Begging for a Second Chance (Sienna Sloan and Jarred Sterling) novel Chapter 33

"This is my home too." Jarred arched an eyebrow, his voice laced with its usual lazy drawl.

"Jarred, be reasonable." Sienna swatted his hand away. "This is my grandfather's inheritance. It has nothing to do with you."

She always drew clear boundaries and had never intended to rely on him for a single cent. Naturally, she wasn't about to tolerate his blatant audacity.

Jarred chuckled, the deep vibration of his chest transferring straight through her palm. The tingling sensation made her heart skip a beat.

"That's not what your grandfather said when he handed you over to me."

He pinched the back of her hand, his tone casual. "He said, 'Everything that belongs to my precious Sienna is yours. You have to protect it.'"

Sienna gritted her teeth, infuriated by his sheer shamelessness.

The Sterlings possessed monstrous wealth. With a single wave of his hand, Jarred could buy tens of thousands of apartments just like this one.

"You have enough real estate under your name to start a brokerage firm. Are you seriously going to fight me over this rundown shoebox?"

Their marriage had reached this point—completely shattered—and she wanted absolutely nothing to do with The Sterlings anymore.

She was exhausted. She just wanted to hold on to her grandfather's memory and live her life in peace.

Jarred looked completely unfazed. His fingertips stroked the soft curve of her waist, a hint of amusement dancing in his dark eyes. "That depends on my mood."

He paused, his tone turning playful. "If you keep me happy, I might just let it go. But if you piss me off... well, who knows?"

When it came to being shameless, Sienna was no match for him, nor did she have the energy to argue.

"Suit yourself. I'm going back to bed."

She tried to pry his hand off her, but the arm circling her waist suddenly tightened, dragging her flush against his chest.

"Jarred, let go!"

Humiliated and furious, Sienna raised her hand to slap him, only for him to catch her wrist mid-air.

Jarred's lips brushed against her ear, his hot breath sweeping across her skin as his teasing voice wrapped around her.

"What? You threw yourself into my arms, took advantage of me, and now you want to hit me?"

Jarred stayed silent, using his free hand to unbutton his shirt.

Sienna backed away warily, but when he peeled the fabric back from his left shoulder, she saw that dark red blood had soaked through more than half of it, looking horrifying under the lamp.

Sienna's breath caught. "...How did you do this?"

"I took a knife in close combat during my last mission," Jarred said casually, as if it were nothing more than a scraped knee.

Sienna remembered now. A sniper had made a mistake, nearly compromising the mission, and it was Jarred who stepped in to save the day.

His team had only praised his composure under fire, never mentioning a word about him getting injured.

Yet the very next day, the paparazzi had caught him accompanying Celeste to the hospital for a cold. In the photos, he had been carrying Celeste's bag, looking at her with total tenderness.

He was hurt this badly, yet he still ran around catering to Celeste.

Sienna didn't say another word. She turned on her heel, went to the bedroom to grab the first-aid kit, and dropped it in front of him.