Chapter 44. Almost Getting Caught

During the first month they had known each other, Daniel and Sienna spent several times together. They were traveling around the big city of Vancouver every week. They had visited various local restaurants, bookstores, and shopping districts together. Daniel always tried to make time to meet her, even he was so busy with his job in the office.
Daniel told her about his little hectic world. He just started following his dad’s footsteps in becoming a successful businessman. His dad was the owner of the Wilson Enterprises. It was a big multinational corporation.
Someday, his dad would inherit the company to him once Daniel was ready to manage everything. At the time, Daniel was just helping his dad to run the company as his little sidekick. The world of business might seem scary when he was just a beginner. But Daniel was willing to learn hard, so he would be more successful in the future.
And during those days, fate brought him to meet the beautiful and innocent Sienna Moss. He had never felt charmed by any women before, but Sienna.
At the same time, Sienna also felt the same way as him. She was not only charmed by his good-looking face, but also his kindness to her. She enjoyed the time she had spent with him.
The summer holiday was only two months away. She was about to turn nineteen soon. She was feeling on the edge about the future. She didn’t know where this relationship would be going on with Daniel.
She had never asked him about what this relationship was supposed to be? Was it love? Was it a platonic love? Was it just for something fun?
But she had warned him before; she didn’t do fun. She didn’t want to get hurt. And thus, she was in a huge dilemma about her own feeling toward him. Did she love him?
It was the hardest question for her. She couldn’t distinguish the feeling since she had never been in love with anybody before.
However, Daniel also never brought up the topic to her. It was like he only wanted to spend a quality time with her. It would be just the two of them versus the world.
He had been so kind to her. He was indeed a rich person. He kept buying her food and some stuff like expensive clothes and expensive fragrances. She always tried to be careful every time she went home, bringing the stuff that Daniel bought for her. She just didn’t want her parents or her aunt to get suspicious of her. She wouldn’t be able to lie if she got caught. And if she had to confess later, she could imagine how her dad would react.
It was around the end of the month when she felt a little bit on the edge about her fuzzy future. When she was making a coffee in the dining room, Aunty Milla approached her. It was like usual though, her aunt greeted her early in the morning just before she would go to college.
“Sienna, darling, how are you today?” She smiled widely, showing her perfect white teeth.
“Hey, Aunty,” Sienna greeted her friendly in return. “I feel just fine. How about you? Will you be working late as usual?”
Aunty Milla chuckled as she took a yellow mustard cup on the kitchen table. And then she murmured, “I need to keep earning good money for my daughter. Yeah, of course, I should be working so late again.”
“How’s Estelle holding up in New York? Isn’t she living with her dad there?” Sienna asked considerately. When Aunty Milla paused and turned to see her silently, Sienna quickly added, “I know it’s not my business, but I think your ex-husband should be responsible to support Estelle’s wellbeing as well. You don’t have to put yourself under pressure all the time.”
Aunty Milla blinked and smiled anxiously. Afterward, she glanced at her and said, “I know. Michael is actually very responsible for Estelle’s wellbeing in New York. But I just don’t feel okay if I don’t contribute more.”
Sienna pursed her lips while her eyes stared pitifully at her aunt.
“Hey, don’t look at me like that,” Aunty Milla quickly admonished her. “I don’t need you to pity me,” then she chuckled to herself and said, “I’m a strong independent woman.”
Sienna sighed heavily as she murmured, “Yes, you are, Aunt. Even after the divorce with Michael, you don’t want us to give you a warm hug.”
“Oh, save the lovey-dovey feeling for your next holiday,” Aunty Milla chuckled out as she rolled her eyes peevishly. “Your dad and your mom are just such good people. I don’t want them to feel bad for me. You know how I got divorced with him, right?”
Sienna half smiled as she poured the coffee pot into her cup and her aunt’s cup.
As Aunty Milla sat down at the dining table, she suddenly asked her, “Speaking about boys, do you meet someone special at college yet?”
Sienna was about to turn and sit down with her at the table. But the moment that question popped out, Sienna got froze. But if she didn’t turn quickly to face her aunt and answer that one simple question, her aunt would be suspicious of her.
Afterward, she glanced at her and smiled widely. “Ugh, someone special? Like what?”
Aunty Milla didn’t blink at all as she spoke, “Oh, you know, like a boyfriend material.”
Sienna tried to break the ice as she giggled. Her heart was pumping wildly. And then she murmured, “Huh? A boyfriend material?”
Aunty Milla pinched her eyes bafflingly at her. “Oh, Sienna, you are soon to be nineteen. Life is too short. You get to live with a lot of fun before you die,” her aunt spoke playfully, “Come one, tell me all about it. Do you have someone you like?”
Sienna quickly shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Not yet, I guess.”
“You guess? So, you have met someone somewhere?” Her aunt was truly curious to know.
At that moment, Sienna felt off with her aunt’s sudden interest in her love life. Why would it be matter if she met anyone?
Aunty Milla was never the one to ask about such a thing to her. Sienna always got the question from her dad or her mom about it. Her aunt was usually too busied with her own life. She only asked about the basic things like; How are you? What do you eat today? And nothing more specific than that.
Of course, she couldn’t tell her aunt about Daniel Wilson. She could never tell anybody, except her best friend, Cora alone. She was afraid if her family would reject the fact that she engaged in a good relationship with someone like Daniel.
And of course, she couldn’t tell her aunt, because if she did, her dad would find out. She just didn’t want to make her dad angry and worried for her. Her dad already stated firmly the other day that whatever happened; Sienna shouldn’t have an affair with the Romanian mafia family like the Wilson.
Although her dad said it was too dangerous to involve with them, Sienna didn’t listen. That was because she felt just safe being close with Daniel.
So far, she didn’t see Daniel as a threat. It had been a month she was seeing him. And he didn’t do anything suspicious or dangerous to her. She felt just fine with him.
“Sienna, what do you have to hide?” Aunty Milla still wanted the answer from her.
For a second, she looked at her aunt bewilderingly. “Aunty, why does it matter anyway? I’m still too young to think about love.”
“Are you meeting someone backstreet?” Aunty Milla wondered. But something in her tone sounded like she was accusing her rather than questioning.
Sienna narrowed her eyebrows at her, feeling flustered. Then she muttered, “Meeting someone as in a love affair? Nope.”
She was being flustered with her own feeling anyway. She didn’t know if her feeling for Daniel was really love in the end.
Aunty Milla stared at her in disbelief. “So, there is no one? Really?”
Sienna quickly drank her cup of warm coffee. As she put down her cup on the table, then she shouted out, “Yup, no one yet.”
Aunty Milla sat back on the chair. She seemed to think quietly about something.
Before Sienna went away to go to college, her aunt shouted out, “Wait…”
Sienna quickly glanced at her between the pillars. She was already bringing her sling bag in her arm and ready to step out of the house.
“What is it?” Sienna wondered with her aunt’s serious face.
Aunty Milla told her, “Actually, I saw you meeting with a handsome man the other day.”
When her aunt said that, Sienna could feel her face turned kind of red. She felt embarrassed that her aunt caught her off guard.
“You were sitting with him in the coffee shop near your campus,” her aunt reminded her. “Was it you, Sienna?”
She remembered the last time she had a coffee break together with Daniel was last week.
Sienna took a deep breath as she tried to calm down. She didn’t want her aunt to think weirdly of her because of that. And thus, she quickly told her, “Oh, come on, Aunty! I met a lot of people on campus. I couldn’t remember one by one!”
Her aunt gave her a disbelief stare.
But that was all that Sienna could say to her. She was not such a good liar. And since she didn’t want to get caught further, she quickly kissed her cheek and left.