Caught In His Embrace: A Second Chance Romance

'Mr. Flynn must be back for real this time,' Tara thought as she hurried outside. Sure enough, it was Josiah. After a long day of playing, Joyce was exhausted and fast asleep in his arms.

Tara felt a sense of relief upon seeing him. "Mr. Flynn, you should go and have a look. Someone is causing trouble again."

From the open apartment door came the shrill, piercing screams of a woman.

Josiah's expression grew tense. Afraid of waking Joyce, he carefully handed her over to Tara. "Tara, take Joyce for a walk downstairs."

"Oh, okay," Tara responded, understanding that he didn't want to frighten Joyce. She cradled Joyce in her arms and headed downstairs.

Josiah frowned and strode into the apartment.

Sienna screamed in anger, flipping Tania over and pinning her down. She pressed her palm against Tania's cheek, squeezing hard. Tania couldn't move, her cheek firmly pressed against the floor.

Sienna's eyes blazed with intensity. "Just because I don't hit you, you think I can't? You're not young anymore, Tania. I didn't hit you out of respect for Conner. How could someone as rotten as you have such a good child like Conner?"

She couldn't justify accepting Conner's bone marrow donation while hitting his mother. She released her grip and growled, "Don't you dare try that again. I won't care even if you are Conner's mother."

"How dare you hit me?" Tania gasped as she regained her breath, scrambling to her feet with her eyes blazing red. "I'm going to kill you!"

Josiah stormed in at that moment, his anger blazing. He yanked Tania away, eyes narrowed. "What on earth is wrong with you two? Do you think this is some kind of circus? Grow up and act like adults! Even dogs have better manners than this."

"What?" Tania exclaimed, her fury rising. "Who do you think you are with that filthy mouth of yours?" But as soon as she recognized him, she stuttered, "Y-You're Josiah..."

Josiah didn't waste any words. With a quick flick of his wrist, he threw Tania aside. She stumbled, struggling to keep her balance, her eyes red with fury.

"Mr. Flynn, you've got some nerve! You really think you can be with a woman like her?" She pointed at Sienna. "She's bad luck. Anyone who gets close to her is doomed."

"Tania, what did you just say?" Sienna trembled, clenching her fists, her eyes turning red.

"As if you don't get it," Tania scoffed, lifting her chin and glaring down at Sienna. "First, you killed your mother, then your grandmother, and now you want to curse Conner with your bad luck? Oh, and let's not forget about your terminally ill daughter."

Tania suddenly erupted into laughter. "Sienna, you're a curse! A total curse!" "You..." Sienna's eyes widened, and her lips were slightly parted. Her muscles were tense, and her body started to tremble uncontrollably.

"Sienna." Josiah, who was right beside her, immediately noticed. He glared at Tania, grabbed her arm, and dragged her out of the apartment. "Get out."

Tania cried out in pain, rubbing her arm.

"Get out now! If you don't leave, I won't hesitate to lay hands on you, even if you're a woman!" Josiah warned through gritted teeth.

Seeing the menacing look on Josiah's face, Tania realized he was not someone to mess with. "Fine, I'm leaving! I care about my life, even if you don't!"

Before storming off, she snapped, "And tell Sienna that Conner won't be donating his bone marrow. She can forget about it!"

Concerned about Sienna, Josiah quickly returned to the apartment. Inside, Sienna remained in the same spot, her entire body rigid and trembling.

"Sienna." Josiah's heart ached as he approached her. He guided her to the couch, noticing how cold her hands felt. His heart sank. "Sienna, are you okay?"

Sienna gazed at him blankly, her eyes unfocused. "I'm a curse..."

Josiah's heart ached even more as he took her hands in his. "Don't listen to that old fool. It's all nonsense."

"Is it?" Sienna's eyes were distant, tears forming at the corners. A bitter smile appeared on her lips.

She shook her head, her voice barely a whisper as she seemed to talk to

herself. "After Mom and Dad divorced that year, Mom took me back to our hometown, Pinkine Town. I... I couldn't accept that Dad didn't want us anymore. noveldrama

"I... I kept sneaking out, trying to find him."

Josiah crouched down in front of her, gazing up at her.

With a faint smile and tears streaming down her cheeks, Sienna continued, "Whenever I went missing, Mom would always search for me... That time, Grandma found me, but... Mom didn't return all night..."

A sudden sense of dread washed over Josiah. "Sienna... that's enough."

"The next day, Mom still didn't come back..." Sienna went on, seemingly oblivious to Josiah's plea, lost in her memories. "It wasn't until a few days later that Grandma received news that they had found Mom..."

Choking back tears, Sienna stammered, "Mom... Mom... She... She was looking

for me on a cliff. It was too dark, and she... she fell..."

Sienna closed her eyes, the final image of her mother searing into her memory. "Mom... was covered in blood... She had blood all over her..."

Josiah straightened his back, cupped the back of her head, and pulled her into his arms. "Sienna, it's me."

Sienna remained unresponsive, leaning against his shoulder numbly. "I killed Mom. Why did I look for him? He didn't want us, but I still went to find him and got Mom killed..."

Her mouth was open, her cries barely audible, but her grief seemed to emanate from the depths of her soul.

"Sienna..." Josiah held her like a child. "I'm sorry." He had no idea her childhood had been so painful. He had known her for ten years, yet he never knew she carried such a deep scar within her.

"It's okay to cry. Just let it all out," he added.

Sienna struggled to hold back a sob. "Tania was right. It's my fault Grandma is gone too. She was so

old. If it hadn't been for raising me,

she wouldn't have had to beso busy all the time. And Joyce..."

She clutched Josiah's shirt. "Other children can have healthy bodies, but I couldn't

even give her that... I'm a curse. I'm―"

"No, you're not." Josiah felt a deep sorrow for her. He cupped her face in his hands. "The misfortunes of your mother and grandma are because of the Fischer family, not you.

"And Joyce, that's on me. I didn't take good care of both of you. I'm sorry..."

Sienna froze, staring at Josiah's face as if she were just now coming back to reality. Her tears stopped, and a sudden fierceness ignited in her eyes. "What's the point of being sorry? Do you have any idea what I've been through all these years? How Joyce and I managed to survive?" she cried.

"Sienna..." Josiah's hand remained on her face. "Then tell me. Tell me everything, please."