Chapter 4
Sienna thought I was scared of her and strutted around, full of pride. All through dinner, she took shots at me, every remark a jab meant to put me in my place.
The very next day, she posted a photo of a private jet, with her location tagged in Valoria.
Even if our boss hadn't planned to fire Sienna this time around, it didn't matter. Our company soon got hammered by a rival. We looked into it and, sure enough, Sienna was the one behind it. Within weeks, the company folded, and we were all out of work.
My colleagues cursed her while sending out their résumés.
However, Sienna wasn't done. As petty as ever, she got me blacklisted across the entire industry.
Then, my phone lit up with her messages.
"Aria, who told you to egg our coworkers on? Don't think I don't know. They're calling me crazy because you stirred the pot!
"My baby is due in two months. I'm about to become the most prestigious woman in the world. Come to Valoria and lick my boots, and maybe I'll let you be a maid in my palace."
I actually laughed and texted back. "Doesn't it seem odd who they really care about? Is it you or the baby? You're just a vessel, nothing more. What's there to be so proud of?"
She blew up and called me, her voice so shrill it could have cracked glass.
"Shut up! Andre cares about me and our child. Not just anyone can carry his baby! If you've got the nerve, come to Valoria when I'm in labor. I'll show you how everyone adores me! Then, you'll see how ridiculous you are!"
After days of hitting dead ends in my job search, I was already sitting on a powder keg. Fine. I'd use the money I had saved for a future baby to take a trip and see how this would really end.
"Deal," I said. "See you soon."
Two months later, I landed in Valoria.
Sienna sent a butler to pick me up. She was screaming in the delivery room when I arrived. Andre's focus was fixed entirely on the baby. He told the doctors to push induction drugs that were rough on her body.
His breathing quickened, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "Hurry," he said. "Get the baby out!"
The royals who supposedly doted on Sienna crowded the hallway, urging the doctors to do a C-section right away and get the baby out. No one spared a thought for Sienna. Every mind in that corridor was fixed on the baby.
At last, the baby's cry rang out. Sienna nearly lost consciousness.
Andre strode into the room without giving the pale Sienna on the bed a single glance. The royals cheered in the hallway, but not one of them went in to check on Sienna.
It was exactly the cold shoulder I had lived through in my previous life.
Then, the doctor said something to Andre.
Summoning the last shred of strength she had, Sienna screamed from the bed, "What? How can you do that to my baby?"
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