Trapped by My Ex's Love Curse

Another Woman

Shienna smiled happily as she saw the package arrive, and she unwrapped it. Jennifer sent the piano and other musical instruments to the penthouse, bringing her to sudden tears.

"Oh, look at that! She's so considerate of me," Shienna muttered as she wiped away the tears and dialed the number on her cell phone screen. "J... are you free? I want to meet you and thank you for your concern."

"What? What for, Shie? Never mind... I did that as your assistant, so consider it my duty, and you've paid a good amount. Your husband has also added a severance bonus for me," Jennifer replied.

"What? Are you sure he increased the severance bonus for you? Why would he do that?"

"I don't know. Ask your husband."

"No, I won't. I want to hear from you. La Café, at lunchtime. I don't want any rejection. This is a reunion of friends, and you must make time, okay?"

After getting an affirmative answer from her friend, Shienna went back to opening some packages and arranging them in the empty room that she had made into her music room. She looked at the room with a happy heart and then headed to the corner where she had placed her cello.

She looked at it momentarily, then sat on a chair and played her favorite instrument. The beautiful tones flowed, and Shienna was lost in the tune she was playing. However, the presence of someone interrupted her pleasure.

"Do you need anything, ma'am? You haven't finished your breakfast," said one of the women Bryan had hired to be her assistant. Or perhaps this woman was the cook at his house? Shienna could not remember.

"Um, yes. I'll finish it later. Or if you don't mind, can you bring it here? I'll eat it right away."

The woman nodded, then hurriedly picked up the tray Shienna had placed on the nightstand and put it on the table.

"Thank you. What's your name?"

"Elea, ma'am. Is there anything else you want?"

"I don't think so," replied Shienna, who, a moment later, remembered her appointment with Jennifer. She looked at her watch where it was ten o'clock. She had to prepare, but Elea, her assistant, did not leave the room but stayed with her. "What are you waiting for? Why don't you get out of here?"

"Because Mr. Sanders asked me to take care of you, ma'am."

"Urgh! He's acting up again. Is he hiring new people to work with him to spy on me?" Shienna turned to the woman whose age seemed young. She got an idea to keep Elea from following her around. "Um, Elea, how about you help the cook prepare something? I'd love to eat kimchi. You know kimchi, right?"

Elea nodded.

"Good. I want you and the cook to make me some delicious kimchi. Hmm... you can buy the ingredients and start making it today." Shienna opened her wallet and handed Elea a few hundred-dollar bills. The woman seemed hesitant to accept them. "Why? Is this not enough?"

"It's not like that, ma'am. Mr. Sanders already gave us our spending money in the morning, but he gave me the task of not leaving and going with you wherever you go."

"Tsk! Damn it! That bastard was intent on locking me up!" muttered Shienna, then turned to Elea with a returning smile. "I just asked you to go shopping, Elea. Don't you feel sorry for me and my baby with my cravings?"

Shienna put on a pleading face to get Elea to fulfill her wish. However, it seemed that Bryan had anticipated this, so he had hired an assistant who was impervious to Shienna's ultimate moves. Shienna must have forgotten that Bryan had been her boyfriend for two years. Long enough to know some of her quirks.

"Alright then. You wait here. I need to see my husband," Shienna said, smiling but hurriedly stepping to meet Bryan in the room just below her penthouse.

Shienna arrived at the room, swearing because she had sprained her foot in her high heels. Without excusing herself, she opened the door to the room where she first met Bryan. The room that was his office

"What are you up to this time, asshole! Why would you hire someone who looks exactly like—oops!" Shienna stopped her tirade and forced a wry smile because Bryan was not alone in his office, but several men were his business colleagues. "Um, I'll wait for you outside... baby."

Shienna turned around and hurried out, and soon Bryan was behind her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Why didn't you tell me you had company? None of the waiters told me."

"Because you are my wife. They will let you in anywhere. Now tell me, what did you come to see me for?" Bryan asked with not a trace of anger on his face.

'Isn't he angry or embarrassed that I just walked in and called him an asshole?' Shienna wondered.

"Hurry up, I don't have much time." Bryan looked at his wristwatch impatiently.

"Why did you ask Elea to keep following me?"

"Elea? Who's Elea?"

"My new assistant. She's just an assistant, and you said I'm no longer a public figure, so I don't need anyone's assistance. Then why did Elea say you asked her to stay close to me?"

"Are you done? That's it?" asked Bryan, looking at the office to ensure the colleagues were still there. "Is my reasoning yesterday still not clear enough for you? I want you to be safe and comfortable. That's all."

"If like this, I can't say I'm comfortable! Jennie never follows me anywhere except for work matters."

"Elea is not an assistant at work. I hired her to look after and serve you. So don't protest. When you're done, I must return to my work."

"Suit yourself!" Shienna stomped her feet and returned to her penthouse, finding Elea still in the music room. "Aren't you tired, Elea?"

Elea shook her head.

"I meant what I said earlier. Please go shopping and make kimchi for me. Oh, yes. Make some black pepper beef, too, and keep it refrigerated. I have to go because I have an appointment, and I hope you've prepared all my orders well."

Shienna was about to leave Elea, but the woman blocked her way. "Excuse me, ma'am. Where are you going?"

"I told you I have an appointment. I've asked my husband's permission, and he's granted it. So don't waste my time."

Elea didn't answer but pressed a button in her ear, then spoke to someone. Shortly afterward, a well-built woman Bryan had hired as a bodyguard came and stood before Shienna.

"Oh my God! What is this? I want to meet my best friend, guys. I don't need an escort. Do you hear me?"

"This is an order from Mr. Sanders, ma'am."

Shienna just shook her hand, then hurriedly left the penthouse to meet up with Jennifer.

On the way, Shienna kept glancing sarcastically at the woman beside the driver's seat. The personal bodyguard that Bryan had hired made Shienna not free to do anything. Even Elea's presence alone made her feel like a prisoner.

"You don't have to get off. I'll be a minute," Shienna said, ordering the bodyguard to stay in the car. "Besides, I'm uncomfortable being escorted like a president."

The well-built woman didn't answer, but she pressed the button on the ear-mounted object and spoke softly so Shienna couldn't hear what she was saying.

Shienna tried not to care. She stepped out of the car, and several reporters swarmed around her who hadn't closed the door yet. And her bodyguard swiftly broke up the pack of news hounds and carried Shienna safely into the café.

Shienna looked around for Jennifer's whereabouts, and when she saw her, she rushed to her best friend's place.

"Are you okay?" Jennifer asked. "I didn't expect the reporters to gather like that in the parking lot. I thought they just wanted to interview Selena."

"Selena Denver? You mean she's here?" asked Shienna, unable to believe what lousy luck was surrounding her.

Jennifer leaned closer to Shienna and spoke in a half-whisper so that her bodyguards wouldn't hear what they were talking about.

"Selena is unhappy with your presence in Bryan's life. She calls you 'a relationship destroyer' and 'a lover-beater'. That's a very cruel nickname."

"What? Bryan didn't even mention anything about their relationship. Is he using me?"

Jennifer shrugged. She had never expected Shienna's love story to end like this.

"You should ask Bryan about it, Shie. You know, rumors spread very fast. What if they believe what Selena says? Your image will be bad in their eyes." Jennifer sipped her caramel coffee, then muttered, "Anyway, what's the matter with the newshounds? Doesn't it seem like you haven't had a scandal in five years? Even your relationship with David started far from gossipy until that asshole cheated on you behind your back! Was yesterday's press conference insufficient to make them believe in your marriage with Bryan?"

"How could anyone believe that, J? You can see that wherever I am and wherever I go, it's not Bryan who goes with me, but these people. I'm getting tired of protesting to those assholes because I will always lose."

"I think you must discuss this with your husband."

Shienna shrugged, and as she was about to sip her juice, a tall, slender woman approached her table.

"Hey... you're Shienna Miller, right? I'm Selena Denver, and I think you know about me well. Can I have a little talk with you?"

Shienna nodded, while Jennifer looked displeased by the woman's presence.

"Since when have you had a relationship with Bryan?" Selena asked. "You know that Bryan and I are in a relationship, right? We're even thinking of getting married."

Selena then showed Shienna the ring on her ring finger, took out her phone, and showed her the screen where she and Bryan took a selfie while showing the ring to the camera.

"I don't understand why you would come to an engaged man and claim to be pregnant with his child. Do you know how I feel?" The woman's gray irises began to glaze over.

Shienna looked out the window and saw that some people were already filming them, and she was sure that soon, the news would spread like the plague.

Jennifer was about to get up, as she couldn't bear to hear the story coming out of Selena's mouth. However, Shienna blocked her friend's intention and let the woman continue the words she had started.