He instantly barked out the hospital's address and let out a cold snort.

"I see you've finally seen reason! Let me tell you, you have exactly thirty minutes to get here!

If you are even a single minute late, I will retract my offer instantly!"

"When that happens, even if you beg me on your knees, I might not be willing to take you back! Do you hear me?!"

With that, he hung up the phone with an air of immense superiority, a smug, triumphant smile playing upon his lips.

On the other side of the city, Sienna listened to the dead tone ringing from her handset, letting out a soft laugh before setting the device down.

"Thirty minutes? Perfect. There are indeed a few things... that must be stripped away from you in person."

Stella's wound had already been thoroughly cleansed and bandaged, and she had received her tetanus shot.

She leaned heavily against Shane's chest, her complexion pale, tears trembling on the edge of her eyelashes as she murmured weakly.

"Shane, please don't be angry with Sienna... This is all my fault, I shouldn't have gone near those dogs... I've caused you and Nate to suffer alongside me, and I've driven a wedge between you two..."

Staring down at her fragile, pathetic state, the persistent irritation in Shane's chest was temporarily forced down.

He pulled Stella closer, gently rubbing her back as he consciously softened his voice.

"Don't speak such foolishness, she is the one in the wrong, not you. Just focus on recovering, and don't overthink things."

Right at that moment, the door was suddenly flung open, and a tall, elegant silhouette swept into the room.

In the next fraction of a second, Sienna's gaze drifted over the pair, her lips curling into a blade of ice.

Seeing that she had indeed arrived, Shane felt his internal triumph surge even higher.

He issued a condescending command from his high horse, "Since you've graced us with your presence, why haven't you gone to settle the bill yet? What are you just standing there for?"

Sienna acted as though he hadn't spoken a single word, walking directly toward the hospital bed.

Her sharp gaze locked onto the exquisite emerald necklace resting against Stella's throat, before shifting to the matching emerald earrings adorning her earlobes, her eyes instantly sharpening into lethal points.

Without warning, she lunged forward, gripping the necklace tightly and ripping it away with absolute violence!

"Ah!" Stella shrieked in agony as the delicate chain snapped effortlessly.

The earring on her left ear was torn away in the same ruthless motion, ripping the lobe open instantly as crimson blood stained her collar.

"My necklace! My ear... It hurts so much!"

Stella clutched her bleeding ear, cowering back into Shane's embrace as her entire body trembled with sheer terror.

"Shane... She, she..."

"Sienna! Have you lost your mind?!"

Shane was momentarily paralyzed by shock, before leaping to his feet in a blind fury, reaching out to seize Sienna's wrist to teach her a lesson.

However, Sienna anticipated his movement, swinging her arm back and delivering a savage, ringing slap straight across his face!

Slap! The resounding crack echoed through the room, plunging the entire emergency area into absolute silence; even the neighboring patients and nurses stared on in paralyzed shock.

Sienna lightly shook out her hand, her voice dripping with an arctic chill.

"This is an ancestral heirloom passed down through generations by my grandmother to the Fontaine family. Since when does an insignificant outsider like her have the right to flaunt it in public?"

"Shane Vance, what kind of pathetic creature do you think you are, daring to take my property to court another woman?"

Shane clutched his burning cheek, his skin stinging fiercely as a wave of profound humiliation and intense rage washed over him.

Seeing Sienna pocket the jewels and turn to make her exit, he finally snapped back to his senses, grabbing her wrist with a desperate strength and dragging her forcefully out to the stairwell of the corridor.

"Sienna! Have you not had enough of this childish tantrum?!"

He pinned her against the corner of the wall, his brow heavily furrowed as he hissed in a low, volatile voice.

"Take a good look at yourself right now!"

"Must you escalate this until it is entirely beyond repair? This serves absolutely no one!"

He took a deep breath, staring directly into her eyes.

"Be obedient, and stop this madness."

"I am willing to reconcile with you now. As long as you walk back inside and offer a proper apology to Stella, I will act as though none of this ever happened. We can go back to living our lives properly, understood?"

Sienna suddenly burst into laughter.

She raised her free hand, and with absolute swiftness and dexterity, unclasped the luxury timepiece gracing his wrist.

Shane felt an abrupt emptiness against his skin. Stricken with confusion, he looked down at his bare wrist, before staring at the watch resting carelessly in Sienna's palm, "You...!"

"This watch, if my memory serves me correctly, was the birthday gift I presented to you last year. The original invoice is still sitting securely in my safe."

Sienna casually turned the watch over in her fingers, her tone light and airy.

"Since it was purchased entirely with my capital, I naturally reserve the absolute right to reclaim it. If you are truly so enamored by it, Mr. Vance, you are more than welcome to buy it back at its retail price of thirteen point eight million. I shall be waiting."

With that, she forcefully wrenched her wrist from his grip, turning away with absolute finality as she walked out of his life.

Chapter 6

Shane froze entirely in place, watching her retreating silhouette as a sudden wave of panic washed over him.

The Sienna standing before him now was genuinely and completely different from the woman who used to be subservient to his every whim, dragging her dignity through the dirt just for him!

But in the next heartbeat, he forcefully suppressed that sudden trace of fear.

No, it was impossible!

She was undeniably using a calculated tactic to draw him back!

Just wait; it wouldn't be long before she came crawling back to him in tears, begging for his forgiveness!

Reassuring himself with these thoughts, Shane took several deep breaths, smoothed out his slightly disheveled collar, and turned to walk back into the emergency room.

Seeing him enter, Stella's gaze immediately fell upon his bare wrist, before drifting to the faint red mark blossoming across his cheek, a flicker of suspicion and alarm flashing through her eyes.

Yet, she instantly reverted to her fragile, weeping persona, choking out, "Shane, I am so sorry, I've brought nothing but misery upon you..."

Shane was currently consumed by a chaotic mess of frustration, leaving him with absolutely no patience to soothe her. He stated in a heavy tone, "Stop crying. There is an exclusive business gala in two days; make sure you compose yourself by then. I will escort you there myself, and I'll buy you something far superior."

Hearing this, Stella's eyes instantly ignited with excitement, her tears instantly vanishing as she offered an obedient nod, "Mmh, I will do exactly as you say."

The moment Sienna returned to her estate, her phone began to ring. It was a call from her closest childhood friend.

"Sienna, the invitation to that elite business gala in two days was sent to my office. Would you care to join me and clear your head a little?"

Her friend extended the invitation with a careful, tentative tone.

After all, the old Sienna had practically severed all social ties just to stay at home for Shane's sake.

A brilliant smile graced Sienna's lips, "Of course I will attend. How could I possibly squander such a perfect opportunity?"

Her friend was visibly stunned, her voice rising in absolute shock.

"Are you serious?! You... didn't you used to drone on about maintaining some ridiculous marital virtue for Shane's sake, completely refusing to ever attend these galas? What on earth made you change your mind so suddenly?"

Recalling the pathetic display from earlier, a cold rage rippled through Sienna as she stated flatly, "It doesn't matter anymore. I am simply operating under the assumption that he is dead."

On the other end of the line, her friend let out a sharp gasp of pure shock.

It took several seconds before she managed to stammer out, "Dead?! What happened? How could it be so sudden?"

"Sienna... are you holding up okay? Are you completely heartbroken? Do you need me to come over to your estate right this second to keep you company?"

It was completely natural for her friend to be so profoundly shocked.

Over the past five years, Sienna had poured her entire heart and soul into Shane Vance, completely cutting off ties with virtually every single one of her old companions, living as nothing more than an extension of Shane himself.