exaggerated the consequences just to enrage Arthur."

Jarred marched in with Declan Ward and several bodyguards trailing closely behind him. His face was an emotionless mask as he walked over and sat down on the sofa.

He wore a black button-down shirt, the sleeves casually rolled up to reveal his sculpted forearms.

An impenetrable aura of freezing hostility radiated from him, as if he had just stepped straight out of a glacial vault.

Right at his feet lay a man in his sixties.

The moment the man had been dragged through the door, Declan had kicked him squarely behind the knees, forcing him to kneel on the floor.

The man knelt with both knees locked to the ground, his forehead pressed against the floorboards. Held firmly in place by Declan, he didn't dare twitch a muscle.

Recognizing the familiar face instantly, Helena and Eleanor froze on the spot, sheer panic flooding their eyes as if facing a mortal enemy.

"Why all the shocked faces? I don't bite."

Jarred's voice was kept at a conversational volume, and there was even a faint smile on his lips, yet the sheer authority in his tone forced everyone to instinctively submit. "Sit down."