20 Her Attention
Adrian stepped out of the washroom first, his shirt half-buttoned, hair slightly tousled. The hall was still empty. Sienna followed after him, adjusting her hair and smoothing down her dress. Though her ankle still ached, the pain was less now, not nearly as sharp as it had been earlier, but she moved carefully, trying not to put too much pressure on it.
She turned to leave, but he grabbed her hand.
“Where are you going?”
She looked back at him, her voice calm. “The meeting must be over by now. I need to find Theo.”
Adrian frowned, his brows furrowing sharply. “That meeting won’t be over until I say it is.”
“I have to help Theo with the deal, Adrian,” she said, tugging her hand free. “I promised I’d help him close it.”
“I’ll help you get the deal,” Adrian said firmly, stepping in front of her to block the way. “I’ll get you the whole damn contract. Just stay with me. Don’t go to him.”
“You’ve already helped enough,” she said firmly. “I can’t accept handouts from you. We need to earn this.”
She stepped around him and walked out of the hall, her movements cautious as she favored her injured ankle.
Adrian’s jaw tightened as he watched her leave. The light in his eyes dimmed, replaced with quiet fury.
“He’s never going to win. No matter how hard he tries,” he muttered, voice low and dangerous. His fists clenched at his sides. “He’ll pay for what he’s doing to you, Sienna. And you’ll have to forgive me for that. I will ruin anyone who hurts you.”
***
A week later Sienna and Theo entered the meeting hall at Arnold’s company, waiting to sign the final confirmation on the deal. The deal had been almost finalized. Theo had already convinced Arnold to give them the deal, and he’d even begun preparing the manufacturing phase for the new car parts.
Theo turned to Sienna with a grin and gripped her shoulders. “Thank you for this deal. If it weren’t for you, it would’ve been a hell of a lot harder. The file you gave me had everything laid out so clearly, I had Arnold convinced in under ten minutes. He was so fucking impressed.”
“That’s great!” Sienna smiled and gave him a side hug. “We’re one step closer.”
Theo pulled back, chuckling. “Once this deal is complete, we end this marriage and the act. I’ve got a better footing in the business now, so I can take full control and finally bring Rosie home publicly. Make her my wife without fearing anything.”
Sienna patted his arm, smiling gently. “You’re my best friend. You don’t have to thank me for anything. I’m doing this for you and Rosie willingly. I just want to see you both happy.”
Theo’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. “It’s Arnold,” he said quickly, picking up. “Yes, Mr. Hall?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Montgomery,” Arnold said bluntly. “We can’t proceed with the deal. It’s off. Since it wasn’t a formal contract, the agreement is terminated effective immediately.”
Theo’s face went pale, and Sienna, standing beside him, stilled in shock.
“Mr. Hall, is there any reason? Maybe we can work something out?” Theo asked quickly.
“It’s just our current financial situation. Please understand—it’s nothing personal. It’s just business.” And with that, the line went dead.
Theo stood frozen, staring down at the phone. His expression was filled with disbelief. Sienna looked at him, concern clouding her face.
Theo turned to her, his face heavy with disappointment. “I really thought this deal would give you the freedom you deserve. That we could both move on after this. But now…”
Sienna laid a hand on his arm. “Theo, it’s okay. This is business. Deals fall apart all the time,” she said softly. “We’ll just work harder and get something even bigger.”
Theo nodded, his frown deepening into a sad, distant stare before he spoke. “You’re right. Let’s just get it over with. I need to leave,” he muttered, his voice tight with tension. “I’ve got to handle the mess at the office—stop the manufacturing, figure out how we can recover the losses. Do you want me to drop you home first?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sienna said softly, patting his shoulder. “You go ahead. I’ll take a cab.”
Theo nodded again, distracted, and walked out first. His shoulders were hunched, his thoughts messy.
Sienna stayed back in the meeting room. Now that Theo was gone, her own worries started swirling.
Sienna remained in the meeting room, now alone, and her own worries began to rise.
“We’d already done amazing work on this deal. It was more than fair. Arnold wouldn’t have gotten better terms anywhere else. So why would he back out? Why reject such a strong offer?” She muttered under her breath, pacing slowly.
She turned toward the hallway, feet moving on instinct. Without realizing it, she found herself heading to Arnold’s office. Maybe she could talk to him. Maybe there was still something that could be fixed.
The floor was quiet. Since the meeting was already supposed to take place there, no one stopped her as she walked straight up to Arnold’s office door.
She walked silently, determined, until she reached the door, then froze.
Arnold wasn’t alone.
Inside, Matthew sat casually in a chair while Arnold stood beside him, visibly tense.
“Matthew,” Arnold began, rubbing his forehead, “just to be clear—why did you tell me to cancel the deal? Everything seemed above board. Did I miss something? Was there something I missed that prompted Mr. Vaughn to step in?”
Matthew sat back calmly, tapping his finger against his lips. “Not just this deal. From now on, any project involving Theo Montgomery will be taken over by Atrium Industries. Mr. Vaughn will cover any penalties and pay double, whatever it takes, to make sure no deal ends up in Theo’s hands.”
Sienna’s body stiffened with rage. Her blood boiled.
‘How the hell could he do this?’ she thought, jaw tightening. ‘How the fuck could he stoop this low?’
Without waiting another second, she spun around and stormed out of the building.
***
A full week passed since the deal with Arnold exploded, and left the Montgomerys bleeding money.
Theo was drowning in debt. Loan penalties from the banks were piling up. Worse, no one in the industry wanted to work with him anymore. Not a single deal had come through since that day. It was as if the entire industry had shut its doors on him.
Furious and desperate, he barged into Atrium’s headquarters.
His shoes echoed sharply on the marble floor as he made a beeline for Adrian’s office.
“Sir, you need an appointment—” the receptionist tried to stop him.
Theo shoved her aside and stormed into Adrian Vaughn’s office.
Adrian stood near his desk, calm and composed, sipping his coffee. He didn’t even flinch at Theo’s intrusion. Instead, he looked at him with a bored, unamused glare.
The sunlight behind him outlined his chiseled jaw and cold eyes. He didn’t flinch.
“What the hell is your problem?” Theo barked, slamming the door behind him. “Why are you doing this to my company? What the fuck did I ever do to you?”
Adrian raised a brow and took a slow sip from his coffee cup, giving a cold shrug. “It’s just business,” he said smoothly. “I’m in the car industry too. I like the same deals you do, and I can offer more. Isn’t that how business works?”
“Bullshit!” Theo growled, his fists clenched. “You own a damn empire. You don’t care about small deals like this. Don’t treat me like an idiot. Tell me the fucking truth.”
Adrian placed the cup back on the table and slowly stepped toward him. His voice stayed calm, but his eyes darkened.
“I already did. It’s business. I happen to like the same deals as you. I can offer more. That’s how the game works.”
Theo’s jaw tightened.
Adrian moved even closer, his tone dropping.
“A man should be stronger than you, Theo.” He glared at him, voice colder now. “And if you’re half as smart as you pretend to be, you already know why I’m doing this, don’t you?”
Theo’s lips curled in disgust. “Sienna.”
Adrian didn’t respond. His silence said everything.
Theo’s rage boiled over. “Sienna made it clear she wants nothing to do with you! She’s with me now, and she’s not leaving my side!”
Adrian’s sharp features twisted with anger. His eyes burned.
“Yes,” he snapped. “She’s with you. She’s loyal. She’s staying by your side without a word of complaint, but what are you doing to her?”
“I’m not taking advantage of her!” Theo growled. “She understands me. She knows what we have. It’s our life. Our choice!”
Adrian stepped closer until they were face to face. His voice was low, dangerous.
“And because she understands you, you’ve been bleeding her dry! She’s been slaving after you as your wife, Theo. Giving up everything, standing by you, holding you together. You’ve taken her for granted because she’s kind. Because she loves you.”
His fists clenched.
“I won’t let anyone hurt her anymore. I won’t stand by and watch you destroy her. I don’t care who she loves. Even if it’s not me, I’ll protect her.”
Outside the office, Sienna leaned against the wall, her heart pounding. She had never wanted the two men to face each other. But Adrian had forced it. He’d cornered Theo into the shadows.
Theo’s voice thundered from inside. “You’re the last person who should be saying that. When she loved you, you abandoned her! And now that she’s married to me, suddenly you can’t let her go? You think this is love? You’re just possessive, you’re treating her like she’s some fucking prize you lost. You’re ruining my company, hurting my family, doing all this behind her back while pretending to be the good guy in front of her. What excuse will you give when she finds out?”
His voice dropped, hard and bitter. “You can take everything I have, destroy everything I’ve built, but I’ll never let you drag Sienna into your mess. She will never come back to you.”
Adrian snapped.
He grabbed Theo by the collar, dragging him close.
His voice thundered in the room.
“Not just Sienna,” he snarled. “I’m going to take every fucking thing from you, Montgomery!”
Sienna, standing outside the door, clenched her teeth.
‘Everything you did until now, it was all fake,” she thought, her chest tightening with every word running through her mind. “You were just setting a trap for me because you were angry that Theo took me away. And I—” her lips trembled, “how can I be so stupid, falling for your fake feelings over and over again?”
Her vision blurred with tears as a sharp pain spread through her chest. She swallowed them back, forcing herself to stay composed. Her body felt tight, her fingers curled into fists as she yanked her phone from her purse and called him.
“I’ll be at your house in a bit,” she said. “Are you coming?”
“Of course,” Adrian replied immediately. His deep voice softened, the edge in it replaced by warmth. “I’m leaving the office now. I’ll see you at home, Sienna.”
As the call ended, Theo stared at him, suspicion flaring in his eyes. “Why is Sienna calling you?”
Adrian grabbed his keys from the table, his tall frame straightening as he turned toward Theo with a slow, confident smirk. “That’s not your business.”
Theo’s temper snapped. He lunged forward, grabbing Adrian by the collar and pushing him back against the table. “If you hurt Sienna, if you so much as make her cry, I will ruin you!”
Adrian didn’t flinch. Instead, he shoved Theo back with a force that sent him stumbling. His dark eyes hardened, and he snarled furiously. “You’re the last fucking person who gets to say that to me, Montgomery! Whatever’s between Sienna and me, it’s none of your damn concern.”
Five minutes later, Theo was dragged out of Atrium by security. He gritted his teeth, jaw locked, as he stood outside the building, fuming.
He pulled out his phone and called Sienna.
As soon as she answered, he said firmly, “Don’t get involved in this, Sienna. I’ll handle everything. Stay out of it.”
“Don’t be impulsive,” Sienna replied calmly. “This isn’t just your fight. Your family’s involved, yes, but Adrian is my issue. I’ll take care of it.”
***
“Mr. Vaughn,” Matthew rushed up to Adrian, who was striding out of the building.
“Sir! What about the meeting with Mr. Chen today? It’s for the new deal—” Matthew called out, panting slightly.
“Cancel it,” Adrian said without breaking stride.
Matthew blinked in disbelief. “Sir, we’ve been preparing for this for months. It’s crucial for the company.” He hesitated. “And we have meetings lined up with the Kellys as well—”
Adrian halted briefly, then turned to face him. “Cancel everything for the rest of the day. I’ll deal with it all tomorrow.”
Then he turned around and walked out.
‘What could be more important than business to him?’ Matthew wondered, then the realization hit him like a jolt. ‘Could it be Ms. Donovan again?’
And suddenly, everything made sense.
Adrian stepped outside, where the security guard had already pulled up his car. A rare smile tugged at his lips as he grabbed the keys and slid into the driver’s seat.
‘She called me by herself. She’s coming to me on her own this time,’ he thought, his grip tightening on the wheel, a thrill rushing through him. ‘She’s finally giving me her attention again.’
His breath was uneven with excitement. “No matter what, I won’t let Theo take you again. He never deserved you. I’ll win you back, even if I have to burn everything down.”
His car roared to life, speeding toward the one place he truly wanted to be—home, where she was waiting.
***
The car rolled to a stop in front of his house half an hour later. He rushed up the stairs, heart racing as he opened the door and stepped inside.
“Sienna?” he called out as he entered, his voice echoing through the empty house. He moved through the living room, his eyes scanning for her.
No sign.
His steps quickened as he rushed upstairs, climbing two stairs at a time, and pushed open the bedroom door, only to come to a sharp stop.