Chapter 2

“What about Landon Reed? I don’t see him reciprocating your feelings.”

“He’s different.” Sienna’s voice turned serious.

“He’s pure, untainted. Unlike anyone else. He’s worth waiting for.”

A bitter ache spread from my heart through every part of my body.

So, I was just a pastime.

Fine by me.

I turned and quietly walked away.

My brother, Landon Reed, and I joined Sienna Maxwell’s company at the same time.

He was headhunted with a high salary, basking in glory.

I was just an accessory to a deal.

My brother always prided himself on never taking the easy way out.

More than once, he’d say in front of everyone, “I’m nothing like those men who climb their way up by relying on women.”

Every time he said that, all eyes would fall on me.

Sienna Maxwell’s admiration for my brother was an open secret.

She pursued him, sending expensive watches, sports cars, and rare collectibles.

But my brother always maintained that aloof, arrogant demeanor, keeping her at arm’s length.

This only made Sienna Maxwell more captivated.

And I? I was just a tool for her to pass the time.

That night, with alcohol blurring my senses, we somehow ended up entangled.

Afterward, she leaned against the headboard, a slender lady’s cigarette between her fingers, smoke curling around her.

Suddenly, she stubbed out the cigarette, turned her head, and gently brushed the hair from my eyes.

Her fingertips were cool, but her touch held a rare tenderness.

“Your eyes are beautiful.” She gazed at me, her expression soft.

A distant memory resurfaced.

Amidst towering flames, thick smoke choked me, almost stealing my breath.

I shielded a little girl with my small body.

In the chaos, our eyes met.

She said, “Your eyes are really beautiful.”

Sienna Maxwell’s face in front of me slowly merged with the face of that girl from my memory.

I’d always known Sienna Maxwell was searching for the boy who saved her from a fire.

But I never dared to imagine it was me.

I was insecure and quiet, while she was a golden girl, a child of privilege.

We were from two different worlds.

But at that moment, the focus in her eyes gave me a sliver of daring hope.

I clutched the blanket, my voice trembling.

“Sienna Maxwell, that fire… the boy who saved you, that was me.”

The tenderness in her eyes instantly froze, replaced by disgust.

“Asher Reed, you’d stoop to such lies just to cling to me!”

I froze, my heart sinking bit by bit.

“I’m not lying…”

“Shut up!” She roughly cut me off.

“I already checked! The one who saved me was Landon! The scar on his arm is proof!”

I completely stiffened.

My brother’s scar?

That was from when he fell out of a tree trying to steal mangoes when he was a kid! He was never at that abandoned factory!

“No, it was me who went into the fire, my brother he…”

“Enough!” Sienna Maxwell stood up impatiently.

“You’re not even fit to be compared to your brother!”

With that, she slammed the door shut and left.

I curled up on the bed, feeling utterly cold.