He exhaled through his nose, eyes locked on hers. His voice dropped, the words carrying a weight heavier than guilt.
"I started those rumors. I was the one who didn’t realize how I felt about you. I was scared. I didn’t want to feel anything. So I sabotaged us."
Silence. Thick. Suffocating.
Sienna raised her brows in disbelief. “Feelings?”
Her voice came quieter, more guarded. "So now what? You expect me to melt because the great Adrian Vaughnfeels something?"
3 My Mistress
She took a step forward. Then another. Slow. Confident. Dangerous.
Her fingers found the collar of his shirt, trailing lightly over the fabric before sliding up to the back of his neck. She leaned in, her breath brushing his jaw. “You think your feelings are enough?” she whispered, lips barely grazing his skin.
Adrian didn’t move. Didn’t speak. His chest rose in a tight, shallow breath. Every muscle in him tensed, lit up with need. With hope.
She pressed her body against his, arms sliding up around his neck like she was giving in. Her fingers tangled into his hair, pulling just enough to make his breath hitch. Her eyes locked with his—taunting, unreadable, electric.
His hands gripped her waist, heart thundering in his chest. A rare smile flickered across his face, one that almost looked boyish. Raw relief poured through him.
But she wasn’t done.
Her hands slipped down, trailing over his chest, brushing the hard lines of his stomach, sliding lower until they reached his waist.
And then, in one swift move, she snatched the phone from his hand, spun away, and dropped it straight into the glass of water in the corner.
The splash was loud.
Adrian surged forward, instinctively reaching to grab it, but she was faster. The screen flickered once before disappearing into the depths.
He stood frozen, broad chest rising with each shallow breath. His jaw clenched tight, the veins in his neck throbbing.
“You only got close to me… to get those pictures?” His voice was low, hoarse with disbelief, and something darker.
She turned, eyes cold as steel. “Obviously. I’m not going to let you hurt my husband, Adrian. I’m married to him now. I won’t let you touch the people I love just because you suddenly think that you have some feelings for me.”
Adrian was trembling with fury. Every inch of him burned. The muscles in his arms flexed, tight with restraint. A storm raged behind his dark eyes—jealousy, rage, heartbreak all tangled together. The more she called another man her husband, the more it shredded him from the inside out.
‘When she was with me, she wouldn’t even spare another man a glance,’ he seethed with rage, jealousy consuming him. ‘But now, she is standing right in front of me, defending someone else without even acknowledging what it’s doing to me?’
“You love that fucking asshole so much,” he spat, “that you’ll let him sleep with other women in front of you andstilldefend him?”
She froze for a moment. Her fingers trembled, but she didn’t let the cold mask drop.
“What happens between my husband and me is none of your business.”
Her fingers clenched the fabric of her dress, nails digging into her skin as she struggled to hold back anything that would give her away.
“And as for our relationship,” she added, “Mr. Vaughn, don’t you know how modern relationships work for the wealthy now? It’s our private understanding. My husband can sleep with whoever he wants, and I can too. It’s our thing. You don’t have to bother yourself about it.”
She turned and stormed out of the changing room, still wearing the expensive dress, grabbing her old clothes on the way out.
Adrian couldn’t keep calm anymore. That wasn’t the Sienna he knew. She was always loyal—his. And now, she was telling this lie to protect that bastard?
Without a second thought, he followed her.
She walked out of the store, tossing a command over her shoulder: