Fake Heiress Real Trouble (Sienna) novel Chapter 140

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Lauren caught Jessica’s hand as she reached for the necklace. “We’ve already paid for it–there’s no need to return it. I don’t take back what I give. Would you have me lose face?”

If I really take this necklace back, they’ll all laugh at me behind my back and I’ll be the joke.‘ Lauren thought.

I’m one of the young masters of the Fairbank family–there’s no way I could return such an expensive necklace. Sure, the Fairbanks might be struggling right now, but no one else knows about it!‘ He was still trying to save face.

“Face?” Melvin scoffed, grabbing a pillow and hurling it right at Lauren. “The Fairbank family’s about to crash and burn–our dignity’s about to get trampled into the dirt! And you wanna talk to me about saving face? What face do you even have left?”

After yelling, Melvin’s vision blurred, and he slumped back against the couch, gasping for breath. His anger was so intense that his head throbbed as if it might split apart. He pressed his hand firmly on his forehead, his face contorted in pain.

In that daze, memories of the past rushed back. Back then, the endless work stress and all–nighters always caused a sharp pain to drill through his skull whenever things got intense.

Ever since Sienna was brought back, whenever his headache became unbearable, she would quietly brew an herbal tonic and deliver it to his room without a word. Her gentle, perfectly timed touch would always soothe his forehead just right.

Ever since Sienna joined the Fairbank family, it had been ages since he last experienced one of those intense headaches.

But now that Sienna was gone, his headaches started acting up again. No one even bothered to check on him

anymore.

The more Melvin dwelled on it, the more irritated and fed up he felt. He waved a hand impatiently. “Go call your mom down here!” he barked, hacking into another rough cough.

Lauren grumbled, “You already roughed Mom up… She just finally got to rest, and now you want to make her get up again?”

“Just do as I say!” Melvin snapped, his eyes flying open as he slammed his hand down on the couch, his face twisted with rage.

Lauren flinched in fear. Seeing how tense the situation was, Jessica immediately jumped up. “Dad, don’t be upset–I’ll go get Mom right away.” With that, she hurried toward her mom’s room.

As she ran, she clutched the necklace still hanging around her neck, making sure it stayed secure. Every movement she made showed how eager she was to escape the stifling atmosphere of the living room.

After a while, Jessica finally returned, helping Hazel limp into the room. Hazel looked like she had been through hell—her face swollen and bruised, a busted lip, and her wrist wrapped in bandages. She staggered in, appearing completely wrecked and exhausted.

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Chapter 140

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Jessica led Hazel into the living room. As Hazel looked at Melvin, her eyes filled with bitterness and wounded pride. Her lips trembled, but she stayed silent, firmly holding her ground while stubbornly waiting for Melvin to apologize.

But Melvin gave Hazel a cold glance and got straight to the point. “Where is Sienna’s room?”

Hazel’s face froze–bitterness lingering in her eyes–as she quickly looked away, guilt flashing across her expression. “W–why do you want to know?”

“I’m asking you, after she came back, which room did she stay in?” Melvin’s heart clenched as he took in Hazel’s reaction, his voice turning sharp and impatient.

Hazel flinched when he shouted at her–still shaken by how Melvin had blown up at her outside the Golden Throne Club. She shrank back, mumbling, “She’s already moved out… The whole room is cleared. Why are you even asking?”

“Just tell me!” Melvin snapped, slamming his hand on the couch as he forced himself to his feet, fighting off a wave of dizziness.

Hazel ducked her head, her voice barely above a whisper. “S–she was always sleeping in that storage room at the very back of the first floor…”

“The storage room!” Melvin’s voice exploded, his face twisted in disbelief as he stared at Hazel. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing–shock written all over his face. His vision blurred again as a wave of dizziness

washed over him.

He swayed on his feet, pressing his hand to his brow. “How could you… How could you let Sienna live in a storage room, of all places?” He drew a shaky breath, trying to steady himself, then staggered toward the deepest, shadow–filled corner of the hallway.

The three siblings glanced at each other, then immediately followed him down the hallway. At the very end of the hallway, crammed in the farthest corner under the stairs, there was the storage room.

The wooden door looked incredibly flimsy–so thin and warped it seemed ready to fall apart after who knew how long it had been stuck there. Melvin’s brow throbbed as he pushed the door open, barely holding back his frustration.

A wave of damp, musty air mixed with dust hit him. Melvin coughed sharply and waved his hand in front of his face. The room he saw was cramped and narrow, with only a tiny ventilation window letting in a faint trickle of light.

A narrow single bed was pushed against the wall, covered with a cheap sheet so faded and worn from washing that it was nearly colorless. In the corner stood an old dresser with peeling paint and a mirror covered in

cracks.

There was a makeshift wardrobe as well, its doors hanging unevenly. Apart from that, the room was completely bare. Even the corners where the walls met were stained with dampness and patches of mold.

This place was so run–down, even the Fairbank family’s servants lived a hundred times better than this. Melvin was so stunned by what he saw, he nearly blacked out right there.

His face turned livid, hand clutching his pounding forehead as he whipped around, eyes burning straight

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Chapter 140

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through Hazel. “Back then, Sienna was still the Fairbank family’s daughter! And you forced her to live in a place like this?”

Hazel flinched under his furious glare, guilt flashing in her eyes, but she still snapped back, trying to sound tough. “S–she was just some country nobody we dragged in from the boonies–what would she know about comfort or luxury? Honestly, just letting her stay in a mansion like this was already more than she deserved…”

As Melvin’s gaze grew colder and his expression darker, Hazel’s voice faded. She lowered her head and said softly, “She came back suddenly, and there were no spare rooms. I thought she could stay in the storage room. until her room was fixed, but then I forgot, and she stayed there.”

She really had forgotten. She wasn’t completely cold–hearted–back then, she genuinely believed Sienna was her own daughter, so she would never have intentionally made her live in the storage room. Even if she didn’t like Sienna, there was no real reason to deliberately deny her the basics.

Truth was, she just didn’t bother to give it much thought. So she simply forgot about it altogether.

“Forgot?” Melvin nearly busted a gut laughing from anger, stabbing a finger toward Jessica. “Funny how the minute Jessica comes back, she gets the best princess room in the house. But Sienna lived here for four years -and you somehow managed to forget about her all that time?”

‘No wonder… No wonder Sienna always shot me that sarcastic look whenever I talked about bringing her back, saying her room hadn’t been touched and she could just move in anytime, Melvin thought, his chest burning with frustration.

He spun

around, pointing a finger at Xavier and Lauren. “And you two–what’s your excuse? You’ve lived here every single day. Did you honestly never notice? Have you been walking around with your eyes closed all these years?”

Faced with Melvin’s explosive rage, Xavier and Lauren’s faces flashed with shame. Neither could muster a single word, both choking on their guilt in heavy silence.

Standing in this cramped, damp, and dark little space, thinking about how Jessica got to live in that huge, fancy princess room upstairs, the difference really hit them like a slap in the face. Even Lauren, who was usually the first to argue, just couldn’t say a word this time.

For the first time, reality hit them hard–they finally realized just how harsh and heartless they had been by ignoring Sienna all this time.

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