The Bigshot Married Himself to the Heiress-Chapter 571 - 612: Untie the Knot in the Heart

Sienna Johnson looked at Adolph Desmond, noticing he had aged considerably. His temples had turned white, and the wrinkles on his face were more prominent. It seemed he had carried many worries in recent years.

"Uncle Adolph, we haven’t seen each other for many years."

Adolph respectfully replied, "Yes, Madam. It’s been almost four years, nearly five, since we last met. I wonder, how have you been all these years?"

"I’ve been doing quite well."

With his head lowered, Adolph thought to himself, You’re doing well, but our Sixth Master isn’t.

Back then, Adrian had instructed him to watch over Madam. However, the clever Madam had outmaneuvered him, escaping right under his nose, and Adrian had almost killed him in a fit of rage.

Adolph had complicated feelings towards Sienna.

"Let’s go."

"Alright."

Adrian held her hand as they walked towards the place they once lived. Passing Mirror Lake, Sienna was surprised to find it planted full of the lotus flowers she liked.

She paused to admire the view. The faint fragrance of lotus blossoms filled the air, carried to her nostrils by the night breeze.

"I remember there were no lotus flowers planted here before. When did you plant them?" Sienna walked over, wanting to pick one, but Adrian stopped her.

"The bank is slippery. Let me do it, you might fall in." Adrian’s long arms easily plucked a white lotus flower for her.

He handed the lotus flower to Sienna. She took it, smelled it, and said, "Thank you. I like it very much."

"If you like it, I’ll have the servants pick a few every day and put them in your bedroom."

"Alright," Sienna readily agreed, not feeling the need to be overly polite with him.

Sienna held the lotus flower in one hand and Adrian’s hand in the other as they walked towards their residence. Approaching their old home, a wave of nostalgia mixed with apprehension washed over her, and Sienna felt a little nervous.

Her room, originally Adrian’s, was the Desmond family’s master suite, located in the very center of Desmond Manor. It was a three-story building in the Ming and Qing architectural style, with her room on the third floor. Opening the south-facing window offered a view of the garden, the rockery, Mirror Lake...

"What’s wrong?" Adrian asked, looking at her curiously when he saw her stop at the doorway.

"I’m just calming myself down."

"Why do you need to calm down when returning to a room you once lived in?"

"This place used to be a cage for me, a place I desperately wanted to escape. After being imprisoned for so long, then finally escaping, only to return to that same cage... of course, I need to compose myself," Sienna said jokingly.

Adrian was speechless. After a moment, he too suppressed the anger rising in his chest and suddenly pushed the door open. "Mrs. Desmond, this is not a cage! This is where I grew up! This was our home!"

This woman always had a knack for making him furious. If he died young someday, he was sure the cause of death would be singular: Sienna Johnson would have angered him to death!

She paused at the door for a moment and then walked in.

Adrian turned on the lights, illuminating the room. It was exactly as Sienna remembered it.

She walked over to the fabric sofa. On it lay a pair of cushions she had made by hand, embroidered with two chibi characters—one depicting her and the other, of course, Adrian.

She had drawn the chibi characters herself and embroidered them stitch by stitch when their feelings for each other were at their strongest.

She picked up her chibi cushion, gently caressing the chubby face of her likeness on it, and said, "You actually kept these?"

"What of yours haven’t I kept?" Adrian’s tone was slightly resentful. "After you left, I didn’t allow anyone to touch anything in this room. I didn’t wash your pillow or bedding for a year. Only when your scent had completely faded did I finally have them cleaned."

...

"You said this place was your cage, but in reality, it became mine. I couldn’t find you, so all I could do was return here, relying on the things you left behind, on our memories, to endure each passing day..."

...

"Back then, I wanted to find you quickly, but I didn’t dare to pursue too aggressively. You, pregnant as you were, still dared to run. Do you know, during that time, I had nightmares every single night? I dreamed you were being hunted by my men, that you’d fall, blood would be everywhere, and the child... gone..."

"I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I thought you and Melanie Carpenter were happy together, and that, with time, you would forget me. As for the child... I figured you and Melanie would eventually have children of your own..."

That was what she had thought at the time.

A man unwilling to give her his exclusive love—his love must be cheap. Given enough time, it would fade, and he would forget.

"Is that the kind of person you think I am?" He felt a sting of mockery and injustice. "All I’ve done for you... Haven’t I treated you well enough? Did you ever think about me? When you threw me away like trash, did you ever consider how I felt?"

Perhaps it was the familiar surroundings stirring up old emotions; Adrian finally erupted. Here, in the place where they had lived for so long, surrounded by lingering traces of their life together, his pent-up feelings boiled over.

"Adrian, you chose Melanie Carpenter back then, so I had no choice but to leave! And I was not wrong to do so!"

... 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"The love I wanted had to be exclusive. No matter how well you treated me, if you couldn’t give me that exclusive love, then leaving was my only option!"

...

"You don’t need to feel wronged or angry. After you chose Melanie, I tried too, I truly did. But you never gave me a chance.

"I kept trying, right up until the very last moment—the day of your wedding to Melanie. That’s when I left.

"Your ceremony was at 10 a.m. I waited until 11 a.m., but you didn’t return. I only left after confirming that you and Melanie had completed the rites."

Adrian stood there, his gaze as deep and dark as the night, fixed on her. Unaffected by his dark mood, Sienna strolled around the room, examining the small trinkets she had once used. Many were items she had collected and cherished.

"I’m sorry, I just..."

"You don’t need to explain. I know you keep bringing up the past because you’re just venting the anger you can’t release otherwise. The pride of Abyanabad men... it’s truly insufferable."

...

"However, Adrian, you have to understand that since we’re together now, we can’t keep dwelling on the past. If we keep thinking about the hurt you caused me and the ways I betrayed you, we won’t be able to move on with our lives together. We’ll destroy this relationship we’ve worked so hard to rebuild.

"Maintaining a marriage sometimes means choosing to turn a blind eye. For us, that means letting go of the past and focusing only on how we’ll build our future..."

Sienna took the initiative to hold Adrian’s hand. Adrian knew she was right; it was pointless to dwell on the past. They had both made mistakes back then, and he realized fixating on it now was just stirring up trouble for no reason. So, Adrian gripped Sienna’s hand tightly.

Their fingers intertwined. Adrian took several deep breaths, reminding himself of what he needed to hold onto now and what he needed to release.

Regardless of the past, at least they were happy now.

Adrian rested his face against Sienna’s abdomen. Inside, another child was growing—their child, their own flesh and blood.