Chapter 2
1015 Words
Sienna showed up at her best friend, Tara Hart's door like a ghost. Tara's face went from shock to fury in a heartbeat.
"Where the hell have you been for the past seven years? Do you know..." Tara was shouting at the top of her lungs, but when she saw Sienna's pale face and hollow eyes, her voice died in her throat. Anger melted into pain. "You... how did you end up like this?"
Before Sienna could speak, Tara was already cursing his name through gritted teeth. "That bastard Griffin Gates. He got what was coming to him, so why is he treating you like this?"
Sienna froze. "He... what happened?"
"You don't know? In that car accident back then, he was seriously hurt too. He was in a coma for six months. When he woke up, he had amnesia."
Sienna's mind went blank.
The truth of the accident. Seven years of emptiness. The woman who had stolen her life. Everything clicked into place at once.
He hadn't stopped loving her. He had forgotten her.
Her voice came out hoarse but eerily calm. "Help me get a fake identity. I'm going to take back everything that belongs to me."
One day later, Sienna had a new name: Ann Fletcher.
She also landed an interview for a junior assistant position in the president's office at Gates Group.
The interviewer glanced at her resume and didn't even try to hide her disdain. "Ms. Fletcher, we need elites in the president's office. Your resume... I'm afraid it doesn't even meet the bar for an intern."
She tossed the resume onto the desk and made a polite "after you" gesture.
Sienna turned to leave. Just then, the interview room door was pushed open.
Griffin passed by, flanked by a crowd of executives.
He walked steadily, eyes straight ahead, not seeming to notice her at all.
Just as he was about to walk past, the interviewer bowed slightly. "Mr. Gates."
Sienna lowered her head too.
"Mm." His reply was curt.
She could feel a sharp gaze land on the top of her head.
She didn't dare look up. She stared at her own toes, every muscle in her body taut.
"Let's go." He finally spoke, his voice betraying no emotion.
Footsteps faded away.
Then her phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.
"Ms. Ann Fletcher, congratulations on passing the interview. Please report to the 36th-floor president's office at 9 AM tomorrow."
On her first day, Sienna stepped into that place as "Ann Fletcher" — a place she had once known like the back of her hand.
A senior colleague handed her a sticky note and told her to order coffee. The note said: "Mr. Gates: Hot Americano."
Sienna's fingers went cold.
Over seven years, Vivian had turned him into a completely different person.
Without changing her expression, she ordered him an iced Americano instead. And in the special instructions, she wrote the code phrase that only the two of them knew.
"One very warm ice cube."
When she went to pick up the coffee, another assistant noticed the conspicuously iced drink in her hand and frowned immediately.
"You're new here, aren't you? Mr. Gates doesn't drink iced coffee. Mrs. Gates specifically said it's bad for his stomach."
She reached to take it from Sienna, but Sienna sidestepped.
"We're short on time. I'll deliver it. I take full responsibility."
She carried that cup of coffee — the one holding all her hope, all her desperation — toward the president's office.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
Griffin was looking down at documents. He didn't look up.
When the cup of coffee clinking with ice cubes was placed gently by his hand, he frowned.
His gaze shifted from the coffee to Sienna's face — a flicker of scrutiny, of confusion. Then, for some reason, he picked it up and took a sip.
The next second, he clutched his head. His handsome brows twisted in pain.
Bang.
The coffee cup slammed down on the desk. Brown liquid splattered everywhere.
He pressed his knuckles hard against his temples, as if fighting off a violent surge of pain.
Then the door burst open.
Vivian walked in, teetering on high heels, carrying an elegant thermos.
"Griffin, I..."
Her smile froze the moment she saw Griffin's pained expression. Her gaze shot toward Sienna like a blade.
When she saw Sienna's face clearly, her pupils constricted sharply. "It's you."
In an instant, she switched to a tearful, wounded look and rushed to Griffin's side. "Griffin! It's her! I knew it was her. The moment she appears, your head starts hurting. She's a jinx."
Without waiting for Griffin to react, she completely exploded. She screamed at Sienna hysterically.
"Get out. You're a persistent, crazy ghost. Security. Security."
She ran to the door and shouted into the hallway. "Throw her out. Now. Immediately."
Two security guards rushed in and grabbed Sienna roughly.
Under the contemptuous stares of the entire office, she was dragged out like a piece of trash and thrown out of the Gates Group building.
Her plan had failed. On the very first day. In the most humiliating way possible.
She stood on the busy street corner, feeling like garbage the world had discarded. Her whole body was cold.
A black Bentley glided silently to a stop in front of her.
The driver, Gary Mills, got out to open the back door.
Then he looked up and saw Sienna.
He froze. His eyes went wide. His mouth opened, and the old nickname almost slipped out.
"Miss Sie—"
Sienna shot him a look. Gary swallowed the rest of his words. The color drained from his face, leaving only shock and a trace of fear.
Griffin walked out of the building, expressionless, and got straight into the back seat. He didn't glance at her even once.
The Bentley slid past her.
In that instant, through the window, Sienna clearly saw Griffin's profile.
His lips moved silently, saying something to Gary, who was still rattled in the driver's seat.
Gary's shoulders stiffened. His hands, gripping the steering wheel, were shaking.
- Writer
