bChapter /b55

Sienna slept for almost three hours. When she woke up, she found Vivian bfast /basleep on the spacious sofab, /bbwith /bplenty of room for her to sprawl out. Sienna bgently /bdraped ba /bnket over her, then freshened up and changed before leaving the room.

“Elisa, bhave /bthe kitchen prepare some soupter. Vivian doesn’t look well. Tell the nutritionist to arrange a bnced diet for bher/bb,/bb” /bSienna ordered.

b“/bbOkay/bb, /bMiss Sienna.” Elisa nodded respectfully. “About Miss Amber-”

Amber went out alone and hadn’t returned byet/b.

Sienna said, “I knowb./bb” /b

Sienna asked, “Lana, bwhere’s /bAmber?b” /b

Lana replied, “Miss Enna, Miss Amber is bat /bCentral Park. Reno is keeping an eye on her. Should we bgo/bb?/bb” /b

Sienna nced at the ominous clouds, slipped into her brown trench coat, and ordered, “We’re going.”

“Understood,” said Lana.

Amber sat alone in the seatb, /bbtears /bstreaming down her cheeks. So absorbed was she in her turbulent thoughts that she failed to notice bthe /bshifting

bweather /babout her.

Jocelyn has hit me many times before, but it never really hurt. So why does Sienna’s seemingly light bp /bmake my heart bfeel /blike bit’s /babout to stop? It just hurts so much,‘ she wondered and felt utterly miserable.

Amber had bnever /bexperienced such emotional turmoil before.

She bwas /balready eight that year, and she never forgot that Sienna was bher /bbsister/b. Sienna doted on her, and the way bshe /bcared for Amber bwas /bnothing like Jocelyn’s.

But when that hazy figure from my memories finally reappeared, what Amber got bwasn’t /bwarmth. It was ba /bstinging p.

Amber thought bitterly, ‘She only pped me for Vivian’s sake. To herb, /bVivian is the only real family, right?‘

Amber bwas /blost in a whirlwind of anxious thoughts. She only felt the biting chill when a sudden gust of wind swept through.

Amber looked up. Dark clouds loomed as heavy rain nted against the ivyb–/bbcovered /bwalls, while the thick trees obscured her view. She blinked in surpriseb. /b‘It’s raining? How did I not notice?‘ she thought.

Amber stood up and reached out her hand. The downpour made leaving impossibleb. /bShe was only in a white T–shirt. Another gust of wind blew past, carrying rain that stung her skin.

Amber shivered from the cold, hugging her arms tightly around herself. Instinctively, bshe /breached for her phone, only to realize she’d left it back on the couch.

Seeing this, Reno almost wanted to rush out and drape her own coat over Amber. ‘What an adorable little thing, so different from Miss Enna’s cool, elegant vibe. She’s all soft and sweet; I just want to pinch those cheeks.

Reno bit down hard on her straw, guzzling the bstrawberry /byogurt. ‘Miss Enna, where are you?‘ she wondered anxiously. ‘Why aren’t you here yetb? /bAmber’s going to catch ba /bcold out here!

Standing a short distance away, Sienna watched Amber shivering from beneath her ck umbre.

Her grip on the handle tightened ever so slightly, and though her eyes remained cool and distant, a flicker of heartache showed in her usually indifferent gaze.

Amber’s words had infuriated Sienna. The very scene she dreaded most hade to pass, family turning against each other, with the deepest woundsing from those bound by blood.

Lana spoke softly from the side, “Miss Enna, Miss Amber bis /bstill young and naiveb. /bHaving been under Jocelyn’s influence for so long, it’s inevitable she’d be baffected /bby her words.

“The fact that Miss Amber ran out so heartbroken shows just how much she bcares /babout you. You two had only just met again, and you pped her right baway/b. She must be bdevastated /binside. I’m sure she didn’t mean what she said about Miss Vivian.”

‘Amber’s almost beighteen/b, while Sienna bis /btwenty–eight. With a bten/b–year age gap, Sienna must bhave /bbeen like a mother figure to Amber, Lana thought.

Sienna stepped forward with purpose.

Seeing the rain showed no signs bof /bstopping, Amber pouted, then crouched down and silently stared at the damp floor tiles beneath her feet.

+15

A pair bof /bck shoes appeared bin /bfront of her. Amber jerked her head up, meeting Sienna’s cold byet /bstunningly beautiful bface/b.

Amber met Sienna’s bgaze /bfor barely btwo /bseconds bbefore /bquickly looking baway/b. Her bnose /bbtingled /band her eyes burned with unshed tearsb. /bb‘/bPathetic, she scolded herself and snorted inwardly. ‘Am I breally /babout to bcry /bin front of herb! /b

bAmber /bcouldn’t hold back bany /bblonger /band blurted out, putting on her toughest bact/bb. /b“Why are you here?”

????????????????

Sienna watched as Amber stood there, trembling but still baring her bws /band putting on a tough front. An inexplicable ache tugged at Sienna’s

heartb. /b

Sienna took off her bcoat /band reached out, but Amber instinctively recoiled, bher /bvoice rising in bshaky /bbravado. b“/bbIf /byou bdare /bhit me again, I won’t hold back. I’m btough/b, you know? I—”

Before Amber could finish, she bwas /bsuddenly wrapped in warmth. Sienna’s uniqueb, /bcool fragrance filled Amber’s bsenses/b. It smelled so nice that she froze in surpriseb. /b

Amber’s eyes flew wide in shock, bher /bpale lips forming ba /bsmall pout as she stared at Sienna in bewilderment. Amber’s bsweet /band obedient little appearance made Sienna’s bheart /bmelt.

b“/bbY/bb–/bYou-“Amber stammered, bher /bbvoice /btrembling. ‘Why bis /bshe dressing me? bAs /bif I’d beven /bwant her help, she thought. ‘Like I need her fake concern. She’s only here for Vivian.

I don’t want your coat,” Amber snapped, already shrugging off the jacket to shove it back at her.

H

Sienna ced her hands firmly on Amber’s shoulders. “Stop fidgeting. You’ll catch a cold.”

Amber snorted, yanked off the bcoat/b, and thrust it back at Sienna before turning away. “I don’t need your bcoat/b. Like I’m beven /bcold.”

The moment she finished speaking, an involuntary shiver ran through her, goosebumps rising all bover/b. ‘So cold,’ she wondered, “The weather just changes on a dime. How annoying.

Sienna watched Amber’s contradictory behavior, a flicker of helplessness in her eyes. In a gentle voice, she asked, “Did it hurt?”

Amber bristled, ready to snap back. “bAre /byou about to bsay /bI don’t know what’s good for me? Well, I- Wait? What did you just say?” She was caught off guard, her tough act faltering for a moment.

Sienna stepped closer, her cool fingertips lightly brushing against Amber’s cheek. Amber’s pupils trembled violently as the thought struck her. b‘/bbIs /bshe asking if my bface /bhurts?’

At the memory of that p, Amber’s nose tingled again. A wave of grievance welled up inside her, turning her eyes slightly red as she swatted Sienna’s hand away.

“Stop pretending to care. You only pped me because of Vivian, didn’t you? Go p her instead, then maybe I’ll forgive you.” Amber crossed bher /barms defiantly bover /bher chest and straightened her back, putting on her toughest face.

Even with her teeth chattering from the cold, Amber still stubbornly refused to show any weakness.

“Amberb, /byou still remember me, right?” Sienna asked. At her words, Amber froze mid–motion, and the proud, aloof mask she’d been wearing vanished instantly.

A flicker of grief shed in her beyes/b, but she masked it expertly. She snapped stubbornly, lifting her chin, “I don’t know you.e from? I only have one bsister/b, and that’s—”

For some reason, at that moment, Amber just couldn’t bring herself to say Jocelyn’s name.

Where did you even

‘Ugh, what a coward I am, Amber scolded herself. She lifted her chin, trying to shoot Sienna a haughty look, but all she managed

neck.

‘She’s bso /btall. Why is she so freakishly tall?‘ Amber grumbled inwardly.

Amber bwas /bin sneakersb, /band standing before Sienna in her btwo/b–inch heelsb, /bthere bwas /bjust no way she could match Sienna’s presence.

‘bIt’s /bbo /b

ight. ‘Or

at