Sienna Johnson couldn’t bear to et Adrian Desmond’s gaze. She gently rubbed her injured arm and began to speak about Jasper and Xavier Young, intending to mislead Adrian by making him believe Xavier was hostile towards her, thereby casting doubt on anything Xavier might say.
"...I’m very upset about Jasper’s death... I know Xavier and Jasper were very close, like brothers... Xavier... he’s always believed I was responsible for Jasper’s death..." She spoke vaguely about Jasper’s death, careful not to assign bla or defend anyone.
Sienna raised her eyes, her gaze sincere. "Adrian, could you talk to him for ? The dead can’t be brought back to life. I hope he can stop grieving..."
Adrian said nothing.
"As long as Xavier stops being angry with , I’m willing to do anything!"
Sienna gently caressed her injured arm, hoping Adrian would ask how she’d gotten hurt. She would then seize the opportunity to bla Xavier. But Adrian never asked. Could it be that he already suspected her?
"Adrian, why aren’t you speaking? Do you... do you not believe either?" Feeling a sudden chill, she clenched her fists.
He stood up. Adrian, with his robust physique, positioned himself in front of her, conveniently blocking the dim lamplight from behind. His expression was unreadable as he slowly raised a hand to touch her face. "Mai, I truly want to believe you, but my intuition tells you’re lying!"
"You don’t believe ?" Her expression froze as she t Adrian’s cold, deep gaze.
Adrian remained silent.
"Since you don’t believe , whatever I say is useless! So, I have nothing more to say." Sienna turned slightly, avoiding his gaze, afraid he would see the guilt and panic in her eyes.
At this mont, she was at her wit’s end.
"Mai, my intuition is usually very accurate," Adrian said, "but this ti... I hope I’m wrong!"
I’m sorry! Sienna couldn’t continue. She had lied, and guilt gnawed at her. Adrian had laid things bare; she couldn’t bring herself to lie further. Besides, she had genuinely developed feelings for him.
"Adrian, I... I like you!"
Sienna felt that the saying, "Love arrives unknowingly, yet grows ever deeper," perfectly described her situation. She didn’t know when she had started to fall for this man; by the ti she realized it, she was already hopelessly smitten.
KNOCK KNOCK. There was a knock on the door. Adrian, already in a foul mood, yelled, "What is it!"
"Sixth Master, the ship has docked!" It was Xavier’s voice.
Adrian shouted, "Let Dr. Hyder co aboard and examine Mai! See if she’s truly pregnant or faking it!"
"Yes, Sixth Master!"
"Dr. Hyder?" Sienna knew Little Ninth wasn’t on the island, which was why she’d dared to maintain the pregnancy lie. She had calculated everything so carefully. When did a Dr. Hyder arrive on the island? Why didn’t I know?
Adrian’s thin lips tightened, a mocking glint in his eyes. "...Mai, you have no idea how overjoyed I was when I heard you were pregnant. So, I imdiately arranged for the best obstetrician and gynecologist to be brought to the island to care for you and the baby! That specialist is Dr. Hyder!"
Adrian’s thoughtfulness made Mai’s heart ache with a mix of bitterness and sorrow. Adrian, you... why are you so good to ?
"I never imagined," he continued, a cynical smile tugging at his lips, "that the obstetrician and gynecologist I brought here for you would, for his first task, have to examine whether you’re even pregnant at all—to check if you, this woman, have been lying to !" He felt it was the greatest irony in the world. He had poured his heart out for this woman, and in return, she repeatedly treated him like a fool.
A few minutes later, a voice announced from outside, "Sixth Master, Dr. Hyder is here. Shall he co in now?"
"Send him in! Have Dr. Hyder examine her thoroughly for !"
Sienna grabbed Adrian’s hand and whispered, "There’s no need for an examination. I’m not pregnant!" As the words left her lips, Sienna felt a strange sense of relief. This lie had been a heavy burden, weighing heavily on her heart.
If Sienna had harbored any doubts before, she now understood her own heart. She had fallen for this domineering, ruthless man who had taken her freedom...
"Mai, do you rember what you just told ?"
"I’m sorry!" She hung her head deeply in sha.
"I gave you a chance just now!" Adrian’s eyes blazed with anger as he looked at the woman before him, utterly disappointed. "If I hadn’t brought an obstetrician and gynecologist here, you still wouldn’t have told the truth!"
Apart from his sister, he had never poured so much of his heart into caring for another woman. But how had this woman repaid him? By running away and lying about being pregnant.
"...Adrian, I had no choice. I was caught by Charlie Parker. You have no idea how terrifying they are. They give the girls drugs, a neurotoxin that causes unconsciousness. An overdose doesn’t just damage the nervous system; it can be fatal." mories of that horrific night flashed in Sienna’s mind, fear filling her eyes.
"...They’re devils! They wouldn’t even spare a dead girl... Those two n... they took turns violating the dead girl’s body and then just casually buried her... She was so young, and she died just like that... Her parents will never see her again...
And that Uncle...
Adrian, if I hadn’t persuaded you to save , my fate would have been the sa as hers! I don’t want to end up like that girl! I want to live!"
Adrian listened, his expression unreadable.
"I don’t want to die!" I still have to get revenge on Frederick Stewart and Sabrina Johnson! If I die like this, I’ll never be able to rest in peace!
Adrian remained silent.
"Adrian, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have deceived you. I apologize. Can you forgive , please?" She reached out, clutching his arm in a desperate, pleading gesture. For soone as proud as Sienna, this was the greatest display of sincerity she could offer.
Adrian abruptly flung her hand away. Caught off guard, and with his superior strength, Sienna couldn’t stop him from easily shrugging her off.
Sienna bent over, gasping for breath, as Adrian’s furious voice thundered at her, "Mai, do you have any idea that even if you hadn’t told you were pregnant back then, I still would have saved you!..."
Sienna stared at him, speechless.
"But now! Now I truly regret saving you!" He suddenly seized her injured arm, his gaze dropping to it as he mocked, "Were you planning to bla Xavier for this injury on your arm too? The things you said, deliberately trying to make misunderstand Xavier—do you take for a fool?
Mai, you don’t seem to understand who I am.
I am Adrian Desmond!
I am the Adrian Desmond who commands the underworld of Amwaka!"
User Comments
0 comments from readers