Chapter 3

Sienna's POV

Everything in front of me warped until Lauren's phone was the only thing I could focus on.

I trembled violently, glaring at Lauren with pure hatred.

Elliott stepped in front of Lauren to shield her, his next words bordering on cruelty.

"Sienna, I'm the one who installed the camera, but I never expected those photos and videos to leak. Lauren had nothing to do with this. If you want to blame someone, blame me.

"But right now, your reputation is ruined beyond repair, and Quinn Group can't clear your name. Since you want a divorce anyway, we can use this as the reason. Just go stay at the Quinn estate and lie low for a while. It'll all blow over eventually."

His voice was gentle, and his eyes were filled with patience and guilt as he looked at me. Yet the hand shielding Lauren never wavered.

Before I could process what Elliott meant, voices drifted in from outside the hospital room.

"That woman who posted photos of herself changing online isn't Mrs. Quinn. She and Mr. Quinn got divorced a long time ago."

"She brought this whole mess on herself just for attention. She has no shame at all. If I were her, I'd rather be dead."

I nearly laughed out loud, even as tears streamed down my face.

Before we got married, Elliott had promised to shield me from every storm.

But now he'd whipped up this storm with his own hands, just to drown me once and for all.

My vision blurred as Elliott's helpless look and the smug satisfaction in Lauren's eyes flashed back and forth before me. Overwhelmed, I couldn't take it any longer and blacked out once more.

…

When I woke up again, the hospital room was dim. A nurse looked down at me with open scorn.

I pushed myself up and staggered out of the hospital.

At the cemetery, I placed a flower by the headstone with trembling hands. In the photo, Mom's smile was as gentle as ever.

Tears fell before I could even speak. "Mom, I—"

A dog barked a few times, cutting me off.

Elliott appeared before me, Lauren right beside him. "Sienna, can't you be a little more reasonable? Do you realize how much everyone despises you right now? Why can't you just stay in the hospital and recover? I knew I'd find you at your mom's grave, complaining to her again. But at the end of the day, didn't you bring all this on yourself?"

Sweat still glistened on Elliott's forehead, and impatience filled his eyes. He reached out and clamped his hand around my wrist, trying to drag me back to the hospital.

Lauren's lipstick was still smeared on his shirt collar, and the heavy scent of her perfume clinging to him made me sick to my stomach.

With every bit of strength I had, I wrenched myself free from his grip and spat, "Elliott, we're nothing to each other anymore. Lauren is your Mrs. Quinn now, and what I do is none of your business. Get out of here right now, both of you. My mom doesn't want to see you."

I turned away, refusing to give them another glance.

Elliott was so furious that he actually laughed. "Fine. So you're still throwing a fit, Sienna. Without me, who do you think would want you? You've had two miscarriages. You're damaged goods!"

I turned back in disbelief, my eyes bloodshot.

Elliott knew he'd gone too far. Panic flickered in his eyes, and his first instinct was to come over and comfort me.

But the next second, the dog Lauren had brought lifted its leg and peed on Mom's headstone.

"I'm sorry, Sienna," Lauren taunted, looking at me with feigned innocence. "It just happened to be potty time. It's only a headstone. You wouldn't hold it against a dog, would you?"