Begging for a Second Chance (Sienna Sloan and Jarred Sterling) novel Chapter 227

Every word she spoke acted like a needle, plunging repeatedly into Jarred's chest.

His face grew darker by the second, a suffocating ache gripping his heart.

Only now did he realize just how many times he had completely neglected her.

He remembered every single incident she mentioned.

He didn't remember them because of her, but because he recalled exactly what he was doing during those moments.

Jarred's throat tightened. The explanations were right there on his tongue, but he couldn't force them out.

The only reason he accommodated Celeste and desperately tried to make things up to her was because she had saved his life during a crisis when they were younger.

He knew his grandmother and mother were relentlessly trying to set them up, dead set on forcing him into a marriage with Celeste.

Refusing to compromise and marry her, he chose to overcompensate by repaying the debt in other ways.

He foolishly believed that if he treated her well enough, he could clear his conscience and shut down his family's matchmaking attempts.

He never once considered that his actions would become the blade that gutted Sienna, leaving her drowning in misunderstandings and endless grievances.

Sienna's eyes were red.

Not out of sorrow, but because saying these things out loud proved she still felt the sting.

Seven years of knowing each other. Even a cold stone pressed to the chest would have warmed up by now.

But she had ripped her heart out and handed it to him, and he hadn't even bothered to glance at it.

Jarred's heart softened. He instinctively reached up, wanting to gently wipe away the restrained tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Sienna turned her head, dodging his touch.

Jarred's hand froze in mid-air. He stood like a statue, maintaining that awkward posture for a long time.

His Adam's apple bobbed, his voice laced with defeat. "I swear to you, I've never loved her. I don't have a shred of romantic feeling for her. Just trust me this one time, okay?"

Sienna had already reeled in her emotions, leaving only a cold, indifferent void in her eyes.

His dark eyes locked intensely onto her figure. "What will it take for you to believe that I don't love Celeste?"

Sienna turned back to look into his eyes.

In those deep pupils, she didn't find the impatience or dismissiveness she expected.

Instead, there was an almost obsessive sincerity.

It was as if her answer genuinely mattered to him. As if this was truly tearing him apart.

She suddenly found it a little funny.

"Is it possible that you're the one who hasn't realized your own true feelings?" Sienna asked, her gaze mocking.

Jarred's brow twitched, his denial a knee-jerk reflex. "Impossible!"

Sienna stayed silent for two seconds before a slow smile crept onto her lips. "Alright. Do you want to make a bet?"