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“The worst part is that everyone knows I’ve been using my mom’s maiden name now. They all know I’m really Sienna Holland. The evil little liar.”
“Sienna, we’ve talked about this.” Michaela’s voice softened. “No one thinks you lied when you accused Paxton, and no one thinks you’re evil. Everyone knows you were just confused. Also, it was years ago. No one cares about it anymore.”
I raised a brow. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes. Trust me, everyone is over it. Even Justin is, remember? He told you that. And he was always besties with Paxton.”
I sighed and shook my head. Paxton definitely wasn’t over what happened back in 2019. He hated me, and he was clearly on some sort of revenge campaign against me in the hopes of wrecking my life just as much as I’d wrecked his.
The question now was… what did he have planned next?
Sienna
The afternoon sun cast a warm glow across the bustling campus, illuminating the majestic archways and tree-lined paths around me with golden light. My cheeks were warm too, but it wasn’t because of the weather.
The political gossip site article was everywhere right now. People loved a scandal, and the daughter of a congressman publicly losing her shit while naked and supposedly on drugs was certainly scandalous. Especially when the girl in question had a murky past involving a local hockey star.
All eyes were on me as I made my way across the main quad, and I felt the weight of everyone’s judgment like a stone around my neck, making my steps feel heavy as my shoulders hunched over. Students paused in their tracks as they caught sight of me, conversations briefly faltering as they craned their necks to stare. Others exchanged knowing glances and smiles or whispered to each other behind their hands. I caught snippets of their conversations as I passed.
“Oh my god, it’s her.”
“I was actually there when she had that massive freakout. She’s fucked up.”
“I should’ve known it was her. I was totally obsessed with the Forrester case back in the day, and she’s literally in all of my classes.”
“Not surprised she changed her name. I would too.”
So much for my fresh start in life. This was like damn high school all over again. Fortunately, no one was shoving me into lockers or calling me a ‘fucking bitch’ while pretending to cough. Still, the stares and whispers were awful. Utterly humiliating.
I kept my gaze fixed on the pathway ahead, determined not to meet anyone’s eyes. If I did, I was sure the disapproval and amusement lingering in their expressions would make me cry.
My pace quickened along with my pulse as I reached the Observer office. Karyn had called me in for a meeting this morning, and while she hadn’t explicitly told me the reason, I had a feeling I knew anyway. They’d fired another intern for simply being a little slow with his work, so my head was almost certainly on the chopping block.
A cold shiver ran through me despite the day’s warmth, and I briefly rubbed my arms before stepping inside. Karyn was standing in the foyer waiting for me.
“Hi, Sienna.” She gave me a tight smile and gestured toward her small office. “Come with me, please.”
I took a seat in front of her desk, nausea bubbling up my throat. “Can I please just say something?” I blurted out as she sank into her own chair.
Karyn stared at me. “Sure.”
“I just wanted to say—I think I know what this meeting is about, and I’m really sorry. I lied about who I am,” I said, words tumbling out of me a mile a minute. “I mean, technically, I am going by Sienna McConville now, so it wasn’t a total lie. But still, I lied by omission. I should have been honest with you about my history, because I know you wouldn’t have put me on the hockey assignments if you knew about my past with Paxton. So… I’m sorry. Really sorry. I wish I told the truth from the start.”
Karyn dipped her chin in a brief nod. “You’re right. You should have told us. But that’s actually not why I called you in today.”
My eyes widened. “Oh. Right. So… I’m not fired?”
“Oh no, you’re definitely fired. But not because of your past. Because of your post.”
I stared blankly. “Huh?”
“The article you posted on the newspaper blog this morning.” Karyn’s eyes narrowed. “You know exactly which one I mean, Sienna.”
“I don’t. I swear.”
She let out a sigh and rubbed her temples. “You’re really going to play it like this?”
“Karyn, I promise you, I’m not playing anything. I honestly don’t know what you mean. I didn’t post anything on the blog this morning. I got out of the hospital last night, and then I slept until ten because I was so exhausted.”
