She got the divorce and bolted 60
Clayton hooked his arms around her knees and stood up, bouncing her weight a little. “You’re all skin and bones, and you’re still causing so much trouble.”
Sienna buried her face in the crook of his neck and deliberately tightened her grip. “Didn’t you say I’m your wife? Is this how you treat your wife? Hurry up! Didn’t you eat?”
Clayton coughed from being choked. “Sienna, are you pretending to be drunk on purpose and trying to murder me while you’re at it?”
She really was drunk, though, and she insisted he walk a few more laps around the yard. Clayton had no choice but to pace slowly through the yard with her on his back
Leaning against him, Sienna suddenly thought of her childhood. Back then, when she got tired after playing, Wilfred would carry her home just like this. When she curled up against his broad back, she used to think it was the safest place in the world.
But later, he carried Olive the same way. Then, there was no longer a place for her.
That memory brought a painful pang to her heart. Tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheeks silently.
When she didn’t make a sound, Clayton thought she had finally calmed down. But then, he felt a spot on his neck gradually grow damp. As Sienna’s warm tears seeped into his collar, it stirred his heart.
Clayton stopped walking, suddenly feeling bad. Had he gone too far earlier today?
He called out softly, “Sienna?”
The night was quiet. The only answer he got was her steady breathing. She had fallen asleep with tiny tear droplets still clinging to her lashes.
Clayton carried her inside.
Edna hurried over. She froze the moment she saw Sienna’s flushed face. “Mrs. Hale is…”
“Lower your voice,” Clayton said.
Edna understood and whispered, “Do you want me to bathe her?”
“No.” Clayton went straight upstairs.
In the bathroom, he ran the water. He clumsily helped her remove her makeup and cleaned her up.
Sienna slept soundly and let him do whatever he was doing. She only frowned when he was a little too rough.
Clayton brushed a thumb over the faint redness at the corner of her eyes, where tear marks still lingered. “You cry so much. At this rate, we might as well do away with the humidifier.”
He wrapped her in a towel and carried her back to bed. After taking a quick shower himself, he lay down next to her. Sienna rolled into his arms in her sleep, and the top of her head brushed against his chin.
Ever since they had started sleeping in separate rooms, Clayton hadn’t slept well. Now, with her warmth against him and the faint scent of jasmine in her hair, he tightened his arms around her and stayed awake all night.
Sienna, on the other hand, felt like she was trapped in a long dream. She felt as though someone was holding her so tightly that she could barely breathe.
When she opened her eyes, Clayton’s face came into view immediately. She looked at his defined features and long lashes that cast faint shadows on his cheeks in the morning light. With his eyes closed, the usual icy edge he carried was gone. He looked unexpectedly gentle, which was a rare sight.
X CLOSE
Chapter 60
Wait. Now was not the time to admire him. Why was she sleeping with Clayton?
His arm was draped heavily across her waist like a metal bar. She couldn’t wrench herself free from it.
Her head throbbed. Her memories of the night before were all fragmented and blurry. She pushed at Clayton hard, but he didn’t budge.
Clayton frowned sleepily and said in a husky voice, “Stop messing around.”
He pulled her even closer and nuzzled his chin lightly against the top of her head.
Sienna slapped his arm. “Get off me! Why are you here?”
Only then did he loosen his hold and open his eyes lazily. “This is my bed.”
“What?” Sienna shot upright and looked down to see that she was wearing pajamas.
She grabbed a pillow and hurled it at Clayton. “You took advantage of me last night, didn’t you?”
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Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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