Chapter 8 Legal Proceedings

But there was no response.

Meanwhile.

Chloe was about to chase after them, but got blocked by reporters at the side entrance of the venue. Camera flashes bombarded her from all directions.

"Ms. Green, what's your response to Ann's accusations?"

"Did you really plagiarize Ann's work?"

"We heard that ninety percent of your 'Rebirth' series was copied from Ann's designs. What do you have to say about that?"

Chloe's face turned deathly pale, her lips trembling as her hands clutched tightly at her dress.

Suddenly, like grabbing a lifeline, she desperately squeezed through the crowd and stumbled forward to grab Theodore's arm. "Theodore, please help me! Those reporters..."

Theodore frowned when he saw her. "I told you to go abroad and lay low. Why didn't you leave? Why did you come here?"

Chloe's eyes were panicked. "I... I wanted to come explain. I thought I could clear things up..."

Tears streamed down her face. "Theodore, please believe me. I just made a mistake. Help me find Sienna and get her to authorize the designs to me... If you talk to her, she'll listen to you..."

Theodore looked at the tear-stained face before him, but what flashed through his mind was Sienna on stage earlier.

For the first time, he realized he really didn't like Chloe when all she did was cry.

Theodore coldly pulled his arm away, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Go back first."

"But..."

"Go back!"

Chloe wanted to say more, but the side door of the venue opened and Sienna walked out.

Theodore's gaze immediately followed her, and without waiting for Chloe to speak again, he had already left.

Watching Theodore abandon her to find Sienna, Chloe's nails dug into her palms. Her expression remained unchanged, but her eyes were full of dark currents and hatred.

"Sienna..."

However, before Theodore could call out to her, another figure stepped forward first.

Alexander, wearing a dark gray suit, walked up to Sienna and naturally handed her the coffee in his hand.

"All done? Are you tired?"

Sienna took the coffee. "I'm okay."

"The car's at the entrance. I'll take you back."

"Okay."

Watching Alexander's hand hovering protectively behind her back, the two of them intimate and natural together, Theodore unconsciously clenched his fists. Without hesitation, he strode after them.

Just as their car was about to leave, a black Maybach pulled directly in front of them to block their way.

The window rolled down, revealing Theodore's cold, handsome face.

"Get in." He looked at Sienna and commanded.

Sienna frowned, displeased. "What is it?"

Why wasn't he with Chloe? What did he want with her?

"To discuss the divorce." Theodore pushed open the car door and got out. His gaze moved past her to land on Alexander, his hostility obvious. "What, won't Mr. Clark even give me that much time?"

Alexander pushed up his glasses with a gentle smile. "Mr. Baker, you're joking. But Sienna just finished her press conference and needs to rest."

"I'm asking her, not you." Theodore cut him off, then turned to look at Sienna. "Five minutes."

Sienna didn't want to argue with him in public. "Alexander, wait for me a moment."

She and Theodore walked to a corner not far away.

Theodore stood facing her, his gaze heavy as he looked at her.

"You're Ann."

"Yes." Sienna admitted it openly.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Sienna asked back, "Why should I tell you? What does this have to do with you?"

Theodore's expression darkened. "Do you know how much Baker Corporation's stock price has dropped because of this? If you had told me earlier that you were Ann..."

His accusatory tone made Sienna suddenly angry. She mocked him without mercy, "So you could threaten me to authorize my work to Chloe?"

Theodore fell silent.

Sienna took a deep breath, suppressing the tightness in her chest, and said with a cold laugh, "When you found out Chloe plagiarized, your first reaction was to get Ann to authorize the designs to Chloe. From start to finish, you never once questioned Chloe."

"Because you don't care about the truth, and you don't care who got plagiarized. All you care about is protecting Chloe's reputation and Baker Corporation's partnership. I have nothing to say to someone like you."

She had always been gentle by nature, rarely this aggressive.

Theodore's eyes darkened as he tried to explain. "It's not what you think..."

"It doesn't matter what it is anymore. I'll take back what belongs to me myself." Sienna looked at him. "One last question—will you sign the divorce papers or not?"

Theodore gazed at her deeply.

The woman before him was completely different from the Sienna in his memory.

Standing in front of him, there was no timidity, no pleasing, not even much anger—just a thin layer of it like fog that could dissipate at any moment.

In its place was calmness, decisiveness, and ruthlessness.

He'd heard friends say that only people who don't care about anything have hearts this cold and hard.

And that's what Sienna was now—she didn't care about anything.

Including him.

This realization made his chest feel inexplicably tight.

"I'll sign." He heard himself say. "But I have one condition."

"What?"

"I'll terminate my contract with Chloe." Theodore spoke slower than usual, as if weighing each word. "You come work as the lead designer for the company's 'Oriental Series.' Three-year contract."

"And in exchange, I'll sign the divorce papers."

Sienna froze for a moment, then she laughed.

"Theodore, you're really shameless."

When she finished laughing, she tucked her hair behind her ear, her eyes full of coldness. "Using the divorce to threaten me? What makes you think I'll give in?"

Theodore suppressed his discomfort and said, "This isn't a threat. It's a collaboration."

"Collaboration?" Sienna repeated the word. "When you were sleeping with Chloe, did you ever think there'd be a day you'd need to 'collaborate' with me?"

Theodore became angry with embarrassment. "Sienna!"

"You want me to work for you for three years in exchange for you signing the papers to set me free." Sienna stared at him unblinkingly, as if trying to see through his handsome exterior to his true face, to see just how cold-hearted he really was. "Theodore, do you think the whole world owes you? Do you think that just because you open your mouth, I should gratefully accept?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?" Sienna's voice was hoarse. "Do you know what three years means? It means I'd have to waste another three years on you!"

"I already gave you three years, and what did I get? My work plagiarized, my husband's betrayal, the other woman moving in!"

"What do you think I have left to give you?"

At that moment, Theodore saw the accumulated disappointment in her eyes.

His heart clenched, and he said urgently, "As long as you agree, you can name any conditions—salary, equity, design credits, even..."

Even not getting divorced.

"I'll agree to all of it." He spoke hastily, his voice carrying a fear he himself hadn't noticed.

"I don't want any of that. I don't need you to sign the divorce papers anymore." Sienna was resolute. "Let's go through legal proceedings."

With that, she turned and walked away without a trace of reluctance.