「The next morning.」
Soft, warm sunlight streamed through the window into the room.
Sienna Everett’s eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly woke from her sleep.
Staring at the unfamiliar ceiling above, she was dazed for a moment before her senses returned. This was Julian Forrester’s room.
She and Julian Forrester had gotten their marriage certificate yesterday. From now on, she would be living here.
Sienna Everett got out of bed. The wound on her calf was already starting to heal.
That ointment Julian Forrester had the old butler deliver was quite effective.
「During breakfast.」
Howard Forrester sat at the head of the table, and Sienna Everett took a seat beside Julian Forrester.
The more Howard Forrester looked at her, the more he liked her. He beamed with joy. "Julian, my boy, pick a good date soon and hold a wedding for you and Sienna! It’s the perfect time to announce your marriage to the public!"
Julian Forrester nodded slightly. "Okay."
Sienna Everett was startled and quickly nudged his leg with hers under the table.
Julian Forrester’s breath hitched. He lowered his gaze and saw Sienna Everett’s leg lightly pressed against his. Through the thin layer of fabric, he could clearly feel the softness and warmth of her body.
Julian Forrester’s eyes darkened.
He turned his head to look at her, his eyes asking, ’What’s wrong?’
Sienna Everett quietly leaned in and whispered in his ear, "We just signed a divorce agreement yesterday. We’re getting divorced in a year. If we announce the marriage now, think how much trouble it’ll be to get divorced later."
Julian Forrester’s brow furrowed.
Sienna Everett continued in a low voice, "So, let’s not hold a wedding, and let’s not announce the marriage. What do you think?"
Julian Forrester’s gaze was deep as he watched her for a long moment before turning away, his expression unreadable.
Sienna Everett turned to the old master, her eyes curving into a smile. "Grandfather, let’s talk about the wedding later. There’s no rush."
How could Howard Forrester not be in a rush? He had long been waiting to hold a great-grandchild.
"Sienna, my dear, marriage is ultimately you young folks’ business. If you want to wait a while to have the wedding, that’s fine, but don’t make your grandfather wait too long, alright?"
Sienna Everett gave a demure smile and changed the subject, smoothing the matter over for the time being.
The old master didn’t live at Veridian Gardens, so after breakfast, he returned to the old family residence.
It was the weekend, so Julian Forrester didn’t have to go to the office.
He sat on the living room sofa, wearing a loose, thin sweater. His well-defined fingers turned the pages of a financial magazine, and his every move exuded an air of casual nobility.
Sienna Everett remembered the ointment from last night. Her eyes darted slightly, and she ran upstairs to grab it. Walking back to him with the tube in her hand, she cleared her throat and said uncomfortably, "This ointment is pretty good. You have that bite mark on your wrist, right? You could try putting some on."
He kept his eyes on the magazine, not even looking up. "No need."
Sienna Everett blinked. "You’re not planning to keep that bite mark forever, are you?"
The man’s gaze finally lifted from the magazine. He looked up at her, his tone cool. "Aren’t you the one who’s always thinking about divorcing me? Why do you care about this?"
Sienna Everett: "..."
He stared at her, his gaze burning, his eyes dark and deep. "What if I said I want to keep this bite mark forever?"
Sienna Everett: "???"
’What kind of fetish is that?’
’Some people actually like having scars on their bodies?’
Sienna Everett vaguely remembered not biting him that hard. ’How is the mark still there? Hasn’t it faded at all?’
Well, if he didn’t want to use the ointment, Sienna Everett wasn’t going to force him. She turned to leave.
Julian Forrester unhurriedly stuck out his leg.
Sienna Everett’s attention was entirely on the ointment in her hand. She took a step and was suddenly tripped by something, losing her balance and falling toward Julian Forrester.
The next moment, she landed in a firm embrace.
The man had caught her.
Sienna Everett was practically lying on top of him, their bodies pressed together. She was caught off guard by the warmth and firmness of his chest.
Julian Forrester’s arm was wrapped around her waist. He looked down at her. "Are you okay?"
They were extremely close. As he spoke, his warm breath fanned across her neck, sending a tingling shiver down her delicate skin.
Sienna Everett trembled, and her earlobes began to burn.
"Th-thanks!"
She immediately scrambled off him. After thanking him, she awkwardly turned and fled.
Watching her fleeing back, Julian Forrester raised an eyebrow slightly.
He unhurriedly drew back the leg that had tripped her.
The old butler, who had just walked into the living room, was stunned by the sight. The master had actually stuck his leg out on purpose to trip Miss Everett!
Back in her room, Sienna Everett touched her neck, letting out a long sigh of relief only after the tingling sensation had faded.
She placed the ointment on the dressing table, and her phone began to buzz.
She had received a text message.
[Hello, you have passed the preliminary round of "Dancing National Style." Please attend the semi-finals in one week. The theme for the semi-finals is "Pure White." We look forward to your wonderful performance.]
Sienna Everett had almost forgotten about this.
A while ago, Shannon Everett had wanted to enter a National Style Dance competition and had dragged her along to sign up too.
Shannon Everett was very talented at dancing, having practiced for over a decade, and was extremely confident.
Hearing that Sienna had also studied dance, Shannon had deliberately pulled her into signing up, calling it a display of sisterly love to compete together. In reality, she just wanted Sienna to be her foil—an ugly duckling to make Shannon, the noble white swan, stand out.
She had naturally seen through Shannon’s intentions, but back then, she was solely focused on pleasing the Everetts. She did whatever Shannon said and had thus signed up with her.
During the preliminaries, Shannon had deliberately made her wear an outlandish outfit. With Sienna as a backdrop, Shannon looked as beautiful as a goddess descended to earth and easily secured first place in the round.
In truth, she had studied dance since she was a child, carefully taught by her grandmother. Every movement was ingrained in her very bones. Once, after performing a short piece in an informal school dance competition, a dance teacher with the surname Yao had taken a liking to her and wanted to take her on as a disciple.
Even in an incongruous outfit, she could have performed the dance as it was meant to be.
But to please the Everetts, she had deliberately danced poorly, not caring that she was being used as a stepping stone. She thought that by being so meek and subservient, she could get the Everetts to finally spare her a glance.
But she never expected that her own biological brothers would only respond with heartless ridicule and scorn, mocking her for overestimating her abilities and bringing utter shame to the Everett family by getting on stage. They said Shannon was a thousand times, a hundred times better than her, that she couldn’t even compare to one of Shannon’s toes...
Looking at the text on her phone, Sienna Everett felt a hint of surprise. ’I actually passed the preliminaries too?’
’If that’s the case, does that mean I’ll have to face Shannon in the semi-finals?’
The corners of Sienna Everett’s bright eyes lifted slightly, and her red lips curved into a smile. She’d like to see if Shannon could still take first place in the semi-finals this time.
The theme for the semi-finals was "Pure White," and this was a classical National Style Dance competition.
Many people can perform classical dance, but few can do it well.
Sienna Everett calmed her mind and began to conceptualize, designing a stage performance based on the "Pure White" theme. After that came strenuous rehearsals.
When Julian Forrester heard she was participating in this competition, he didn’t say much.
The old butler, with his perceptive eyes, had already seen everything clearly. The master wasn’t restricting Miss Everett in the slightest; it was as if he was prepared to stand behind her and support her in whatever she wanted to do.
「A week passed by quickly.」
Sienna Everett arrived at the competition venue on time.
As she walked backstage, she came face-to-face with Shannon Everett and Wyatt Everett.
Standing beside Shannon Everett and Wyatt Everett was a handsome man in a sharp suit.
Sienna Everett’s cool gaze drifted over. It was her eldest brother, Mason Everett.