He Buried Me But I Painted My Own Resurrection novel Chapter 18

Susan jumped in immediately. "Mr. Gauthier, Ms. Sawyer..."

"I was asking her!" Grant stared intensely at Sienna.

Meeting his icy, disgusted gaze, Sienna explained, "It lunged at me and bit me. All I did was shake it off."

By now, the blood from the bite mark had trickled all the way down her ankle to her shoe, staining the pristine white canvas with bright red droplets.

Yet Grant merely shot it a dismissive, utterly indifferent glance.

"What kind of damage could a dog that small possibly do?" he scoffed, his tone thick with annoyance. "You're a grown woman. Are you seriously picking fights with a puppy?"

Lyla pressed herself against Grant's side, whimpering softly. "I don't want to blame Sienna, but my heart just breaks for Coco... He's so tiny, his bones are so fragile..."

Grant reached out and gently rubbed Lyla's back to comfort her.

Watching the tender gesture unfold right in front of her, Sienna felt a blinding stab of pain.

He had never, ever comforted her like that.

Grant suddenly spoke up. "Apologize to the dog."

The demand was delivered with absolute entitlement.

Sienna stood perfectly still. Her ankle was actively bleeding, and the red mark from Samuel's slap had yet to fade from her cheek.

But none of that physical pain even came close to the agonizing ache tearing through her chest.

"Grant." Her voice came out hoarse. "Are you seriously telling me to apologize to a dog?"

"It belongs to Lyla. You hurt it, so you need to own up to it," Grant replied casually, as if he were resolving the most trivial dispute in the world.

"What, do you feel wronged?"

The corners of his mouth twitched up in a barely perceptible, cruel smirk. "If you feel so wronged, then get out."

The moment his venomous words fell, Sienna's nails dug violently into her palms.

The sharp sting grounded her, but it did nothing to numb the suffocating despair crushing her heart.

A sudden rush of acidic sorrow burned the back of her throat, and her eyes instantly stung with tears. But she clamped her teeth down hard on her lower lip, stubbornly forcing the moisture back.

How could she not see what was happening?

He knew perfectly well that she had only returned for Eleanor's sake. He knew she wouldn't actually leave, which gave him the power to be absolutely ruthless.

Sienna looked up at the cold, untouchable man standing before her.

Lyla opened her mouth, likely preparing to fan the flames, but after catching the dangerous look on Grant's face, she wisely swallowed her words.

Without waiting for a response, Sienna turned and walked straight into the house.

No one tried to stop her.

Grant stood frozen, staring at the front door as it swung open and slowly drifted shut, his scowl deeply etched into his features.

Only then did he recall the fleeting glimpse of the swollen, red welt on Sienna's cheek.

Who had hit her?

The thought barely registered for a split second before he ruthlessly suppressed it.

It was none of his business.

Lyla leaned in and murmured softly, "Grant, aren't you going to say something to her? That attitude..."

"Enough," Grant cut her off, turning back inside. "Have someone take the dog to the vet to get checked out."

Lyla stood rooted to the spot, watching the direction Sienna had disappeared in, her crocodile tears long gone.

A faint, triumphant smile briefly ghosted across her lips before vanishing entirely.