"That night, she had so wine, got a bit bold, I guess, and kissed my cheek when I wasn’t looking," Simon Forrester said with a pitiful tone. From certain angles, he was also a victim.
"And then?"
"I was going to warn her to be careful, but Jack and Logan finished taking pictures and dragged to a private room to drink with the project people. We drank until after eleven. I felt really dizzy, so I hurried them to send back to my room to sleep."
The dining room was already cleaned up.
Simon Forrester sat at his usual spot, his jaw clenched and face displeased, with a sign in front of him labeled "Defendant."
Sienna Thornton stood across from him, her face stern as she asked, "Can anyone prove you were alone in your room all night?"
"Harrison Rowe. Didn’t you call him that night and tell him to keep an eye on ? So he slept on the sofa in my room all night long, never left once!" Simon Forrester spoke with firmness.
Sienna squinted, thinking to herself: Harrison’s testimony as Simon’s little sidekick, who’s dependent on him, isn’t that credible.
"You took an oath, right? You know what happens if you lie, right?"
Simon nodded obediently, "I know."
Sienna continued, "You should know that if I check the hotel’s surveillance, I’ll find out exactly what happened with Harrison in your room that night, right?"
Without a change in expression, Simon replied, "Of course I know, feel free to check. If they don’t let you see the footage, I’ll step in!"
Sienna finally reduced the iciness on her face and, with a playful glare at him, returned to the head of the table. She picked up a long spoon used as a gavel, knocked it twice against a coaster, and declared seriously, "Due to insufficient evidence, this court rules the defendant not guilty of infidelity. Released in the courtroom!"
After saying this, she dropped the spoon-gavel and left the dining room.
Simon quickly chased after her, pulling her into his arms and grinning, "Thank you, Your Honor."
Sienna still wasn’t inclined to give him the ti of day. She imdiately broke free from his embrace and coldly said, "This isn’t over yet!"
She was naturally referring to his childhood engagent with Nina Sinclair.
But Simon decided to play dumb.
Sienna pointed to the living room, "Go over there and do a plank."
"If I do it, will you forgive ?"
"Hmm?~" Sienna elongated her tone, arms crossed in front of her chest, squinting as she retorted, "You’re trying to negotiate with after making a mistake? Do you want to kick you out any minute?"
With that, she lifted her long leg and playfully kicked his firm, toned derrière twice.
Simon yelped, quickly turned around to shield his backside, and said with grievance, "Alright, alright, I’ll go."
With a dejected face, he headed to the living room, lowered himself in a push-up position, keeping elbows and shoulders at right angles to his body, supporting it with his toes and forearms, his arms forming right angles under his shoulders.
This was a core-strengthening exercise requiring a fair degree of physical fitness—doing it for five minutes was quite impressive, with most unable to last even three minutes. It was much tougher than push-ups.
Simon initially lowered himself with ease.
Sienna then fetched three eggs from the refrigerator, arranging them in a straight line on the floor beneath his abdon, and joked, "Until I say you can get up, if you break any of these three eggs, you’ll spend the night outside reflecting again."
"... How long before I can get up?"
"Depends on how honest you are." With that, Sienna picked up the remote and went to sit on a single sofa ahead.
Simon maintained his calm for the first five minutes, but by the tenth minute, sweat was dripping to the floor.
Sienna was watching a legal show, her fair feet slipped out of her slippers, swaying before Simon.
Sweat drenched Simon’s face and perated his T-shirt, his abdominal muscles starting to cramp slightly.
"How much longer?" he asked through clenched teeth.
Glancing at the clock, Sienna replied casually, "Another ten minutes."
"... I... damn... dammit... this is killing !" By the fifteenth minute, Simon was rambling incoherently.
Seeing the timing right, Sienna switched off the TV.
Thinking she was finally letting him off, Simon’s joy was palpable, albeit short-lived when Sienna nullified it with a straightforward "continue," leaving him utterly disheartened.
He gritted his teeth, trying to keep his body from collapsing, cheering himself up inside.
Sienna got up, poured a cup of water, took a sip, sat back down, and asked leisurely, "So, I heard you and Nina had an arranged engagent in childhood?"
"... Not really."
Seeing he was still unwilling to be truthful, Sienna’s gaze turned stern, "Don’t clear it up, and it’s another ten minutes."
Realizing he couldn’t last much more than two or three minutes, and should his strength give out, he’d crush the eggs beneath and be subjected to further scrutiny outside, Simon couldn’t afford to hold back anymore. He hurriedly spilled everything about him and Nina: "... Her mom and my mom... are like sisters... she ca to play a lot when we were kids... just a joke among adults... I was firmly against it... my grandpa... supports you!"
His disjointed words ca out like a dying man’s last words, but Sienna caught the gist, furrowing her brow lightly, "What do you an your grandpa supports ?"
"My grandpa... knows... about us... he’s... already... confronted the Sinclair Family!"
Oblivious to the hierarchy within the Forrester Family or how Old Master Forrester doted on his only grandson, Sienna didn’t take Simon’s words to heart.
But learning that Nina and Simon’s childhood engagent was rely an adult’s fanciful matchmaking, and they’d known each other since childhood without any spark, left Sienna rather satisfied.
She sipped water to moisten her throat, sat upright, and asked clearly, "Last question: After reflecting last night, have you figured out how to prevent such things in the future?"
"Nina... will... resign!"
"And if there’s another Nina?"
"Then I’ll... take your surna... beco... a live-in... son-in-law!"
With that, he suddenly relaxed and fell back onto the sofa, clutching his abdon, panting heavily, his T-shirt and hair soaked through.
Sienna rerouted her focus, set the cup down seriously, "Did I say you could get up?"
His breathing still irregular, Simon replied, "I already answered your last question!"
"But I don’t accept your answer. Go spend the night outside thinking it over again." Sienna wasn’t about to be fooled, leaving that remark as she picked up her cup and went to shower.
After finishing her shower, she found Simon already lying in bed.
She walked over to lift his covers, "You got in bed without showering?"
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