The Bigshot Married Himself to the Heiress-Chapter 736 - 777: Caught Making Phone Calls with Another Man
Sienna Johnson read the message from Noah Phillips: "Beauty isn’t a sin; the sin lies in a person’s heart!"
She pondered her reply. But because of beauty, creatures are hunted, driven to the brink of extinction. In that case, isn’t beauty a sin? she mused, her fingertips sliding across the screen, typing and deleting. She found herself at a loss for words.
They had once been the closest of companions, relying on each other for survival. Yet, even such intimacy couldn’t withstand the cruelty of time. If she and Noah could reach a point where they had nothing to say to each other, what about her and Adrian Desmond? Adrian Desmond wasn’t an ordinary man. Her marriage to him could one day place her, and even her family, in danger. If, one day, she, her children, or her family were harmed because of Adrian Desmond, could she and Adrian continue their relationship?
Just as she was wondering how to reply, her cell phone suddenly rang. Startled, Sienna almost dropped it.
It was a call from Noah Phillips...
She didn’t know whether to answer.
The phone kept ringing, its persistence unwavering. Sienna finally answered, "Brother..."
That single word, "Brother," dredged up a flood of memories.
"It feels like I haven’t seen you in ages," Noah said. "I heard from Vivian Abbey that you went to Abyanabad. Are you planning to settle there?" His voice was unhurried and gentle, like a spring breeze, calming her heart.
"No! I’m just here on vacation. I’ll be heading back in a few days."
"Are you unhappy? Is he not treating you well?"
Sienna forced a smile. "Who told you that? We’re doing fine."
"Your voice doesn’t sound happy!"
Being too familiar with someone was often troublesome. No matter how hard you tried to hide something, they could always discern the truth from the subtlest clues.
"No! You must have misheard." One shouldn’t air their dirty laundry in public. Although everyone at Desmond Manor knew about her arguments with Adrian, she didn’t want Noah to find out.
"I’m planning to visit Sileria City soon," Noah continued. "When do you think you’ll be back? If our schedules align, let’s grab a meal together. It’s been too long since we last met."
Previously, Sienna would have found an excuse to refuse, but this time, she accepted.
She was a selfish person. If she loved someone, she expected to be treated with equal affection and to see her love reciprocated. Loving someone unconditionally, without expecting anything in return—that wasn’t something Sienna would do. Adrian knew perfectly well that she disliked Melanie Carpenter, yet he still allowed Melanie access to the Desmond family. They had even grown quite close recently. Why, then, should she keep her distance from Noah just because of Adrian’s preferences?
"Around the 26th," she replied.
"I should be in Sileria City around then. I’ll call you."
"Mm-hmm."
Sienna suddenly thought of Ernest Turner and asked, "Brother, do you have any illegitimate children?"
Noah, on the other end of the line, was stunned. He was clearly startled by Sienna’s question. "Why do you ask that?"
"I recently saw a young boy who looks remarkably like you—his features, his temperament... I even wondered if he might be a child you’d had from a one-night stand with some woman."
Noah stated firmly, "No! Sex without love, driven only by carnal desire, is disgusting. If I don’t love a woman, I absolutely will not sleep with her."
"I’m sorry," she said in a low voice. "I seem to have misspoken."
"...Did you have a fight with him?" Noah persisted with the question, which was already giving Sienna a headache.
"No!"
"Are you not even telling me the truth anymore?"
Pressed like this, Sienna couldn’t continue to lie. She admitted, "Yes. It’s like he’s only just realized I’m not good enough for him and regrets marrying me."
"So, you’re planning to return to Sileria City?"
"Sileria City is my home."
Noah didn’t listen to her explanation, continuing, "You have a problematic way of handling your emotions. When you encounter relationship problems, your first instinct isn’t to communicate and resolve them, but to run away. Running away doesn’t solve anything; it only makes things worse, especially with issues between men and women. You shouldn’t think that taking the initiative to communicate or make amends is shameful. That’s the wrong way to think."
"Brother, he’s gone too far!"
Noah’s voice was gentle. "So, you’re finally willing to tell me the truth."
Tears welled in Sienna’s eyes. "...It’s just... one shouldn’t air their dirty laundry. I didn’t want you to laugh at me. I can’t even handle my own relationship problems."
"Why would I laugh at you? Matters of the heart are the most difficult. Once you fall in love, it’s hard to be detached. You become vulnerable, even foolish, simply because you care so deeply for the other person."
"..."
"Loving someone means giving them the power to hurt you... It’s because of love, because you care so much, that you become vulnerable..."
Noah patiently reasoned with her, and Sienna took his words to heart. "I don’t know what happened between you two," he continued, "but as long as you still love each other, nothing should be a reason to give up on one another. Baby, don’t run away. Try to communicate with him..."
"Brother, I..."
The phone was snatched from her hand. Sienna looked up with tear-filled eyes to see Adrian Desmond, who had suddenly appeared. Her phone was in his grasp, his face dark and somber. He stared at her as if he’d caught his wife cheating.
"Baby, why did you stop talking?" Noah’s voice asked from the phone.
"..."
"Are you still there?"
"Give me back my phone!" Sienna stood up, trying to snatch the phone from Adrian’s hand. He threw it hard against the rocks. CRACK! Noah’s voice vanished as the phone shattered.
"Adrian, you bastard!"
"Sixth Brother," a voice interjected, "you’ve only given her the cold shoulder for a few days, and she’s already getting restless, flirting with other men. Listen to what she was saying! Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were mistreating her..."
Unexpectedly, Melanie Carpenter had come with him. Sienna’s tears stopped, and her eyes regained their icy expression.
"Shut your filthy mouth! Just because you sleep around with every man you see doesn’t mean all women are as cheap as you!" Sienna retorted.
"Sixth Brother and I both heard you flirting with a man just now. Don’t even try to deny it!" Melanie shot back.
"What did you hear? I was just on the phone with a friend, that’s all. Unlike you two, always parading around together like a shameless couple. I haven’t said a word, so why are you making such a fuss in front of me?"
Melanie Carpenter didn’t speak, instead looking at Adrian Desmond, who was staring intently at Sienna.
Sienna clutched her waist as she squatted down to pick up the SIM card from the ground. Just as she was about to stand, Adrian Desmond stepped on her hand, though without applying much force.
"Sixth Master, please remove your noble foot," she said coldly.
"Who was that man on the phone? Noah Phillips? Your sweetheart?"
"Adrian Desmond, take your foot off my hand!"
"I asked you, who was that man?"
"It’s none of your concern!"
