"You’re just putting on a brave face." Xavier Young didn’t believe her.
Sienna Johnson stood up and walked to the window. Outside was a vista of blue sky and ocean, with seagulls soaring freely. Her graceful silhouette was frad by the window as she looked up, her expression filled with longing for the open sky.
"Xavier, I can prove to you that I’m not sad," she said softly.
"Proof? How can you prove sothing like that?"
Sienna turned around, leaning against the window, a light smile playing on her lips, fleeting like a gentle breeze. "I’m willing to leave right now and never see the Sixth Master again. Do you still not believe ?"
"Xavier, I know you hate . Why don’t you help leave this place and go ho? My fiance is still waiting for ."
Xavier Young felt foolish. He had only shared the gossip about lanie Carpenter with Sienna to provoke her, to watch her beco sad and miserable. Yet, she didn’t seem to care about the Sixth Master at all.
Seeing her so eager to be rid of Adrian Desmond, Xavier couldn’t stand it anymore.
How could soone as wise, powerful, and distinguished as Adrian Desmond be so disdained by the woman in front of him?
"You fickle woman! The Sixth Master treats you so well, yet you’re still thinking about your fiance?" As Adrian’s die-hard fan, Xavier felt indignant on his behalf.
Sienna was amused by his reaction. She walked over and actually reached out to pinch Xavier’s cheek. He was young, and his face was pleasantly chubby to the touch. "Xavier, you’re so adorable, I can’t help but like you."
Facing Sienna’s teasing, Xavier’s face turned as red as a boiled shrimp. "You... you... you..." After sputtering for a mont, he blurted out, "Shaless!"
"Haha..." Sienna laughed heartily. It had been a long ti since she had laughed so freely. She was so overco with mirth that she started to feel short of breath.
"Mai, stop teasing him," Kiki said, unable to watch any longer.
Sienna composed herself and returned to the serious matter at hand. With Adrian away, this was a perfect opportunity to escape. If Xavier would just help her, she could really get away.
She had to leave, before her heart was completely lost to him.
"Xavier, I truly don’t mind. I’d be glad if the Sixth Master and his fiancee beco inseparable and forget all about an old fla like ."
Mouths can lie, but the heart cannot. Sienna clearly felt the sting of pain and anger when she heard Adrian had gone to see Miss Carpenter. She was not a generous woman. Her pride and dignity would never allow her to share a husband with other won!
"Xavier, while the Sixth Master is away, could you help ? I promise I’ll never appear before you again to be an eyesore."
"You want to escape again?"
Kiki looked from Sienna to Xavier, then fixed her gaze on Sienna. She walked to Sienna’s side and pleaded, "Mai, you can’t run away again. Think about the kind of people you encountered last ti you tried. Besides, if the Sixth Master finds out you ran away, he’ll be furious."
Sienna looked at Xavier, her eyes full of trust. It seed that with his help, she could finally escape. "Last ti I didn’t have Xavier’s help, did I? This ti, with his help, it will be different."
Sienna said calculatingly, "Xavier, don’t you agree?"
"Don’t call Xavier! My na is Xavier Young!" Xavier Young felt as if Sienna were calling him by a diminutive, like a mother would call her own son.
Kiki, terrified that Xavier might agree to Sienna’s reckless request, interjected, "Xavier Young, if you dare help Mai escape, the Sixth Master will find out, and he’ll never forgive you!"
"Then we just won’t let the Sixth Master know! Xavier, if you help escape, you’ll never have to see this ’annoying woman’ again!" Sienna’s tone was like that of the evil witch tempting Snow White with the poisoned apple.
"Mai, stop it. I beg you," Kiki was on the verge of tears, but Sienna and Xavier both ignored her. The two stared at each other, locked in a silent showdown; whoever looked away first would lose.
"What? Scared? Cat got your tongue?" Sienna deliberately provoked Xavier.
Xavier was impulsive and easily angered; it didn’t take much to rile him. Sienna hoped he would beco angry enough to help her escape.
Sienna chuckled softly. Her laughter seed to breathe life into the air, as if spring had returned, captivating all who heard it. Even Xavier Young found himself montarily entranced.
"Or perhaps..." Sienna’s eyes flicked to the side. "You’re just being duplicitous. You say you hate , but deep down..." Her eyes shimred as she teased, "You can’t actually bear to see go... can you, Xavier? Hmm?"
Xavier’s face flushed crimson instantly, completely caught off guard by Sienna’s brazen words. "You... I can’t bear to part with you?"
"See, Xavier? You really can’t bear to see go."
Xavier was impulsive, and Sienna was deliberately provoking him. "Xavier," she began, "you must have never been in love. So little boys, still immature, bully the girls they like just to get their attention. In reality, they don’t hate the girls; they just don’t know how to express their feelings."
"Xavier, I can’t help but feel your behavior is just like one of those little boys who doesn’t know how to express his true feelings!"
Xavier had never been in love, so he was a bit bewildered. The look in Sienna’s eyes seed strange to him.
Kiki, seeing Xavier being swayed by Sienna’s words, quickly tried to snap the foolish boy out of it. "Xavier Young, Mai is just trying to provoke you! If you really help her escape, you’ll fall right into her trap."
"Kiki, you’re really a nuisance!" Sienna didn’t actually dislike Kiki; on the contrary, she rather admired girls with Kiki’s character—forthright, honest, brave, and with a touch of naivete.
"Mai, it’s so dangerous out there. Isn’t it better for us to just stay on the island?"
Sienna gave Kiki a deep look, then turned back to gaze at the blue sky and ocean outside. Kiki belonged to this world. She did not. She couldn’t accept being a re accessory to a man, much less polygamy. Adrian had a fiancee; was she supposed to beco his mistress?
"Xavier Young, think carefully about what I said."
"Don’t you want to kill to avenge Jasper? All sorts of accidents can happen on the road while escaping, can’t they?" To secure her escape, Sienna even resorted to saying such things. She didn’t believe Xavier could resist the temptation.
Kiki, however, had her own stubborn streak. Seeing she couldn’t dissuade Sienna, she threatened Xavier, "Xavier Young, if you dare help Mai escape, I’ll report you to the Sixth Master! He won’t spare you!"
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