I Stopped Loving Him When He Let Me Bleed Out novel Chapter 3

"What was it?" Sienna couldn't recall.

"About meeting my parents. They're here in Capital City and really want to meet you," Zachary said, his voice pitching up slightly with eagerness.-

The hallway was dead silent.

So quiet that she could hear the sharp, abrupt click of a lighter snapping shut at the end of the corridor—a crisp sound, like something snapping in two.

Sienna didn't look back.

Seeing she hadn't answered, Zachary quickly added,

"I just think you're incredible, so don't overthink it. My parents happen to be in town for a vacation, and I figured it was a rare chance. But if it feels too forward, we can forget it."

Sienna's fingers tightened around the paper bag.

At the end of the hall, the glowing tip of the cigarette continued to pulse in the dark.

She wasn't looking, but she knew he was there.

"Okay, set it up."

Zachary's voice carried an irrepressible thrill.

"Great! I'll tell them right away!"

Sienna nodded.

Zachary grew even more attentive.

"Let me drive you home."

At the other end of the corridor.

The red ember flared wildly, glowing intensely for a second.

As if someone had taken a vicious drag.

Then, the cigarette was forcefully stubbed out on top of the trash can.

Finn stood there, completely motionless.

He had heard everything.

Every single word, crystal clear.

"Meeting the parents."

"Okay, set it up."

He squeezed his eyes shut, his Adam's apple bobbing sharply.

He stood there for a long time, long enough for the ashes to scatter on the floor.

Then, he turned and vanished into the stairwell.

The sound of his footsteps echoed in the empty stairwell, thudding heavily with each step, just like a broken heartbeat.

-

At seven-ten, the sky was still dark.

Sienna slipped into the passenger seat of Zachary's car.

He started the engine but didn't pull out immediately, turning on the seat warmers first.

"Cold?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

He reached over and adjusted the heat vents toward her.

As they drove out of the underground garage, a bitter March chill clung to the air. A thick fog had rolled in, illuminated by the dim, yellow streetlights.

Staring out the window, Sienna suddenly thought: this was probably what being with Zachary would be like.

Steady, gentle, with no massive highs or devastating lows.

When she first started dating Finn, she really believed it was a Cinderella story.

But one day, the fairy tale shattered.

It wasn't that she lost her glass slipper; it was someone handing her a magnifying glass and telling her she simply didn't deserve it.

It happened six months into her relationship with Finn.

His mother had asked her out for coffee alone at the most expensive hotel downtown.

Yolanda Fletcher wore a perfectly tailored designer dress, a glittering diamond bracelet wrapped around her wrist. She spoke in a gentle tone, but her eyes acted like a measuring tape, sizing Sienna up from head to toe.

"Sienna, I hear your parents are civil servants?"

"Yes."

"Which city?"

"Riverdale."

"Riverdale..." Yolanda took a sip of her coffee and smiled. "An old college friend of mine is the director of the resources board over there. Shall I put in a word and have your parents moved to a more comfortable position?"

Sienna had been stunned.

It wasn't a kind offer.

It was a deliberate display of the massive gap between their families.

"That won't be necessary, Mrs. Fletcher. My parents are perfectly happy with their jobs."

"I see." Yolanda set her cup down, her gaze settling heavily on her, a thinly veiled contempt hidden in her smile.

"Finn has an older brother who's already taken over the family business. As for Finn, he's been spoiled since childhood. He does whatever he wants, and we let him. But there is one thing we demand of him: the woman he marries must be worthy of his status."

The word "worthy" hit her like a bucket of ice water over her head.

"I don't mean that in a bad way," Yolanda smiled softly. "You're beautiful, well-educated, and a lovely girl. But in our family, marriage is never just between two people. Think about it—when Finn goes to galas with his friends, and they bring heiresses and socialites, what will he be bringing..."