Chapter 12:Sting and Solidarity
1182 Words
Sienna
The Maldives was everything Julian promised. The water was a blue so clear it looked like liquid diamonds, and our private villa sat right over the waves, connected to the world only by a long, winding wooden boardwalk.
As soon as we reached the front door, Julian didn't wait for me to walk in. He swept me up in his arms, his muscles bunching under his linen shirt, and carried me over the threshold.
"Alone at last," he murmured, his voice echoing against the vaulted bamboo ceilings.
The staff had already left a spread of tropical fruit and chilled champagne before disappearing. For the next ten days, the only people allowed on this dock were the two of us. No Leo, no Grandparents, and definitely no Tiffany T.
"I'm going to go change into something more... island appropriate," I said, giving him a coy smile as I escaped his grip and headed for my suitcase.
I opened my bag and felt a surge of "witchy" triumph. I hadn't packed the designer sarongs or the modest one-pieces Maria had suggested. Instead, I had packed an entire collection of the smallest, brightest safety-cone orange bikinis I could find.
If Julian Vane thought he was done with the color orange, he was sadly mistaken.
Julian
I was out on the deck, pouring two glasses of champagne, when I heard the sliding glass door creak open. I turned around, expecting to see Sienna in a sundress.
The glass in my hand nearly shattered.
There she was, leaning against the doorframe in a bikini that was barely more than three orange triangles and some string. The color was blinding against her smooth, glowing skin, highlighting every curve I’d spent the last forty-eight hours memorizing.
I stood there, paralyzed, my blood starting to pump at a dangerous velocity.
"You've got to be kidding me," I groaned, though a traitorous smile was tugging at my lips. "Orange, Sienna? Still? You're trying to kill me, aren't you?"
"I thought you liked the color," she teased, stepping out into the sunlight. "It’s the Vane Signature, isn't it? I just wanted to show my support for the family business."
I set the champagne down before I spilled it and walked toward her. My eyes raked over her, from the top of her head down to her toes. "I think I’m starting to officially love the color orange. Especially with all your... attributes... so beautifully displayed for my enjoyment, Wife."
Sienna didn't back away. She leaned back against the railing, the turquoise ocean framing her like a masterpiece.
"Is that so, Mr. Vane?" she cooed, her voice dropping into that shy, sultry register that drove me insane. "Well, then... why don't you come here and get a closer view of said attributes, Sir?"
I didn't need a second invitation.
"You ain't gotta tell me twice," I growled, closing the distance between us in a single stride.
The war wasn't just nuclear anymore. In the middle of the Indian Ocean, under the blazing sun, the Sterling-Vane merger was finally, officially, reaching its boiling point.
Sienna
The plan was simple: a romantic snorkeling trip to the private reef just off the villa. We were supposed to be looking at colorful fish and coral. Instead, I was watching the "Construction King" have a complete existential crisis in four feet of water.
"It got me! Sienna, it got me!" Julian yelled, splashing toward the shore like he was being chased by a Great White.
"What? A shark?" I scrambled after him, my heart racing.
"A jellyfish!" He collapsed onto the white sand, clutching the back of his leg. His face was pale, and he was breathing like he’d just run a marathon. "Oh god, I can't die. I’m too young to die now. I just got the East Side permits! I just got you!"
He slumped back, raising his arms dramatically toward the blazing tropical sun. "I can see it, Sienna. I can see the light. It’s so bright..."
"Julian, stop it!" I reached down and gave his reaching arm a sharp slap. "You are not going to die, baby! Stay away from the light! Do you hear me? Stay away!"
"It burns, Sterling! It burns like a thousand orange closets!"
I dropped to my knees beside him, inspecting the red, angry welt on his calf. "Okay, think. I read this somewhere. Or saw it in a movie. You have to... you have to pee on it."
Julian stopped reaching for heaven and snapped his head toward me, his eyes wide with horror. "You want me to what? It’s on the back of my leg, Sienna! I’m an athlete, not a contortionist! How am I supposed to do that?"
"I don't know! Try!" I yelled back, the panic making me hysterical. "Do you want to see the light or do you want to save your leg?"
"I can't aim that way! It's physically impossible!" He looked at me, a desperate, pathetic look in his eyes that I had never seen before. "Sienna... you’re my wife.You don't wanna end up a young widow do you?..Sienna..For better or for worse. In sickness and in... jellyfish stings."
I stared at him. I looked at the sting. I looked at the empty beach. "You are never, ever letting this go, are you?"
"I'll buy you a diamond mine," he promised through gritted teeth. "Just... please."
I won't go into the logistics, but let’s just say that a Sterling’s pride is a small price to pay for a Vane’s survival.
Ten minutes later, we were sitting side-by-side on the sand, the "emergency treatment" complete. The burning had subsided, but the dignity was officially deceased.
Julian leaned back on his elbows, staring out at the ocean. "It’s okay, baby," he said, his voice returning to its smooth, confident tone. "You were just helping me. It was a medical necessity. A heroic act of love."
I turned to him, my face a bright, flaming red that put my bikini to shame. "Julian Vane, if you ever—and I mean ever—mention this to Leo, or the group chat, or even a passing seagull, I will divorce you and take the penthouse."
Julian let out a small, shaky breath, and then a chuckle. Then a full-blown, belly-shaking laugh. "Deal. You take this to your grave, and I’ll take the secret of how loud you screamed 'Stay away from the light' to mine."
I tried to stay mad. I really did. But seeing him sitting there, covered in sand and sea salt, looking so human and so ridiculous, I couldn't help it. I started laughing too, leaning my head on his shoulder.
"We are the worst billionaires in the world," I muttered.
"Maybe," Julian said, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me close. "But we’re definitely the best team."
- Writer
