Chapter 317: New Life

Maya watched with a warm smile as Skylar left, then happily turned her attention back to Sienna.

She had already been surprised to learn that Sienna was married, but discovering that her husband was none other than Zachary Sterling had been almost impossible for her to believe. Now that she finally had Sienna sitting beside her, Maya could no longer keep all her questions to herself.

"Sienna, once again, congratulations on your marriage to Zach," Maya said softly, making sure Jimmy and Zachary couldn’t hear their conversation from across the room. "It’s still hard for me to believe that you’re married, and your husband is none other than Zachary Sterling."

Sienna nodded, understanding exactly how Maya felt.

"Aunty, it’s not just you. I also sometimes feel like this is just a dream too." She smiled while glancing toward Zachary, who was still talking with Jimmy, then continued, "Sometimes I even worry that if I wake up, the dream will end and I’ll return to my old, difficult life."

"Oh, dear..." Maya felt sad and happy at the same time as she heard her words. She reached over and gently patted Sienna’s hand. "I’m so happy those difficult times have finally ended for you. And after seeing how Zachary looks after you, I can tell how much he adores you."

"He is..." Sienna whispered, her voice becoming softer as she glanced at her husband. A warm feeling slowly spread through her heart as she watched him talking comfortably with her uncle. She had once been afraid to imagine her own future, but now she had a home, a son, and a husband who genuinely cared for her.

Maya smiled at her niece, happy to see the warmth in her expression. However, another thought suddenly came to her, and her smile faded slightly.

"Jacob..." Maya said quietly. "Even until now, we still don’t know his whereabouts."

Sienna’s hands clenched without her realizing it as soon as she heard her father’s name.

The warmth she had felt moments earlier slowly faded, replaced by the familiar discomfort she always felt whenever Jacob became the subject of conversation. She lowered her gaze, trying to keep her emotions under control.

After a few seconds, Sienna finally turned her gaze back to Maya. The mention of her father had left an uncomfortable feeling in her chest. Still, she tried not to let it affect the peaceful afternoon they had been having.

"I heard Aunt Jenny reported him as a missing person?"

"Yes, that’s what I heard the last time I saw Jenny. But that was a few weeks ago, and there hasn’t been any news, good or bad, from the police."

They both fell silent again. Neither of them knew what else to say about Jacob. His disappearance had left too many unanswered questions, and even though Sienna no longer wanted to have anything to do with him, she couldn’t completely ignore the fact that he was still her father.

For a moment, Sienna wondered if he might have died somewhere while drunk and that no one had found him. The thought came to her suddenly, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud. Instead, she looked down at her hands and slowly curled her fingers into her palms.

"I hope he’s okay somewhere," Sienna said calmly.

However, the tension in her hands betrayed the emotions she was trying to keep under control. She didn’t know whether she truly wanted her father to be safe or whether she simply wanted to know what had happened to him. Either way, not knowing his whereabouts is more upsetting.

"Yes, I hope so," Maya replied, wearing much the same expression as Sienna. "Maybe he finally came to his senses and moved away from the family to avoid more trouble. Perhaps he realized that staying around them would only make things worse."

Sienna nodded slowly. She couldn’t say she believed that was what had happened, but she hoped Maya was right. "I guess we can only wait and see if the police find anything."

Maya sighed softly before changing the subject. "But enough about him. I don’t want to ruin your visit by talking about unpleasant things."

Sienna smiled, grateful for the change in topic.

After a moment, another thought came to her. "Aunty, what about Aunt Jenny? How did she react when she found out that you and Uncle had moved here?"

Maya immediately gave her a knowing look.

"She was surprised, of course. We only told her that Jimmy had been transferred to the capital and that we had to move immediately because of his new position."

Sienna raised her eyebrows.

"That’s all you told her?"

"Yes. What else could I say?" Maya replied innocently. "If I told her everything, she would have asked a hundred questions."

Sienna couldn’t help laughing.

"That sounds like Aunt Jenny."

"You know her well," Maya said with a small laugh. "She kept asking where we were going to live and wanted our new address. I simply told her that we didn’t have a house yet and were still looking for one."

Sienna laughed again, covering her mouth as she tried to control herself.

"Aunty, you’re getting better at hiding things."

Maya smiled proudly, her finger pointing at Sienna.

"I had a good teacher."

"Who?" Sienna asked, puzzled. When she saw Maya smile knowingly, she continued, "Me?"

"Yes! No doubt," Maya replied, and they both laughed.

Sienna felt relieved to know that her Uncle and Aunty had kept their promise. She didn’t want Aunt Jenny to suddenly show up at their new home or bring unnecessary trouble into their lives.

"Thank you for not telling her," Sienna said more sincerely after their laughter faded. "I really don’t want anyone from that side of the family disturbing you and Uncle here."

"Don’t worry about it," Maya reassured her. "We know what you were trying to protect us from. Besides, we’re finally comfortable here. Your uncle likes his new job, our child likes the school, and I’m starting to enjoy the city too. There’s no reason to bring old problems into our new life."