Chapter 6 Hurting Her Means Declaring War on Me

Carmen reached Sienna first.

"Have you completely lost your mind?"

Her voice carried across the hotel corridor. Several remaining guests slowed down to listen.

Yahir noticed them and lowered his voice. "Not here."

"She humiliated us in front of all Boston!" Carmen pointed at Sienna's ring. "She replaced Arnold with his own uncle like men are decorations she can move around."

"Arnold replaced me first," Sienna said. "He just forgot to inform the bride."

Dawson stepped forward. "Whatever Arnold did, you should have discussed this with the family."

"Why? So all of you could tell me to forgive him?"

"We would have found a reasonable solution."

Sienna looked at her eldest brother. She had secretly repaired the damage in his spine when every famous surgeon had declared he would never walk again.

He believed Rosie had found the doctor who saved him.

He had never once asked why Sienna disappeared for three days during his surgery.

"Your reasonable solution always requires me to suffer quietly," she said.

Clifford frowned. "Don't make this more dramatic than it is."

That sentence almost made her smile. In her first life, Clifford had said the same thing when she begged him to help her escape her kidnappers.

Mickey folded his arms. "Is this some stunt to make Arnold jealous?"

"You all think very highly of Arnold."

Rosie moved closer to Ronan, her expression gentle and concerned. "Mr. Walsh, I'm sorry you got pulled into our family problem. Sienna can be emotional. I'm sure once she calms down, she'll understand this was just a mistake—"

"Mrs. Walsh," Ronan said.

Rosie blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Her name, when you speak to me, is Mrs. Walsh."

Rosie's face tightened.

Carmen gave a bitter laugh. "This can't be real. You barely know her."

"I know enough."

"Then you should know she chased Arnold for years. She doesn't love you."

Ronan's hand settled at Sienna's waist.

"That sounds like my concern."

"Mr. Walsh—"

"Ronan," Sienna said softly, "we should go."

She had no wish to explain herself to people who had already chosen not to understand.

Carmen seized her arm. "You are coming home with us."

The corridor changed instantly.

Alec and two security men stepped forward. Ronan did not raise his voice, but the coldness in his face made Yahir pull Carmen back.

"Take your hand off my wife."

Carmen released Sienna.

Ronan looked at the red marks her mother's fingers had left beside the fading bruise from Arnold.

His jaw hardened.

"Listen carefully," he said to the Carlton family. "Sienna is no longer someone you can summon, insult, or punish. If she chooses to visit you, you will treat her with respect."

His gaze moved from Carmen to Yahir, then to each of the brothers.

"If any of you hurt her, you answer to me."

Dawson's expression turned dark. "Is that a threat?"

"No. A threat means you still have a choice."

Silence swallowed the corridor.

Ronan lifted Sienna's hand and showed them the ring.

"The officiant signed the marriage papers. This is not a performance, and I am not keeping Arnold's place warm."

"I am your husband because I chose to be, not because someone else failed you."

Rosie stared at the ring as if she wanted to tear it off Sienna's finger.

"But why her?" she whispered.

Ronan looked at her for the first time with open contempt.

"You ask that as if you were another option."

Color flooded Rosie's face.

Sienna nearly laughed, but Ronan had already guided her toward the private elevator.

Behind them, Carmen called her ungrateful. Mickey said she would regret this. Yahir ordered everyone to stop making a scene.

Not one of them asked Sienna to stay because they loved her.

The elevator doors closed.

Inside, Ronan's hand remained at her waist.

"You can let go now," she said.

"Do you want me to?"

The question caught her off guard.

She became painfully aware of the warmth of his palm through the thin silk of her dress.

"No," she admitted.

His eyes darkened, but his hand did not move.

The ride to Blackthorn Estate took them along the harbor and through a private road lined with old trees. Cameras followed the car from hidden posts. Steel gates opened before they reached them.

The manor rose above the water, built of dark stone and glass. It looked less like a home than a place designed to survive a siege.

It was the kind of place that made visitors lower their voices without being asked.

Inside, the staff formed a quiet line.

Susan, the housekeeper, smiled. "Welcome home, Mrs. Walsh."

Home.

The word hurt more than Sienna expected.

Ronan gave instructions about her meals, security, and access to the property. He spoke as if she had always belonged there.

Then his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen. "I have to deal with something downstairs."

"Downstairs?"

"The manor has several levels you didn't see from outside."

Before she could ask more, he turned to Susan. "Take my wife to our room."

Our room.

Sienna followed Susan upstairs.

The double doors opened onto a large bedroom in shades of black, gray, and dark wood.

There was only one bed.

Susan set Sienna's overnight bag beside it.

"Mr. Walsh was very clear," she said. "His wife sleeps here."