Sienna Johnson and Kenneth Brown had become a couple a year ago, but Sienna had been reluctant to agree to marriage. Kenneth was a good man. Sienna was sure that if they married, he would be a good husband and father. However, she didn’t feel any love for him. If they were to marry, it would merely be a partnership, not a love match. And whenever she thought of Noah Phillips, her heart was still restless! The old lady could tell Sienna didn’t love Kenneth. However, believing Kenneth to be a decent young man, she urged Sienna, saying, "Sienna, Kenneth has waited for you for so long and has done so much for you and the Eastminster Group. It’s time for you to give him a formal commitment. Besides, you won’t find a better man than Kenneth willing to marry into your family." Sienna had always been a rational person and knew what was best for her. She pushed aside her unrealistic thoughts and said with a smile, "Alright. When there’s time, let’s have both sets of parents meet and set a date." With that, she had agreed. The old lady looked at Sienna with satisfaction and nodded. Pauline Briggs looked at Sienna, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent. She knew it would be useless; Sienna wouldn’t listen to her anyway. Night had fallen, but the person George was waiting for still hadn’t arrived. George’s head drooped; he hadn’t even eaten dinner. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. "Stop waiting, she won’t come," Adrian Desmond said. "But she said she would come to see me today," George insisted, still waiting. Adrian remembered the child’s mother had given him a business card and decided to call Sienna. "I’ll call and ask for you." "Okay." George immediately perked up, looking expectantly at him. Adrian ruffled George’s hair and teased, "You’re hopeless!" "Uncle Desmond, don’t say that about me. You’re even more hopeless! Your wife and child ran off so long ago, and you still haven’t found them. If it were me, I wouldn’t let them leave me," George retorted. For years, no one had dared mention this in front of Adrian Desmond. He fell into a gloomy silence. "I’m sorry, Uncle Desmond. I misspoke..." George shrank back, speaking cautiously. Adrian patted George on the head, took out his mobile phone, and called Sienna. After a few rings, a woman answered the call. "Hello, may I ask who’s speaking..." Adrian had a poor impression of the child’s mother. Thinking that a mother who could raise such a fierce daughter surely wasn’t easy to deal with, he had no time for pleasantries. He cut her off and demanded, "You said you’d have that little girl come see George. Where is she? It’s already dark." "Sir, you might have the wrong number," the voice on the other end said after a pause. Adrian cursed under his breath. "Was the number you gave me fake?" "This is President Sienna Johnson’s number. May I ask who is calling?" "I’m looking for Sienna Johnson!" "President Johnson is in a meeting at the moment. Can she call you back later? Or is there something I can relay for you?" "Put Sienna Johnson on the phone!" Adrian, accustomed to giving orders, commanded directly. Vivian Abbey had never encountered such an arrogant person. Who did he think he was? Obama? Even the president wasn’t as presumptuous as him! "I’m sorry, but President Johnson is in a meeting and can’t take your call right now!" "I’ll say this one last time: let Sienna Johnson take the call!" Just as Vivian was in a bind, Sienna Johnson emerged from the meeting room. Vivian felt a wave of relief. "Please hold on, I’ll get President Johnson." "Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Dinner is on me tonight," Sienna said to those who had attended the meeting. "Forget the treat, President Johnson; just give us some extra bonuses." "President Johnson, you should spend more time with Manager Brown. Poor Manager Brown spent Valentine’s Day all alone." Sienna and Kenneth’s relationship was not a secret. Kenneth was well-liked, not just at Eastminster Pharmaceutical Factory but also among some high-level executives at the group headquarters. "President Johnson, when are you and Manager Brown getting married? Don’t forget to invite us to the wedding banquet so we can share in your joy!" "Definitely, definitely," Sienna replied, smiling. Vivian approached Sienna with the phone. "President Johnson, it’s your call." "Excuse me, I have to take this call." "Vivian, go book a table at the Ascendas Hotel. Have everyone eat before they head home." Sienna took the phone, entered her office, and closed the door. Exhausted, she sank into her black leather chair, kicked off her high heels, and let herself relax. "Hello, this is Sienna Johnson speaking. May I know who’s calling?" Latest content published on noᴠelfire.net "Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?" Sienna glanced at her phone; the call was still connected. The other party obviously hasn’t hung up, she thought. "Is the signal bad?" Sienna put on her high heels and walked to the window. "Hello, can you hear me?" "Uncle, speak! Why aren’t you talking?" George, anxious, nudged the utterly stupefied Adrian. "Uncle, quickly ask Curly’s mom why Curly didn’t come see me! Is Curly still coming today?" That familiar voice, deeply etched in his mind, was the darkest nightmare that haunted his dreams. For a time, Adrian had been terrified of hearing that familiar voice. He had searched for so long, only to return in despair each time. He never expected to suddenly hear it in a foreign land. "Mai?" he murmured, the name buried deep in his heart uttered with lingering tenderness, gentleness, a low tone, and sorrow. "Sir, you’ve dialed the wrong number," the familiar voice replied coldly. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. The other party hung up. When Adrian redialed, the call was rejected. Adrian’s heart surged, and a spark of hope rekindled in his once-deadened spirit. "Uncle Desmond, did you ask her? What did she say? Why didn’t Curly Baby come to visit me?" George asked anxiously. Adrian had no mind to deal with George; his thoughts were consumed by that familiar voice and whether it belonged to the woman he had been searching for all these years. "George, Daddy’s here!" As Owen Hunter and Aria Harris walked into the ward, Adrian got up and walked out, not even bothering to greet Owen and Aria. "Hey, Adrian, where are you going?" Owen called after him. "George, what’s wrong with your Uncle Desmond?" Aria asked. George was sullen. He’d waited all day, and Curly still hadn’t come. "How would I know?"