CHAPTER 9: CHAPTER 9: HIS DEEP AFFECTION AND TENDERNESS ARE NO LONGER HERS

Vivian Nash forced a smile that seemed surprised, quickly coming up with an excuse, "I’m here to get my bag serviced, and then to do some shopping."

She was carrying a light pink bag from the Chanel CF series.

The price starts at around eighty thousand.

But Sienna Monroe remembered this bag, having seen it on Vivian Nash’s Instagram. It was also one of the many bags Caleb Sinclair had given her.

She raised her eyebrows and asked, "This bag suits you well. When did you buy it? I also have one like it, but it’s white."

That bag was also something Caleb Sinclair had brought her from a business trip to Elysia.

The time, compared to Vivian Nash’s Instagram post, should be a day’s difference.

Hers came first; Vivian Nash’s came later.

"My boyfriend gave it to me." Vivian Nash’s grasp on the bag’s chain tightened, quickly changing the subject, "Why... are you here?"

"My mother-in-law’s birthday is coming up, so I came to pick a gift for her and happened to meet him retrieving a bag and perfume he ordered for me."

Sienna Monroe replied gently, her face filled with tenderness and happiness.

Vivian Nash froze, a trace of astonishment flashing in her eyes, landing perfectly on Caleb Sinclair’s face.

In an instant, she felt her heart being squeezed tightly, struggling to breathe.

That bag, she had waited over twenty days for it.

And the perfume was limited edition; the Imperial City’s boutique store only had the last bottle.

How did it become Sienna Monroe’s?

Even though Caleb Sinclair was looking at her, his eyes were veiled in a layer of unfamiliar indifference, his mouth curving in what seemed to be a polite smile.

Vivian Nash immediately felt a sense of grievance but didn’t dare let her eyes turn red, fearing Sienna Monroe would notice. She turned her face away and bit her lip lightly.

Sienna Monroe feigned a casual glance, jokingly asked, "Did you come alone? Where’s your boyfriend? You mentioned last time you’d bring him to meet me, yet there’s no sign of him."

"No time like the present, why not have dinner together tonight?"

Vivian Nash felt choked on her emotions, a flicker of embarrassment passing over her face as she glanced at Caleb Sinclair, "He’s busy working, probably can’t take time off."

"Why don’t you give him a call?"

Seeing Vivian Nash’s dilemma, Sienna Monroe’s amusement deepened in her eyes, though tinged with bitterness.

She always regarded Vivian Nash as her best friend, feeling she had never wronged her over the years, even buying things she liked and found beautiful to gift her.

After graduating college, she arranged for her to work at Serena Art Museum.

But how did Vivian treat her?

Pretending to be a good friend in public, while seducing her husband behind her back.

"I’ll send him a WeChat message, maybe he’s busy right now, not convenient to take a call."

Vivian Nash’s palm was sweaty with cold, steadying herself as she retrieved her phone from the bag, opened WeChat, stared at a contact’s avatar, and sent a voice message, "Honey, my friend asked if you could join us for dinner tonight, do you have time?"

The syrupy voice was soft and flirtatious to a degree that raised goosebumps.

Sienna Monroe casually glanced at her screen, indeed the opposite avatar was an oil painting, seeming like a sunrise.

Vivian Nash was sending messages to Caleb Sinclair’s secret account.

Such boldness was purely relying on her lack of knowledge about the matter.

Sienna Monroe felt a sharp pang of pain in her heart.

Her calling him "Honey" was sweeter than her own could ever be.

Caleb Sinclair must find it endearing.

Vivian Nash put away her phone, the previous grievance vanished, replaced with a playful demeanor, "Let’s wait for his reply."

Sienna Monroe curiously asked, "What does your boyfriend do?"

"He... designs and manufactures luxury home furnishings."

Vivian Nash tightly grasped her phone, licking her lips, unable to prepare herself in time for the unexpected meeting with Sienna Monroe today, now just making things up on the spot.

"In Imperial City, it seems only two or three families are in this business: The Sheffield Family of Eastwood, The Wallace Family of Nancroft, and..."

She pretended to struggle to recall the name, looking toward Caleb Sinclair.

Caleb Sinclair smiled, "The Lynn Family of Nancroft."

Sienna Monroe suddenly realized, glanced at Vivian Nash, who quickly laughed and replied, "I don’t have the fortune to date prominent young men from those families, his family runs a small business outside Imperial City."

She dared not affiliate herself with those families anyhow.

Otherwise, it would be hard to untangle later.

Besides, Sienna Monroe is part of the affluent circles, with many relationships with well-connected socialites. Just a little inquiry would reveal the truth.

"Oh, well then I’m even more curious about the kind of person who managed to win you over?"

Vivian Nash bashfully laughed, glancing at her playfully, "Stop teasing me. Let’s go shopping."

Then asked Caleb Sinclair, "You don’t mind me being a third wheel today, do you?"

Caleb Sinclair smiled gently, "It’s okay, as long as Sienna is happy."

Vivian Nash swallowed her frustration and grievance, affectionately looping her arm with Sienna Monroe’s, "Come on, let’s go, Sienna."

Sienna Monroe was pulled into the Louis Vuitton boutique, the store associate recognized her and immediately greeted warmly, "Miss Morgan, Mr. Sinclair, good afternoon."

She nodded lightly in response, being ushered into the VIP lounge, where afternoon tea and snacks were promptly served.

"Bring all the new items from your store for us to see." Caleb Sinclair, seated next to Sienna Monroe, said.

"Okay, Mr. Sinclair, Miss Morgan, please wait a moment."

A short while later, the associates entered sequentially, displaying a dozen items in front of them, including bags, watches, scarves, perfumes, rings, and more.

Sienna Monroe’s gaze lingered on a pair of diamond earrings for several seconds, Caleb Sinclair noticed and reached for the earrings, "Like them? If you like them, let’s buy them."

Sienna Monroe paused.

She knew Caleb Sinclair was always considerate and generous.

Whenever shopping, if her gaze lingered on a product for a moment longer, he would ask if she liked it. If she hesitated, he would buy it right away.

She glanced at the Hermes bag beside him, thinking he must be the same way with Vivian Nash.

His warmth and affection had long stopped being exclusively hers.

"Weren’t we choosing a gift for mom?"

"These aren’t suitable for mom, but they’d look great on you." Caleb Sinclair’s eyes were gentle, his words dripping with doting, as he turned to the store associate, "Wrap up these earrings."

The store manager approached, "Mr. Sinclair, the necklace would also pair well with these earrings, they would definitely look better on Mrs. Sinclair."

The store manager thoughtfully changed the way he addressed Sienna Monroe, Caleb Sinclair seemed to enjoy hearing ’Mrs. Sinclair,’ a deeper smile appeared in his eyes, "Wrap both of them."

Vivian Nash watched from the side, feeling the coffee she had just swallowed turn increasingly bitter. She tried to suppress it with a cookie, but the sourness in her heart only grew.

His affectionate care for Sienna Monroe stung her eyes deeply.

Just over half an hour ago, he had held her, saying he would buy her anything she liked, claiming anything wonderful in the world was suited to her, with such sweet talk.

She couldn’t help but interrupt, "Sienna, I think that fuchsia crocodile-skin bag suits your mother-in-law, it’s youthful and stylish."

Sienna Monroe followed her gaze, scrutinized for a moment, and gently shook her head, "That color... Is there a burgundy version of this bag?"

In ancient times, fuchsia was worn by concubines.

June Ewing has always hated being called "the other woman" in this life, even though it was true. But she always positioned herself as the rightful wife. Her clothes, jewelry, and bags were always in classic red or wine red—never the magenta that signifies a mistress’s status.

"This wine-red model is a limited edition, but the color needs to be sourced from abroad," the store manager offered with a smile.

"How long will it take?"

"Three to five days," the manager said. "Mrs. Sinclair, how about this? As soon as the bag arrives, I’ll arrange for someone to deliver it to you right away."

Sienna Monroe thought for a moment, realizing June’s birthday was next weekend, and it was just in time.

She nodded, "I also like the pattern on that scarf. Wrap it up too."

After the sales staff left, only the three of them remained in the lounge area.

Vivian Nash suddenly realized and became embarrassed, glancing apologetically at Caleb Sinclair.

Caleb frowned but said nothing.

Sienna noticed her distraction, smiled, and asked, "Vivian, did your boyfriend reply? Is he coming tonight?"

"Huh? Oh... let me check."

Vivian dug her phone out of her bag belatedly, "He hasn’t replied yet; he’s probably busy."

Sienna said, "It’s still early; let’s shop around some more. Is there anything you like or want to buy?"

"I haven’t seen anything I like yet."

"Alright, let’s keep looking."

"Okay."

As they left the lounge, Caleb as usual paid with his card, arranging for the items to be directly delivered to their home, and naturally took her hand as they walked out.

The three of them wandered for over an hour more. Caleb went to the bathroom at one point.

He was gone for about five minutes when Vivian received a message from her so-called "boyfriend." She showed it to Sienna, pouting deliberately, "Busy, busy, busy. Don’t know what he’s so busy with that he doesn’t even have time for dinner with us!"

Sienna fixed her eyes on the content Caleb had sent: Baby, I have a business dinner tonight that I can’t cancel, how about next time? Please apologize to your friends for me.

After all, he’s been right here by her side, with no chance to reply to messages at all.

Of course, he’d used the bathroom break as an opportunity.

How ironic.

Who knows if she wanted her to see it, considering Vivian never deleted her chat history with Caleb.

The last message exchange was around 3 PM yesterday when Vivian said she wanted candied pears and hibiscus cakes from Northgate. Caleb replied: Okay, I’ll go get them after I’m done.

Around 8:30, Vivian sent another message: Honey, the hibiscus cakes were delicious, but the warm candied pears lost their taste.

Following it with a coquettish emoji.

Caleb only replied at around 8 AM today: Next time, I’ll take you to Northgate to eat.

Sienna suddenly found it amusing; his response was nearly identical to what he’d told her last night.

He was using the same lines to appease Vivian.

She chuckled softly, hiding the disdain in her eyes, "No worries, work takes priority. You can always have dinner another time; we’ll just go tonight."

"Alright then." Vivian pocketed her phone with regret, leaned her head on Sienna’s shoulder, and said, "Next time, when he’s free, let’s have another go."

"Mm-hmm."

Sienna resisted the urge to pull her arm away, responding lightly.

Leaving SOHO Shopping Center, it was already past five, and the twilight of late autumn had settled in.

The dining spot was already decided, a barbecue joint near Rippling Crest Estates.

Caleb’s mental composure remained as he nonchalantly agreed to this place when mentioned.

But when Vivian heard it, her heart skipped a beat, and her eyes flickered unnaturally.

Perhaps guilt or anxiety made her hesitate, "Rippling Crest Estates is far from here, and it’s rush hour—surely it’ll be jammed, and there’s probably a queue once we get there. How about we... choose another place?"

Sienna noticed her unease, slowly smiled, "It’s fine; we still have over half an hour before rush hour."

Vivian opened her mouth but found no words to counter, consoling herself that it was just a meal over there, nothing to fear.

The car drove for half an hour, finally reaching the barbecue restaurant.

Just a street away from Rippling Crest Estates.

The three entered together, took seats, and ordered; everything seemed normal. While grilling, Sienna’s little finger accidentally touched the edge of the grilling pan, causing her to quickly retract it.

In an instant, Caleb grabbed her hand, frowning, "Let me see; did it turn red from the burn?"

The slender fingers showed no traces of redness, and as she looked up, Sienna could see the concern overflowing from his eyes, "Does it hurt?"

In her memory, anything related to her always took first place in his heart.

Just like the first time she entered the kitchen, accidentally cutting herself, he thereafter forbade her from ever entering the kitchen—even to help.

"It doesn’t hurt anymore; I’m fine."

For some reason, the details in her memory, which had been dormant in the passage of time, were all awakening recently. Everything from the past was clear, yet now his infidelity and betrayal struck her with a heavy blow.

The pain of comparison nearly shattered her heart.

Caleb said, "Don’t move; I’ll handle the grilling."

Vivian, sitting opposite and watching the tenderness Caleb showed toward Sienna, felt uneasy herself.

Her hand unconsciously brushed against the edge of the grilling pan, causing her to yelp in pain, her pitiful eyes reflexively turning to Caleb.

Sienna quickly asked, "Are you alright, Vivian?"

Caleb merely offered a polite indifferent remark, "Be careful. If it burns, rinse it with water."

Vivian felt unbalanced and unwilling, biting her lip gently, "It’s fine; it’s not red, just got distracted for a moment."

"Were you thinking about your boyfriend?" Sienna teased.

Hearing this, Vivian gave her a shy side-eye, "Eat a piece of meat and shut that mouth."

As she spoke, her foot lightly grazed Caleb’s leg beneath the table.

Caleb paused slightly in his meat grilling, his gaze darkened briefly but continued calmly placing meat on Sienna’s plate, subtly moving his leg away.

When Vivian tried again, he frowned displeasedly, giving her a warning look from the corners of his eyes.

Vivian froze, inexplicably sensing a hint of warning, her mind flashing back to when they first got together, and Caleb told her, "We can do anything in private, but don’t show any flaws in front of Sienna."

Sienna was always his priority.

Vivian was well aware, but her heart had long since sunk into his nightly tenderness, forming a deep dependency on him.

Jealousy, envy, and unfairness arose within her.

But more than anything, she feared losing.

Fearing the loss of Caleb, fearing the loss of her current wealthy life and everything it brought.

Weighing her options, she clenched her fist, ultimately withdrawing her leg, pouting with a sense of grievance, and obediently eating her barbecue.

Sienna remained oblivious to this, finding little enjoyment in the barbecue dinner.

As the meal concluded, Sienna suggested driving Vivian home first, but Vivian waved it off and declined, so she didn’t insist further.

On the way back, a sudden "ding" sounded from her phone.

Sienna glanced down at the message: [Tomorrow, Caleb Sinclair will use the excuse of a business trip to accompany Vivian Nash.]