Chapter 8

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

Sienna leaned against the sideboard and folded her arms across her chest.

He’d clearly investigated everything already, yet he was still circling the subject just to get under her skin.

How had she never realized how exhausting this man could be?

“If you came here to argue, I’m sorry, but I don’t have the energy. If you came to confirm something, you’ve already seen everything.”

Grant’s hand paused around the glass.

He remained silent for several seconds before setting it down.

“My father’s sixtieth birthday is next Saturday. We need to go to the Sullivan estate.”

Was he ordering her?

“I’m not going.”

Sienna refused without a second thought.

Why should she attend Mr. Sullivan’s birthday celebration?

She had no prestigious family name and no fortune of her own. Was she supposed to sit there while the Sullivan relatives made snide remarks about her?

Or was she expected to play the obedient, agreeable Mrs. Sullivan again, following Grant around all evening?

Grant would abandon her among his older relatives while every aunt and cousin picked her apart from head to toe.

Then someone would inevitably say, “I still don’t understand what Grant sees in you.”

It had happened every time they visited the Sullivan estate for the past three years.

She was sick of it.

She’d rather spend the time working on more designs.

“My uncle and aunt are coming back this year,” Grant said. “My father insisted that everyone attend.”

His uncle and aunt?

Sienna’s brows shifted slightly.

She remembered them.

She’d met them once at the wedding. They’d worn cold expressions the entire time and hadn’t even raised their glasses during the toast.

Grant’s father and uncle had never gotten along.

Before Grant’s grandfather passed away, he’d left control of Sullivan Corporation to Grant’s father. Furious, Grant’s uncle had moved abroad and hadn’t even returned for the funeral.

Later, Grant’s father suffered a stroke, throwing Sullivan Corporation into turmoil.

Grant had barely graduated from college when he was forced into the CEO position.

His uncle then returned to seize control of the company, rallying a large group of shareholders and causing a scene on the executive floor.

Grant had married Sienna in a rush because he needed the shares his grandfather had left behind.

So that was why he was here.

He was worried their divorce would cause unnecessary trouble with his uncle, so he’d come personally to persuade her to maintain appearances.

“What do I get out of it?” Sienna asked bluntly.

Grant clearly hadn’t expected her to be so direct.

He laughed softly.

“What do you want? A house? A car? Connections?”

Was that really all he thought of her?

Sienna looked him straight in the eye and spoke slowly and clearly.

“Your signature on the divorce agreement.”

Grant’s fingers stopped tapping against the armrest.

His throat moved as he swallowed.

Their eyes met.

The living room grew so quiet that only the steady ticking of the clock remained.

Grant studied her face, seemingly searching for some sign that she was bluffing.

There was none.

Her eyes held a determination he’d never seen before.

Was she really that desperate to leave him?

Couldn’t she stand being married to him for even one more minute?

They’d only seen each other three times over the past several days, and every conversation had come back to the divorce.

She glared at him and cut him down with every word, as though she hated him.

He couldn’t understand it.

How had they reached this point?

Grant drew a deep breath and forced down his irritation.

Then he spoke with deliberate ease.

“Fine. Once the birthday celebration is over, I’ll sign.”

Sienna raised an eyebrow.

She clearly hadn’t expected him to agree so readily.

“To make sure you keep your word, sign it first and leave it with my attorney. Once I’ve done my part, I’ll collect it myself.”

Grant gave an incredulous laugh.

“You think I’ll go back on my word?”

Sienna answered honestly.

“It’s possible.”

She needed some kind of guarantee.

If he changed his mind afterward, she’d have no recourse.

Grant rose and walked toward her.

His dark eyes locked on hers, filled with cold amusement.

“You don’t honestly think I’m desperate to keep you, do you?”

He continued, “Relax. Once this is over, I’ll sign.”

Sienna’s expression remained unchanged.

“Then I hope you keep your word, Mr. Sullivan.”

Grant shot her a furious glare before storming out.

The door slammed hard enough to shake the house.

Sienna stared toward the entryway, thoroughly annoyed.

He’d driven twelve miles just to take his bad mood out on her.

What the hell was wrong with him?

But her anger vanished almost instantly.

Sienna looked at the unfinished glass of water on the coffee table, and the corners of her mouth lifted.

Getting Grant to sign the divorce agreement was only one reason she’d agreed to attend.

His father’s sixtieth birthday would be a major event, especially with Grant’s uncle and his family returning from overseas.

Nearly every wealthy socialite in Oakhaven would be there.

If the celebration followed the usual pattern, Grant would make the rounds with Sienna at his side before abandoning her among the wives of the city’s most powerful men.

A sly smile curved her lips.

She’d been searching for the perfect opportunity to introduce Yvette to the right audience.

Now, the opportunity had come straight to her.

It was perfect, reasonable, and completely aboveboard.

---

The car was silent.

The overhead light illuminated Grant’s sharply defined features.

He sat with both hands resting on the steering wheel, staring through the wrought-iron fence at Sienna’s front door.

His gaze didn’t move for a long time.

Only when the lights on the first floor went dark did he finally look away.

He reached for the brown envelope on the passenger seat.

A week had passed, and he still hadn’t opened it.

Grant unwound the string and pulled out two copies of the document inside.

DIVORCE AGREEMENT

The words were a damn eyesore.

Never in his life had he imagined that someone would dump him.

He’d come here intending to have a calm conversation with her. He’d even waited outside for two full hours until she got home from work.

And what had happened?

Before he could say what he’d come to say, she’d nearly driven him insane with her sharp temper.

Grant frowned and opened the agreement.

He’d expected her to use the divorce as an opportunity to take him for everything she could.

Instead, every term was perfectly reasonable.

Just as she’d said, she only wanted what rightfully belonged to her.

Her elegant signature appeared at the bottom of the final page.

Sienna Reed.

The ink had dried long ago.

Grant ran his fingertips over her name, momentarily lost in thought.

What had been going through her mind when she signed it?

If he’d opened the agreement as soon as it arrived at his office and gone home to talk to her, perhaps things wouldn’t have reached this point.

Reason for divorce: Irreconcilable differences.

“Irreconcilable differences.”

Grant stared at the words as though he could burn a hole through the page.

What a joke.

If their marriage had broken down, she was the one who’d broken it.

She’d been far too intimate with another man. Who knew how long she’d been sneaking around behind his back?

If anything, the agreement should include a clause requiring her to compensate him for the emotional distress caused by her misconduct.

What right did she have to ask for a divorce?

He was the victim. If anyone should be ending the marriage, it should be him.

Bad enough that she was pressuring him to sign.

She’d even sent the agreement through an attorney, as if his word meant nothing.

Did she really trust him that little?

Grant snapped the agreement shut and shoved it into the glove compartment.

He started the engine and pulled away.

In the rearview mirror, the house grew smaller and smaller.

He thought again of Sienna’s impatient attitude.

She hadn’t given him a single pleasant look all evening.

He’d expected her to ask for connections or bargain for his help promoting her father’s little fashion label in exchange for attending the birthday celebration.

Instead, all she wanted was his signature.

She was ruthless.

She could cut him off without a second thought.

Streetlights swept across his face, casting it in alternating light and shadow.

Grant tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his throat moving as he swallowed.

It was only a divorce.

Grant Sullivan wasn’t the kind of man who would fall apart over one.

The light turned green.

He stepped on the gas, and the car shot forward.