“What are you guys doing here?” I moved aside with a smile, leaving some space on the sofa for Rose to sit down.
She clearly had gotten past all of the Jackson drama and just sat down right next to me. “I heard that you guys came back, and I kept thinking about dropping by, but I was in Europe at the time, so I pushed it all the way to now. You’re not mad, are you?”
“Of course not! I’m glad to see you. Don’t worry about that,” I said breezily. Catching on to what she said earlier, I continued, “Has the Harrisons’ business already broken into Epea?”
“Not yet,” Rose said, a bright red blush suddenly creeping onto her cheeks. She glanced at Nick before saying, “We went for our honeymoon. Nick had been really busy the past year with work, so the moment he got some free time about six months ago, he took me on a global tour.”
Holden smiled meaningfully and interrupted, “Good for you, Mr. Harrison! I told you, men do best when they’re with women. Now you know why we tried so hard, right?”
Rose’s smile stiffened at Holden’s words.
I sighed. Holden was straightforward, but he definitely needed to learn about picking a time and place.
“Don’t listen to him. Mr. Taylor’s gone insane from counting dragon fruit seeds,” I quipped impatiently.
Holden probably imagined it unwillingly and ran off to the bathroom as he started to retch again.
“What happened to him?” Nick asked.
“Probably overdosed on dragon fruit,” Anthony said calmly.
“Ah,” Nick said, not trying to pick a fight. He then changed the subject and said, “We’ve brought you a present.”
He gestured toward the door, and his butlers walked in with a large package.
“Open them,” he commanded.
The butlers opened up the package and revealed the gift inside. It was an oil painting.
I was taken aback and fell silent in shock.
What’s going on? Is today National Art Day or something?
“What do you think? We won this at an auction in Granatano. It cost six point eight million!” Nick said as he admired the painting.
With the Harrisons’ prestige, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for them to give such an extravagant gift. Maybe due to my lack of artistic talent, I couldn’t understand the point of spending so much money on such a fragile piece of canvas.
Out of politeness, I received it with a smile. “I like it! I really like the scenery depicted in it.”
I really had no idea what else to praise out of lack of artistic talent, so all I could do was randomly point some things out.
“This is the ‘Summer Walk!’“ Rose said in shock. “Sienna, have you forgotten? This is your own painting!”
“Huh?” I said in a daze. “My painting?”
“Yeah!” Rose nodded frantically before saying happily, “Nick said it was fate to run into it even halfway across the world, so we decided to buy it as a present for you. It’s both charity and also a way for you to own your own work!”
“Haha…” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Here’s the thing, though. I don’t know how to draw. Didn’t Nick tell you?”
Rose shook her head in disbelief and turned to look at Nick.
Nick immediately burst out into laughter. “I said it on purpose. I thought it was weird because I knew that Sienna couldn’t draw, but I didn’t want to affect your mood on our honeymoon so I just made up a story. Sorry, darling!”
Rose started panicking. “Huh? Why didn’t you say so earlier? Doesn’t that mean we didn’t end up getting a souvenir for Sienna? Nick! How could you?”
Nick just shrugged.
“Okay, let’s not go any further into this.” I knew a couple’s spat could go on for a long time. It was starting to get late, too, so I went straight into the subject. “Nick, what exactly is going on?”
“What else could it be?” A defiant voice called out from the bathroom. “F*ck, it feels like I’ve just puked my guts out. I’ve only been at your house for a few minutes and I’m already within an inch of my life!”
For some reason, his voice sounded funny to me. He should start a comedy show, I thought to myself.
Holden’s expression soured at the sight of my mirth and he clutched his stomach as he walked toward us. He had to support himself against the wall as he staggered into the living room and said, “Your drawings may not be worth a penny, but art is priceless. If you sell it, your money won’t be clean anymore. How could you miss such a simple theory?”
His words hit the mark for me. After a brief moment of hesitation, I finally realized how terrifying this all was.
Only dirty money had to be laundered. If it was dirty money, that meant it had been acquired illegally. The moment the transaction got discovered by the policemen, I would at least be arrested for aiding and abetting a crime as the so-called owner of the painting. Even if I didn’t think about the sentence I would get, I would still lose my freedom. I barely managed to get my freedom back, but it seemed like I was on the verge of losing it again.
Why?
Everything was starting to fall into place, so why is everything going downhill again?
I felt myself growing numb after all of my inward complaints.
Suddenly, a warm palm enveloped mine and I came back to my senses, realizing Anthony was holding my hand. I tried my best to bring myself back to reality.
The reason evil people were evil was that they didn’t know anywhere else apart from hell. Not only did they not realize any mistakes, but they also tried to drag innocent people inside. All they wanted to do was to see me panic and fret and cry, so if I showed them that they had gotten to me, they would have achieved their goal.
“That’s right,” Nick said seriously. “That’s why I brought Rose over once we landed. People are really cunning nowadays and you all need to be careful. I know you know how to get rid of being suspected as a culprit in money laundering since you studied law, but I just wanted to remind you to do it as soon as possible. It would be bad if you only try to solve it when it comes knocking at your door. By then, it’ll be even harder to get out of it.”
“Okay,” I replied dully. I couldn’t smile anymore and decided to send them off. “I got it. It’s been a really long day, so I’m going to head upstairs now. Feel free to continue on with your conversation.”
“But Sienna, we just arrived-”
“Rose,” Nick interrupted. He could clearly tell that I didn’t want to continue talking and glanced at Rose. After indicating for her not to continue the conversation, he helpfully suggested, “It’s getting late, we’ll make ourselves scarce so you can rest. The kids are at home waiting for us, anyway.”
I couldn’t exactly be aloof in the face of his considerate words, so I sent them out before trudging upstairs.
I still heard Holden gossiping behind me as I left, “Isn’t Nick gay? Has he always been such a manly man?”
I took a hot shower and had just lay down when Anthony walked in and took off his jacket before lying down next to me, pulling me into his embrace.
“Are you stressed out?” Anthony asked quietly after hugging me for a while.
Everyone’s mood changed under the influence of their surroundings, and naturally, Anthony had already grasped the ins and outs of my own mood swings. His tone was so gentle I felt like I was floating on a cloud.
“A little bit.” I flipped around and burrowed into his embrace like a scared rabbit until I was flush against his chest. Sighing in relief, I murmured, “When will we be able to live our lives peacefully?”
“I’m always here for you to rely on,” Anthony said as he leaned over and patted my arm with a warm hand.
His protective gesture suddenly made me feel like a kid again.
I shot my head up and bit onto his chin in retaliation.
“Ouch!” Anthony hissed as he frowned deeply. In just a second, though, his brows relaxed, and he acted as if nothing had happened.
“Did it hurt?” I asked, knowing the answer.
“It itched a little bit,” he said seriously.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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