Chapter 1I Returned To Marry Another Man

It had been three years since I ended things with Noah Slavin, three years since I’d left this city behind. Now, I was back.

Everyone was whispering, speculating that I’d returned because I couldn't stand being away from him any longer, that I was here to beg him to take me back.

Noah himself seemed to think so, too.

His buddies were already sucking up to him, their voices dripping with envy. "Damn, Noah, you've got some serious game. After all this time, the great Sienna Windsor is still wrapped around your finger."

Another one chimed in, "Who can compete with our man Noah? She stormed out of here like she was never coming back, and now look at her, crawling back like a lost puppy, ready to beg."

A mocking smile touched Noah's lips as he listened. He let out a soft, arrogant laugh.

"Don't be ridiculous. Even if she did come back begging, it all depends on whether I'm still interested."

But none of them knew the truth. I wasn't the same girl I was three years ago.

Six months ago, I got engaged to Grayson Holt.

I was back to plan my own wedding.

* * *

My friends were all there to meet me at the airport. My best friend, Bella, threw her arms around my waist. "Sienna, you jerk! You're finally back. I missed you like crazy."

Familiar faces surrounded me, warm and welcoming.

But I never expected Noah to be there.

Three years hadn't changed him much. He still had those roguish, charming eyes, a lazy swagger, and that same untamable arrogance.

"I told you not to wear stuff that's so tight," he said, his voice a low drawl. "Don't come crying to me when people make fun of your body again. I'm just looking out for you."

Right. Still the same silver-tongued devil.

I used to be so insecure about my large chest. A comment like that would have made me hunch my shoulders, instinctively looking down to see if something was out of place.

But I was long past the age of letting someone else's words define me.

Besides, I was wearing a high-necked, knee-length dress. If anyone had a problem with it, that was a reflection of their own dirty mind, not my fault.

So, I just gave him a cool, detached glance and a polite, distant smile, saying nothing.

Bella, however, shot him a glare. "What do you know? Sienna has the kind of killer body other girls would die for. All the curves are in the right places."

Noah seemed to notice the change in me. His expression faltered for a second, his eyes fixed on me.

To celebrate my return, my friends booked a private room at a bar. When it was time to sit, I deliberately chose a seat as far away from Noah as possible.

The man’s sharp brows twitched, but he stayed silent, merely shrugging off the other girls who tried to slide in next to him.

At one point, a couple of girls from the next room came over, using a game of "truth or dare" as an excuse to ask for Noah's number. He turned them all down politely.

That surprised me. The Noah I remembered was never one to refuse a pretty face, as long as she was decent-looking.

Just then, a friend leaned in and whispered to me.

"Noah's changed a lot since you left. He barely talks to girls anymore. You hardly ever see him with another woman."