CHAPTER 22: CHAPTER 22: INTENSIFYING

The car drove from the old city to the New District where Simon Forrester’s apartment is located, passing several overpasses and even crossing the sea bridge.

As soon as they got out of the car, still in the basement, Harrison Rowe silently dragged three large suitcases into the elevator first.

Sienna Thornton, Auntie King, and Simon Forrester took the next elevator.

In the elevator, Simon Forrester had his hands in his pockets, staring indifferently at the changing floor numbers, not saying a word.

Sienna Thornton felt complicated, but with Auntie King present, she didn’t feel comfortable asking any questions.

Firstly, she couldn’t understand why Simon Forrester would lend her his house. Secondly, simply staying at Simon Forrester’s home like this didn’t seem very appropriate.

She pondered the whole way, but couldn’t figure it out. However, thinking there was still Auntie King with her, and considering safety above all, she could only proceed step by step, seeing how things unfolded.

Harrison Rowe put down the luggage and then left first.

Simon Forrester stopped at the doors of the two rooms closest to the living room, opened them and looked inside, saying, "The cleaning service just tidied up the house yesterday, these two guest rooms are ready to stay in."

Auntie King supported Sienna Thornton as they walked over.

The two rooms were of the same size and layout. Sienna Thornton stood at the door, glanced inside, and smiled at Simon Forrester: "This is great, I really like it."

"Rest early."

Seeing Simon Forrester return to the master bedroom at the end of the hallway, Auntie King hurriedly moved Sienna Thornton’s luggage into the room to arrange it.

Sienna Thornton stood in the living room, leaning on her crutch, gazing around the whole house, admiring the living environment designed by a top architect.

This was her second visit to Simon Forrester’s home. Last time, due to unforeseen events, she didn’t have the chance to look around properly, so today she paid extra attention, knowing she would need to stay in this space for some time.

She had always thought that someone like Simon Forrester, an heir to an immense fortune and a celebrity, would live in a place either opulently decorated in rich colors or styled in a black, white, and gray dominant style typical of a boss.

But looking at it now, Simon Forrester’s home was actually very cozy and natural.

Entering from the foyer, to the right was a very spacious living room. A beige embossed TV feature wall, a hundred-inch ultra-thin TV; an L-shaped black leather sofa complemented by a beige solid wood coffee table, underneath was an massive white fur rug.

Connected to the living room was a floor-to-ceiling window as large as an entire wall, bright enough to let in ample light. Before the window was a black leather lounger, behind the lounger was a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf.

Sienna Thornton could almost imagine, countless evenings where Simon Forrester, holding various foreign books on architecture, lay on the lounger, embraced by Brimfield’s starlit sky.

On the left side of the foyer was a simple bar, and further inside was a high-ceilinged dining room and an open kitchen. Sienna Thornton glanced through the kitchen door; it was spotlessly clean, but all the necessary cooking utensils were available, implying that Simon Forrester occasionally cooked for himself.

Baroque-style artistic floor tiles separated the living room from the dining and kitchen area, extending to the living quarters inside.

On the left side of the living quarters was the guest bathroom and study, on the right were the two guest bedrooms, where Sienna Thornton and Auntie King would be staying for the time being. Naturally, at the end of the corridor was Simon Forrester’s master bedroom.

Though Sienna Thornton was very curious about what an architect’s bedroom looked like, the owner hadn’t extended an invitation, and this time she had learned her lesson; knocking on the door without warning might result in an awkward situation like last time, when Simon Forrester had just finished showering, wearing only a towel or nothing at all...

That would be truly embarrassing!

After wandering around, Sienna Thornton was quite satisfied with this apartment, which perfectly blended an industrial feel with modern vibes, and her longing to invite Simon Forrester to create a creative design for the guesthouse intensified.

Just when she wanted to explore further, Auntie King came out holding her phone, "Lawyer Thornton, your phone has been ringing for a long time."

Sienna Thornton glanced at her phone, and with a poor expression, pressed the call off. After a few seconds, the phone rang again.

After repeating this a few times, Sienna Thornton patiently answered —

"Sienna, are you alright?" Thomas Reed’s voice was obviously worried.

Sienna Thornton didn’t answer, slowly walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, sat on Simon Forrester’s lounger, and watched the splendid night view of Brimfield New District.

On the other end of the line, Thomas Reed, not getting a response, continued, "I know everything that happened tonight. I’ve been to your place, you weren’t there, where did you go? Are you hurt?"

"I’m fine. The lock at home is broken, I’m temporarily staying at a friend’s house," Sienna Thornton spoke calmly, her mood indistinguishable.

"Which friend? Maeve? I’m coming to find you right now."

"Not Maeve, don’t bother her!" Sienna Thornton’s voice was constrained with impatience.

Thomas Reed seemed to say something else on the phone, which finally turned Sienna Thornton’s impatience into anger: "Even if I’m staying at a male friend’s house, you have no authority, Master!"

Her chest heaved with anger, after hanging up the phone, she still felt it wasn’t enough, and furiously turned off her phone.

Standing behind her, Auntie King looked worried: "Lawyer Thornton, are you alright?"

Sienna Thornton waved her hand with her back facing her: "I’m fine, you should go to sleep, don’t worry about me."

Auntie King timidly responded "Oh" and returned to her room.

At this moment, the vast living room only had her, just as she was the only one who could bear this damn predicament.

The night, when people are most emotionally vulnerable, as the hustle of the day recedes, she suddenly felt a bit lonely.

Sienna Thornton gazed at the night scene, lost in thought, completely unaware someone was approaching her.