Chapter 4

When Julian caught his balance, his face still wore a look of disbelief.

Sienna had already rushed over. She took his arm and turned on me, her voice piercing. "Are you insane? Embarrassing yourself in public wasn't enough, now you're shoving him? Did you forget who pays for the food you eat, the clothes you wear, everything you use?"

I sat there on the floor and laughed.

She froze. "What are you laughing at?"

I didn't answer.

I was only thinking: living on edge every single day, unable to protect even my own mother.

And I had put up with that life for ten years.

"Fine." Sienna folded her arms. "You think I'm wrong? Then let me show you the life you'd be living without the Ashfords."

She hauled me outside.

Julian followed. He didn't stop her.

The car pulled up in a neighborhood so run-down it barely looked real.

The alleys were so narrow only one person could pass at a time. A few homeless men lay along the base of the walls, their clothes so ragged you couldn't tell what color they'd once been. They stared at the car without blinking.

Sienna pointed out the window. "See them? That's what you were supposed to be."

She pushed me out of the car. "Stay here three days. Get a real taste of how hard it is to earn a living."

Julian frowned. "Sienna, isn't this place a little—"

"What, can't bear to part with her?"

He glanced at me. "I'll come get you in three days."

"Julian." I stopped him. "Leave Nana alone."

He paused, then nodded. The car drove away.

When the men closed in, I didn't even get the chance to run.

Someone tore at my clothes. Someone pinned me to the ground. Several pairs of hands were on me at once.

Laughter pressed in from every side.

Then a gunshot rang out. Men in black poured in from both ends of the alley, and my attackers scattered faster than rabbits.

A pair of leather shoes stopped in front of me.

I looked up. When I saw the face, my whole body went rigid.

"You?"

•   *   *

In the car, Julian didn't say a word.

After a while, he finally spoke. "Sienna, the money for the hospital. Did you send it?"

However much he indulged Sienna's games, the medical bills couldn't stop.

He still had that much of a line.

Sienna hesitated for half a second. "Of course I did. You don't trust me?"

Julian didn't reply.

She immediately pressed herself against him, her voice sickly sweet. "Let's go out on the yacht tonight. You promised."

Julian looked her over. The dress, the shoes, the bag, the necklace at her throat.

He remembered she hadn't been like this when they first met.

Back then she had seemed frugal, independent, different from the other women.

Now, from head to toe, she was more expensive than any woman he had ever known.

But he gave in anyway. "Let me run home first and change."

Sienna let out a breath of relief. Julian noticed.

•   *   *

Back at the house, Sienna waited in the car. When Julian pushed open the door, he found the staff gathered in the kitchen, gnawing on stale bread.

The moment they saw him, they all scrambled to their feet. "Sir."

Julian glanced at what they were holding and frowned. "Can the Ashfords no longer afford to feed you? Why is everyone eating like this?"

No one spoke.

Nana Ruth worked up the nerve to step forward. "Sir, ever since Miss Sienna arrived, she's been docking our wages."

A vein throbbed at Julian's temple.

Sienna's games were one thing. But skimping on the staff's food? If word got out, what would people say?

He pulled out a card and tossed it on the table. "From now on, you don't answer to her on this."

Passing Claire's room, he stopped.

He pushed the door open. The room was almost empty. Just a bed and a closet.

Julian opened the closet.

A few of the plainest coats hung inside.

He called to a passing maid. "Where are my wife's clothes? Out being cleaned?"

He had the newest collections sent over every month. Her closet shouldn't look like this.

The maid lowered her head. "They were all thrown out."

"Thrown out? Why?"

"Miss Sienna arranged it."

Julian stood there, and suddenly he remembered the day Sienna moved in.

She had stood in the great hall and declared, full of righteousness: "Families like yours—everything you eat and drink is squeezed out of ordinary people. If you want me to stay, fine. But everything in this house goes my way."

At the time he'd thought she was special.

Not like anyone else.

Only now did he understand that she had thrown out all of his wife's things.

So how had Claire been living these past few months?

The click of high heels came from behind him.

"Julian, you're still not ready? I can't wait any longer—"

Sienna walked over in head-to-toe designer labels. Next to the few shabby coats in the closet, the contrast was so glaring it was almost funny.

Julian stared at her. "Who told you to throw out Claire's clothes?"

Sienna stuck out her tongue and wrapped herself around his arm. "You promised me, remember? Everything in this house goes my way. I just wanted her to understand how hard you work for your money. I didn't do anything wrong."

She pressed herself close.

Julian felt the heat rise in him, and it burned away the last of his irritation.

He pinched her nose. "Don't do it again. Whatever else she is, she's still my wife."

At the word wife, Sienna's expression stiffened for an instant.

Then she smiled again. "Got it."

•   *   *

For the next two days, Julian stayed by Sienna's side.

But something kept feeling wrong.

No warm milk was waiting at his bedside at night. No suit was laid out and pressed for him in the morning.

Even the familiar scent that used to fill the house was gone.

It was Claire. She wasn't there.

He lay in bed with his palm over his eyes.

He admitted it: he couldn't do without her.

He picked up his phone and called his assistant. "Go bring my wife home."

Sienna had just woken up. Hearing that, she climbed on top of him. "Why? It hasn't been three days yet."

Julian looked at her. For the first time, he felt annoyed.

"Don't think I don't know what you're after." His voice went cold. "But Claire will always be my wife. No one will ever take her place."

"Behave yourself, and you can stay with me. Don't, and you're gone."

Sienna froze. She didn't dare say another word.

The phone rang.

His assistant's voice was so frantic it cracked. "Sir, Mrs. Ashford is gone. We've searched everywhere. We can't find her."