Sienna sat on the sofa in the private dining room, her legs crossed delicately.
Sitting beside her was the head of the Campbell family, Sam. He heaved a long sigh and looked at his daughter. "Sienna, I know you've been suffering these past three years..."
He felt guilty. There was no other way around it. They had needed a solution for her three years ago, but she ended up being compromised. He felt that he should have found a better solution.
Sienna just smiled, and so he continued, "Jordan's luck has run out. It's time for this to end." He smiled back. "You'll be free of him once you sign the divorce papers."
"Now that Jordan's luck has dissipated, it's time for this ill-fated relationship to end as well." Sam suddenly smiled. "You'll be free once you sign the divorce papers tonight."
Free. That's what she had longed to be for the past three years.
But now as she thought about it, an image of Jordan's silly smile appeared in her mind.
He was just as much of a victim as her. She could never put such blame on him. She had not been married to him in any way other than in name, but she never treated him wrong.
She just told herself that she would wait until their time was up.
And now here they were.
The Campbells had secretly given Jordan a huge amount of money and had hidden his identity, so he would be secure for the next years and would not come bothering them.
But what he didn't expect was for this same family to publicize this event to the elites of Los Angeles. In fact, they were holding a big dinner tonight.
Just to announce that their daughter would no longer be associated with him.
Sienna was uneasy about the idea. "Do we really have to make this public?" she asked her dad. "Can't we just let him have a peaceful exit?"
In her eyes, Jordan had already suffered enough. It would be no good to announce his presence in public. He might not be able to take it, especially since he was a sensitive child at heart.
She didn't want him to become more of a victim when everything was just coming to an end.
"Are you worried people will hurt him?" Sam asked. "They won't."
"You don't know that," she said. "Too many people know about him, and I know they never treated him well. I won't have them do anything to him tonight."
"Exactly, people know about him." Sam looked at Sienna as though this should be obvious. "That's why they have to witness firsthand that we are cutting ties with him."
Sienna opened her mouth to retort but Sam cut her off again. "Aren't you happy? You'll be free! You can marry into the Andrich family now."
The corners of Sienna's lips twitched. She wanted to laugh.
Freedom indeed sounded nice.
If only her family would give her the true meaning of that. The only choices she would have would be the ones they would give her.
The Andrich family was one of the most well-known families in the city, and her father had always wanted her to get married to the young heir, Kenneth Andrich.
They were a rich clan. Perhaps the richest in all of Los Angeles.
Pairing up with their family would benefit the Campbells a lot.
Kenneth was already dipping his toes into their business, and he would be the next heir to their empire.
To add to all of that, he had also met Sienna a couple of times and expressed his interest.
That's why Sienna knew that this dinner was not just arranged to announce her separation from Jordan.
Her family was hoping to send the signal to the Andrich family that Sienna would soon be a suitable bride for Kenneth.
It would solve their family problem and make them richer than anyone.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the hotel lobby, Jordan had just finished teaching Trevor a lesson.
He went away and found a quiet corner, thinking about contacting the people he used to lead.
But it had been three years. The situation was still unclear, and he didn't want to drag him along with his problems.
With a shake of his head, he dismissed the thought and decided to think back on the past three years.
But then a beautiful face appeared in his mind.
Along with her beautiful voice.
"You can't say that to him!"
"Jordan, are you okay? You should have hit that bastard. You're strong!"
"Oh, Jordan, I'm so sorry. Don't cry, okay?
Jordan clenched his jaw, thinking about all the times that he had spent with Sienna, who'd always been gentle and nice to him, even when he was not in his right mind.
She had been the light in his dark life.
"It would be a pity to lose such a good wife," he muttered to himself.
His heart clenched at the thought.
Then he remembered something.
He felt around his neck, looking for that jade stone that he wore for battle. It wasn't bright green anymore.
"Good, I didn't lose it."
He removed it and held it in his palm gently like it was breakable.
* * *
Meanwhile, Sam Campbell was in a private room when a man entered. He was Harold Brenner, his son-in-law.
"Sir, bad news."
Sam looked up lazily. "What?"
"Jordan is . . . gone."
When he heard this, he immediately sat up, his face slack with shock.
Jordan was the main attraction tonight. What would they do without him?
"He has the mind of a kid, how can he escape?" Sam asked in bewilderment.
Not knowing what to say, Harold just said, "I already sent out a message to everyone, sir. We are on the lookout."
"Good." Sam cracked a smile. "You really are the best son-in-law."
Harold smiled, pleased with himself as he looked at his phone for updates. "Well, maybe since that Jordan idiot is gone, we can just focus on making Kenneth feel close to Sienna."
With that, they call her in. Then Harold told her, "Mr. Kenneth Andrich is here."
Upon hearing the announcement, Sam brightened up. He beckoned to Sienna, who was just lurking in the corner. "You better make him comfortable."
* * *
In front of the Emerald Hotel, a Maybach just pulled over.
The butlers rushed to open the door, and out came Kenneth Andrich in his Armani suit. He passed his keys to the nearest butler. "Watch my car, will you?"
With that, he walked into the lobby by himself and noticed the mess. A couple of maids were mentioning Trevor's name, so he beckoned a doorman and asked, "What the hell is going on?"
The doorman swallowed hard and told him what had happened there.
When Jordan's name was mentioned, Kenneth's eyes narrowed into a thin line. "Where is he now?"
"I just know that he went in, sir. Should I find him for you?"
Kenneth frowned. "What? Look at me. Look at him. What would I possibly want from him?"
"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to imply--"
He just waved him off and walked away, only to be stunned at how different everything felt. He looked at his side and found Jordan at the foot of the grand staircase.
Jordan stood there like a predator stalking its prey, exuding some sort of power with a calm look on his face.
Kenneth stopped. He didn't know that this was Jordan, as they had never met formally before. He could just feel that this man was someone respected. Someone who had high status.
But oh well, he had somewhere else to go.
He was about to look away from Jordan when he saw the red stone in his hand. It looked like red jade, and Jordan was looking at it intently.
Kenneth had never been one to believe in such mumbo jumbo, but this time, he could feel the pull of the stone, the warmth that it seemed to radiate. He wasn't sure if it was the stone or Jordan himself.
He stared at the stone. It looked rare, like the ones that he used to see in his grandfather's study. Except that this one looked more polished, and it was much bigger.
"What are you doing with that?" he asked. Jordan didn't answer, so he continued, "Where are you from?"
Jordan, who never really knew who Kenneth was, looked up and said, "I'm not from here."
"What's your family name?"
"West."
Kenneth froze. Could this be the very same West heir that he had heard of before? The ones who had much power in the north?
If it was the case, he should be able to befriend him, or at least make him a contact. The Andrich business would surely benefit from the connection, especially since they had been planning to expand business up north.
"What's your name?" Kenneth asked, approaching Jordan, ready to charm and do whatever to gain the favor of this West heir.
But as he approached, he got a closer look at the stone and he froze.
The stone in his hand wasn't just ordinary red jade. It was the rare blood chalcedony.