No matter what the situation was, Sienna was still grateful for having accomplished so much more in this life than in her previous life.
"Thank you," She said without looking at Damon, so she missed the surprise that flashed across his face, "For arranging this and for investing in my company."
Damon tugged her to face him with a small smile on his handsome face, "Through good times and bad times, right?"
Sienna was stunned.
Never in her wildest dreams would she expect Damon to take their marriage vows so seriously to the point that he quoted them back to her.
Yet, here they were, on a small yacht drenched in fairy lights, sailing down the river along the cityscape and talking about marriage.
In the past, Sienna would have melted, but now, she couldn't stop thinking of the necklace that Vivianne had and the words she had taunted her with before she died.
"When you said we would put on a show, I didn't know you would be this thorough," Sienna smiled tightly, trying not to let her true emotions show.
Damon didn't say anything for a while, in fact, if Sienna didn't know better, she thought he looked a little upset.
But he just stroked her cheek once and turned her to face the scenery again.
"Then just in case the cameras are pointed at us, let me stay like this until we dock," He murmured and wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin against her hair.
She hoped he couldn't feel the wild way her heart was beating, and against her better judgement, she relaxed slightly into him.
She couldn't remember the last time someone held her like this, as if she was something or someone precious.
In Damon's arms, she felt warm and safe. A tear rolled down her cheek, but only the passing buildings were witness to it.
***
'Wright Couple on Good Terms with Star Slater'
'Damon and Sienna Wright take a Romantic Cruise.'
'Love in the air: Damon Wright's Romantic Evening.'
'Jun Slater Ambassador for Sienna Astor's New Company!'
The next morning, the headlines splashed across the media were nothing but a success for the trio.
Nobody suspected Jun Slater and Sienna Astor of having an affair when Sienna and Damon looked so in love on the cruise!
Suddenly, Sienna's company stocks were soaring as interest in them kicked up and Jun's announcement of his ambassador role only drove up the positive response.
"A miracle is what we needed and Damon Wright is what we got," Alison chortled in the lift as Sienna shot her a wry glance.
Once the dust settled, Alison had bounced back to her usual exuberant self as if their company hadn't just been on the verge of crashing.
The lift doors opened and the moment the two women strode out, something in their aura changed.
In the lift, they had been smiling and joking, but as they walked, there was something deadly in the way their clicking heels echoed down the corridor.
Sienna flung open the meeting room door and Alison sauntered in.
There, a pale man cowered at the table as the door swung shut with an ominous clang.
"Mr Collins," Alison smiled but it was a cold curve of her dark lips, her dark eyeshadow making her bright hazel eyes look sharper.
"Miss Hughes," Mr Collins stammered, his knuckles turning white where he was clasping his hands.
"We heard you've been a bad boy," Sienna drawled, sitting casually down on the chair opposite him and crossing her legs.
Her expression was neutral, but her voice was dangerous and Mr Collins visibly swallowed.
"Miss Astor," Mr Collins choked, "I'm sorry, I-"
"I don't want to hear apologies," Sienna remarked while inspecting her nails, "I want to hear what you did and why."
"There's- I-," He buried his balding head in his hands, "She said that she was doing it to surprise you!"
"Who is she?" Alison demanded, "What is 'it'?"
"I didn't get her name," He said mournfully, "I only got an email address."
"Why would you give out sensitive information if you didn't even know who she was?" Alison slammed a hand down on the table.
Sienna was silent. She had a few ideas who was behind this and she didn't need to know.
"She was so pretty," Mr Collins cried, "Her black curls and fair skin…"
He looked dreamy, Sienna could swear she saw his eyes turn into heart shapes.
"What exactly did you give her?" She directed a piercing glare at him and he flinched.
He opened his phone and clicked on the attachment to show her. Sienna snatched up the phone and scanned the contents, her green eyes flickering.
Then her gaze darted up to the email address and she snorted derisively. Over her shoulder, Alison made an angry sound.
Instead of handing the phone back, Sienna flung the device to the ground where the screen cracked, and Alison stomped on it with her heeled boots for good measure.
"No!" Mr Collins lunged across the table only to be stopped by Sienna's firm hand on his chest.
"After what you did, be grateful that's your phone not your head," She told him fiercely, "Did you think that because we were women we would be soft and go easy on you?"
Alison slung an arm over Sienna's shoulders and leaned in to Mr Collins with a savage smile, "You're fired, Human Resources will go over the details, but I suggest that you be very careful about who you sell information to in the future. If you try to cross us again, I can guarantee your phone won't be the only thing that's broken."
She patted his cheek lightly and Mr Collins jerked away like he had been burnt.
Fearfully, he stared at the two women, both dressed like socialites about to go to a luncheon in their fitted pantsuits, pretty earrings and delicate jewellery.
Watching them the way a deer watches a tiger, he made a run for the door.
As the door closed, Alison slumped into a chair with a sigh.
"You'd think we were gangsters instead of CEOs," Sienna laughed. When Alison didn't reply, Sienna turned to check on her.
Alison's forehead wrinkled with a worried frown and her pretty hazel eyes were troubled as she looked at Sienna.
"I can't believe she would do such a thing."
"Who? Kyra Davies?" Sienna asked blandly.
She had known since Grandmother Wright's birthday party that Kyra Davies would get her revenge on Sienna somehow, she just hadn't quite expected her to target one of the employees at her company.
"Not just her," Alison shook her head, making her dangling earrings quiver, "You know who she's friends with… I don't want to suspect her as well but…"
She stopped when she saw Sienna's face.
"You're not surprised," Alison stated, watching Sienna's grim but unfazed expression.
"Let's just say, we should raise our guard," Sienna replied darkly, "This won't be the only time she tries something like this."
Only Alison's good breeding and years of etiquette classes kept her from throwing a chair across the room like she felt like doing.
"Really?" She whispered, "Your own sister?"