Chapter 38: Like a madman

The next morning, Sienna woke up early and the first thing she did was check the other side of the bed. It looked untouched and cold so she surmised that a certain someone had probably slept elsewhere.

By the time she stepped out of the shower, she found her phone buzzing incessantly. The moment she answered the call, an exasperated voice blasted from the other side, "You finally picked the call! I had to check in with the restaurant. When they told me they were not closing down, I knew you were fine."

Sienna was bewildered. Ava’s words were grammatically correct but they made no sense, "How is my well being related to a restaurant...?"

"Hah.... Hahaha... Sienna, ah, Sienna!" Ava laughed some more, sounding so chaotic that Sienna got wary for some reason.

"Do you remember, all those years ago, when we heard the rumors that he likes you? I was the first person to tell you about that..." Ava groaned.

Without giving Sienna a chance to speak, Ava continued, "And you... You didn’t tell me that you married him! You didn’t even tell me that you two are so tight now. I was away for barely over a month and now I feel like I have walked back to a different world.

Sienna fell silent. Her friends had stayed with her through thick and thin and if anything, she did not want to keep Ava or Jace in the dark.

"It’s a marriage of convenience," she confessed.

There was a beat of silence on the other side, "There was nothing convenient about how Callahan acted yesterday when we couldn’t find you.’’

As Sienna walked downstairs, Ava’s words rang in Sienna’s mind:

’He was like a madman, he almost shut down the restaurant... wait, he locked down the entire city!’

"Young Madam, the breakfast is ready."

Sienna fiddled around her bag to make sure she had grabbed her phone and other essentials as she responded to Jane, "I will just skip..."

Her words trailed off when she raised her head. On the dining table, there was an elaborate spread that looked completely out of place for a hurried weekday breakfast.

’Oh no, it’s the weekend!’ Since she had to go to work on a Saturday, it slipped off her mind.

And looking at the classic white suit Callahan had donned, she could tell she was not the only person working on a weekend.

Her eyes took in the sight of the dining table again.

Steamed crystal shrimp dumplings sat in a bamboo basket beside golden scallion pancakes, while a plate of fluffy egg rolls, pan-fried buns and delicate xiaolongbao filled the other side of the table.

There was also a bowl of silky congee topped with shredded chicken and spring onions, fresh fruit arranged in neat slices, and a small dish of honey-glazed lotus root.

Sienna stared.

She had been planning to skip breakfast.That plan suddenly seemed rather foolish.

At the head of the table, Callahan was already eating.

He had apparently been there for some time, and there was something almost unfair about watching him have breakfast.

He ate slowly, without any particular expression on his face, yet somehow every bite looked as though it were the most delicious thing he had tasted that morning.

Sienna’s stomach betrayed her with a quiet growl. She glanced around. Nobody seemed to have heard.

"I will just eat a little then... Since you have made it with love," she cleared her throat guiltily and pulled out a chair and sat down.

Jane beamed, "Yes, young madam."

Callahan’s eyes lifted briefly before returning to his plate.

Sienna pretended not to notice. She reached for a dumpling, only to pause when she remembered something.

As she looked around the table, her brows tugged together, "Aunty, where is the coffee?"

Jane, who had been standing nearby, suddenly looked flustered, "We... seem to have run out of coffee."

The kitchen in the villa resembled the kitchen of a five star restaurant, with at least 7 types of salt. But there was no coffee... Sienna found it strange.

Sienna frowned, "There is no coffee at all?"

Jane nodded a little too quickly before sneaking a glance toward Callahan.

He remained perfectly composed, sipping from his glass.

"Young Madam, you can have this instead," Jane hurried toward the counter and placed a glass of pale golden juice in front of Sienna.

"This is pear osmanthus juice. Young Master likes to have it every morning."

Sienna looked at the glass, then at Callahan. He was indeed drinking the same thing, his attention seemingly fixed on the breakfast in front of him.

Sienna wanted to turn it down but Aunty Jane was fully enthusiastic about the juice as she went on to talk about it, "It’s made with fresh Asian pear, dried osmanthus flowers and a little honey. There is also a touch of white fungus extract and lemon.

The pear is good for hydration, osmanthus is traditionally used for its soothing aroma, and the combination is supposed to be refreshing as the first thing in the morning."

Sienna felt a little speechless, "It sounds like a skincare product," or even fancier than that.

Callahan’s hand paused around his glass.

Sienna cleared her throat and picked it up to not dampen Aunty Jane’s mood.

She took a sip and her eyebrows lifted.

It was crisp and naturally sweet, with the delicate floral fragrance of osmanthus lingering beneath the pear.

It was nothing like the overly sweet juices she usually avoided despite having a sweet tooth.

No wonder someone like Callahan who hated sweets seemed to like this.

Sienna took another sip, "This is actually good."

The strange silence descended in the living room again.

Sienna continued eating, Callahan continued drinking his juice, and Jane stood awkwardly between them as though she had suddenly realized she was trapped in the middle of something she had no business witnessing.

By the time Sienna finished, she had nearly forgotten that she had intended to skip breakfast altogether.

She grabbed her bag and walked out of the house.

It was only after she reached the driveway that she stopped dead.

She had left her car at Qing Empire’s headquarters yesterday because she had left the company with Callahan.

"Great," she pinched the spot between her brows.

Just then, a familiar black car rolled to a stop in front of her.