Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike

Chapter 671 - 642: Curiosity and Appreciation

A few days after the Qingming Festival, Sienna Thornton took Mina Thorne for a prenatal check-up and to open a maternity file with Joyce Sutton.Sienna had arranged a time with Joyce Sutton a few days earlier, and Joyce told her there was no need to make an appointment; she could just come straight to her office at 12:30 that day. So, Sienna didn’t take the day off work and picked up Mina at lunchtime to go to the hospital together.

On the way there, Mina called: "Sis, I’m waiting for you at the XX bus stop."

Over the phone, Mina’s voice was soft, a bit gentle, a bit pleasant, but Sienna was still caught off guard by the sudden "sis" and paused for a few seconds before stiffly responding: "Okay, I’m almost there, wait for a bit."

A few minutes later, she picked up Mina at a bus stop beneath a commercial-residential building in the city center.

It was early April at the time, and Mina was wearing a navy blue dress with white polka dots, an orange open-knit cardigan, and matching cashmere flat shoes; her mid-length hair was curled inward and naturally hanging down.

She wasn’t tall, not even 1.6 meters, nor was she thin, more on the fuller side, but her legs were very pretty, evenly proportioned and fair. The navy-colored dress and flat shoes made her legs look even more fair and attractive.

But she usually wore dull black outfits that wrapped her up completely, only revealing a face full of complaints, so everyone overlooked the fact that she could also be a lovely woman.

Mina got in the car and gave Sienna a sweet smile as she fastened her seatbelt: "Sis, you’re so busy with work, yet you went out of your way to pick me up."

"It’s nothing," Sienna glanced at the new building behind the bus stop, "It’s very close from my office."

The car merged into the main traffic.

Not wanting the atmosphere to be too quiet, Sienna tried to start a conversation: "Was your place in that building behind the bus stop just now?"

"Yeah."

"If I remember correctly, that’s a commercial area."

Mina chuckled, "I wasn’t used to living on a single floor and wanted to live closer to work, so Seth found this place. It has a five-meter high ceiling, and we converted it into a small duplex."

Sienna nodded, asking: "Since you don’t like a single floor, why not just buy a villa? If there’s a policy change one day, commercial housing might not be allowed for living."

She remembered that Mina had inherited several patents from Old Mrs. Thorne and when she got married, Quentin gave her all the family’s cash because she didn’t want his old villa.

Given her assets, buying a villa in the city would be easy.

"A villa in the city costs tens of millions, Seth can’t afford it." Mina sighed, "My in-laws and Seth are all public officials; even with all the family’s savings, they couldn’t buy a villa."

Sienna then remembered that this place seemed to be a bridal gift from the Sutton Family to Mina. If the Sutton Family was indeed honest, buying a commercial residence would indeed have required a large part of their savings. And since Seth’s father was the chief prosecutor, he couldn’t be unaware of the risks and instability of buying commercial housing.

Since it was just a conversation, Sienna didn’t beat around the bush, directly asking: "Old folks are traditional and like to buy a single-floor apartment for stability, living in it for decades. Your in-laws are quite open-minded."

"My in-laws initially disagreed, but Seth convinced them. However, Seth doesn’t like it here either, saying there are too many neighbors on one floor, and not much privacy. Next door is a studio for tattoos and semi-permanent makeup, with many people coming and going every day. It’s fine in winter, but in summer, when men wear short sleeves, Seth gets furious seeing tattoos on their arms and always says he wants to catch and beat them up."

Sienna burst into laughter, her cheerful laughter echoing within the small car cabin. "Seth is actually quite good to you," she said.

During Ian Grant’s illness, Seth stayed by Mina’s side, not only accompanying them to the United States for treatment but also after returning to the country. When Quentin didn’t want to go to Qinton with Ian to see a master, Seth accompanied them mother and daughter.

Quentin had mentioned that Seth was a workaholic, almost treating the police station as home. If he hadn’t cared, he wouldn’t have spent so much time with Mina during Ian’s illness, nor married Mina right after Ian passed away. If there wasn’t love, how could he do all this?

But it was a private matter between other couples, so Sienna didn’t say much, just enough to not overstep.

Mina pressed her lips into a smile, looking at the fast-passing scenery outside the window, her thoughts returning to late February.

The night they discussed divorce, the two of them were unusually calm, each sitting in a corner of the sofa.

Seth asked her, "Why do you have to divorce?"

She was determined to part ways with Seth and laid everything bare: "You haven’t given me the warmth I deserve, often have little patience with me...and there’s always a woman in your heart you can’t let go of."

She hadn’t wanted to mention Sienna, feeling ashamed that her husband liked her sister. But at that moment, she and Seth were already at staggering conflict, and she had so many grievances exceeding her pride, so she brought it up.

Seth was immediately furious but held back his impending outburst and patiently asked, "We’ve been together for ten years, beside you, which other woman have I been involved with?"

She bit her lip with tears in her eyes, "Your body hasn’t cheated, but your spirit has. You like my sister."

Seth: "..."

He suddenly found himself speechless, resting his elbows on his knees, lowering his head, and grabbing at his hair.

He was forced, at this moment, to clarify his feelings for Sienna. If he didn’t give Mina an answer tonight, their marriage would indeed be over.

Silence suddenly fell in a terrifying manner. No one spoke, yet it felt as if Mina’s grievances lingered in the air.

After a long time, Seth chuckled and said, "You know I’m just a rough guy who only knows how to catch criminals; I can’t say those flowery words. But I never lie! You said I liked your sister—well, I can very responsibly tell you that with your sister, at first I was curious, then I admired her, nothing more!"

He looked up at Mina, his gaze firm.

Mina scoffed, "Curious, admiration, isn’t that the path to liking someone? That’s how love starts."

Seth ran out of patience, gritting his teeth: "What I hate most is the way you are! Sensitive and paranoid! We could’ve had a peaceful life, but you insist on making a fuss!"

Mina shouted uncontrollably, "That’s because you never gave me a sense of security!"

At that moment, Seth gave up.

He had originally wanted to reconcile, but the biggest problem between him and Mina wasn’t Sienna or the lack of warmth from him; it was her lack of confidence in herself—a deep-seated insecurity that no amount of fidelity from him could compensate for.

She seemed like a replica of Ian, continuously doubting whether the man beside her loved her, and using repeated quarrels and threats of separation to compel the man to repeatedly plead, thus gaining temporary security.