All Chapters of The Man I Loved Betrayed Me, But His Best Friend Loved Me Long Before: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

(Sienna's POV)Eleanor pulled a sheet of paper out of her purse and slapped it down on the coffee table."See for yourself."Damian looked down. It was a pregnancy test result. Patient name: Lana Hayes. Gestational age: four weeks.Standing behind Damian, I could read every word. My fingers slowly curled into my palm.Four weeks. A month ago, he was still kissing my forehead every morning and saying, "Morning, baby.""She fainted at your house last night. They took her to the hospital, ran some tests, and she's pregnant." Eleanor glared at her son. "The doctor says she's emotionally fragile, and she nearly lost the baby. And you? What did you tell her in that hospital room? To get rid of it? Damian, what gives you the right to not want this baby?""Mom...""I'm asking you one thing." Richard cut him off. "Is the baby yours?"Damian's jaw was clenched tight. He couldn't get a word out."No answer means yes." Richard scoffed. "We've already brought her home from the hospital. She's resti

(Sienna's POV)Outside the courthouse, Lucian handed me a receipt."It's filed. You've already completed part of the waiting period, so there are five days left," he said. "In five days, the court issues the judgment, and your marriage is over. Damian doesn't need to be there for any of it."I took the receipt and looked at my name on it for a long time without saying anything.Five days. 15 years, and in the end it came down to five days."Thank you.""Don't thank me." Lucian looked at me. "Where are you going after this?"The last time he asked, I'd told him it was none of his business. This time, I thought about it and told him the truth. "I'm leaving New York. I used to work in hotel management. After we got married, Damian didn't want me working, so I quit. I want to start over."Lucian was quiet for a few seconds. "Which city?""I haven't decided."Lucian didn't ask anything else. He opened the cab door for me. "Sienna, call me if you need anything."The cab was a long way down t

(Sienna's POV)"You..." I stood frozen in the doorway. "This hotel belongs to the Kane family?""I bought it two years ago with my own money. It has nothing to do with the Kane family." Lucian came around the desk and gestured for me to sit. "This morning, the hiring list landed on my desk. I saw your name in the rejected column.""So you called me up here to laugh at me?""The person they hired is the general manager's niece," Lucian said calmly. "I've already told HR to redo the evaluation." He sat down across from me. "But before that, I want to ask you something. Do you actually want this job, or do you just want somewhere to hide from Damian?"I was quiet for a while."Both," I said. "The Wesley is one of the best hotels on the West Coast. But more than that... before my dad died, he was in talks to buy The Wesley."Lucian looked at me and didn't say anything."That year he flew out to Seattle seven times. The contract was drafted. A month before the signing, he had a heart attack

(Sienna's POV)I stood in that room for a long time, dazed.Suddenly, so many things made sense.When Damian and I kissed at parties, Lucian would turn and walk away. When I went to charity galas on Damian's arm, Lucian would sit at the same table and not say a word all night. I'd always thought it was contempt.On our wedding day, when he told Damian, "You're going to regret this," I'd thought he meant I wasn't good enough for Damian.And now, when he helped me with the divorce, he'd said yes right away and never asked more than he needed to.None of it had been hate.I thought back to that winter when I was 15. After I woke up, I'd chosen Damian. I followed him everywhere, went to his basketball games, waited for him after school.Once, I found a cup of hot cocoa in my locker with a sticky note on it. The note was blank. I thought Damian had left it, so I ran to thank him, and he smiled and said, "You're welcome."Another time, Lucian found me in the library, handed me his math notes

(Damian's POV)"...I was the one in trouble that night."Tessa's voice shook the whole time. She told me that on the night of the graduation party, she'd walked back to the dorm alone, and some drunk workers had dragged her into a motel. The front desk called the police. Sienna couldn't reach her, so she went to Tessa's brother, Ryan, and the two of them drove around looking for her for over an hour. Ryan helped the police pin those men down. Sienna sat in that room holding her all night while Ryan kept watch in the hallway outside."The next morning, my parents came and took me home. Ryan begged Sienna never to tell anyone. She promised. Seven years, and she never breathed a word. Not even to you." Tessa paused. "And that job, she got it herself after three rounds of interviews. Ryan never helped her at all."I gripped the phone. The cigarette burned down to my fingers, and I didn't even feel it."Damian, are you still there?""...Yeah.""I was going to take this to my grave too," Tes