Chapter 54 A Fragile Dinner

• Ryan had done the same thing to her, and so had her parents. They had all treated her carelessly and then expected her to smile, forgive, and forget as if her heart had not mattered at all. Adrian had just done the same thing, hanging up without even waiting for her answer. The click of the phone stung like a slap, and irritation flared hot inside her, swelling until it became indignation. How dare he think she would simply fall in line because he had decided it for her?
• Sienna Hart set her jaw, straightened her back, and lifted her chin high. She would not let herself be dragged back into old patterns. She would never again be the gullible and adoring girl who allowed others to step over her as though her feelings were nothing. That part of her life was gone, buried, and it was not coming back. Never again.
• Adrian Kane, meanwhile, was buried under a mountain of work. His desk was stacked with reports, files, and endless figures that demanded his attention. He had no time for breaks and ignored lunch entirely, surviving instead on a protein bar he found at the bottom of a desk drawer and a fifth cup of strong black coffee that left a bitter trail on his tongue. The hours passed in a blur of tasks, but habit made him step out and walk the department floor. He liked to check in with his team, to ask questions about their projects, to remind them in his quiet way that his door was always open.