Begging for a Second Chance (Sienna Sloan and Jarred Sterling) novel Chapter 49

In the photo, a man's hand—wearing a platinum watch—was meticulously piping frosting onto a half-finished champagne cake.

His face wasn't in the frame, but Sienna recognized the watch.

She had the matching women's version, engraved with their initials.

The caption read: "Casually mentioned I wanted one, so he made it from scratch. Too sweet."

Staring at the cake in front of her now, Sienna felt an overwhelming wave of nausea.

She forced a bitter smile, her own voice sounding hollow to her ears. "Did you make this yourself?"

Jarred arched an eyebrow, seemingly finding her question amusing. "You really think that highly of my baking skills?"

He quickly explained, "A champagne cake takes way too much technique and specialized ingredients. I haven't quite mastered it yet."

Sienna nodded slowly. "Did you make sure to drop off a slice for Celeste?"

Jarred's face darkened instantly. "Why are you bringing someone else into this for no reason?"

To Sienna, his reaction was nothing more than the defensiveness of a man caught in a lie.

"Jarred."

She looked at him, suddenly feeling so exhausted she didn't even have the energy to fake a smile.

"I didn't understand until today that your affection was never exclusive to anyone. It's just a tool you use whenever it's convenient.

Your kindness is so incredibly cheap. It's so cheap that anyone can walk up and take a piece of it. You're the most heartless person I know."

She used to love the cakes he bought her, not because of the sugar, but because they represented his blatant favoritism, his unconditional indulgence.

Now that she had hit rock bottom, she finally realized the truth: the irreplaceable connection she thought they shared was nothing but a one-sided fantasy.

Jarred didn't seem to fully grasp the underlying meaning of her words, but seeing her reddened eyes made him frown.

He tossed the hyacinths and the cake onto the desk, grabbing a tissue to wipe away her tears.

His gaze accidentally dropped to her left hand. The wedding ring she had never taken off was gone. He didn't even know when she had removed it.

And the crest that marked her as his wife—she didn't want that anymore, either.

Jarred tilted his head slightly, a mocking smirk tugging at his lips. "In such a rush to cut ties? Afraid the next guy you've lined up will get the wrong idea?"

Sienna had lost all desire to defend herself. "Yes."

Her answer was brutally blunt. "Consider it doing each other a favor. Let's just part ways peacefully."

The icy indifference in Sienna's eyes twisted like a knife in Jarred's chest.

Looking at her cold, detached expression, he could no longer keep up his nonchalant facade, yet he had nowhere to direct his mounting fury.

Without another second of hesitation, he spun on his heel and stormed out without a single word.

The office door slammed shut behind him with a deafening crash.