Sienna looked ahead, not at him. "I was busy."
"Doing what?"
"Utilizing my time better."
Phei's mouth twitched. "Better than what?"
Sienna's gaze moved lazily across the room, touching the women, the glass, the morning, Maya's distant mansion, the absurd wealth arranged around them, then returned to him. "Better than wasting it on teenage bullshit."
Several people reacted.
Maddie placed a hand on her chest. "Rude."
Patricia said, "Accurate in principle, unfortunately."
Valentina muttered, "I am not a teenager."
"You were included spiritually," Sienna said.
Valentina gasped. "This child."
"I am older than your whole family line's self-esteem."
Patricia choked.
Maddie made a delighted sound. "Oh, I really missed her."
Phei did not disagree with Sienna.
He could joke, and part of him wanted to, but another part kept looking at her eyes, at the pressure around her, at the way her presence no longer leaked like something broken but gathered like a throne behind her skin.
