Fake Heiress Real Trouble (Sienna) novel Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Rolf eyed Sienna’s bare, radiant face, the dark circles under her eyes a dead giveaway of her exhaustion.

He furrowed his brow despite himself but reined in his concern. “Sienna, any idea when you’ll be back?”

Sienna checked the time. “Not sure. Don’t hold dinner for me-I’ll give the house a call when I’m finished.”

She dipped her head politely, then turned and hurried off.

As her retreating figure vanished, Pansy heaved a deep sigh. “That kid… how on earth does she keep such a packed schedule every single day?”

Amanda twisted her lips. She wondered, ‘Busy doing what, exactly? It has to be a front, right?

‘How could Sienna-a backwoods dropout who never finishes high school-be busier than Dad or Theo? Busier than me, grinding away on lab data, drafting papers, and schmoozing with Professor Sharp day in and day out?

‘Everyone else makes time for her. But oh no, she has to act like some big-shot executive.’

Clenching her fingers, Amanda let out what sounded like a casual sigh. “Poor Sienna is working so hard-she can’t even squeeze in breakfast.”

But nobody took the bait.

Pansy gazed at the empty doorway, her eyes filling with anxious heartache, on the verge of tears. “The help said her light was on all night-she must’ve pulled an all-nighter. And now she’s dashing out at the crack of dawn. How’s she supposed to keep that up without burning out?”

“Mom, don’t worry yourself sick,” Theo said, pushing up his gold-rimmed glasses. “Sienna… she’s something else.”

Everyone’s gaze swung toward him. They picked up on his implication. ‘What does he mean by ‘something

else’?’

Theo elaborated. “Last night, when I dropped off that milk, I saw what she was up to in her room… tackling these insanely complex layers of code, data flows, and system frameworks. The sophistication? Even I couldn’t

make heads or tails of it.”

There was an undercurrent of admiration in his tone that he hadn’t noticed himself. “Whatever she’s handling… it’s no walk in the park.”

And the real kicker? That brief peek at Sienna’s screen was probably just scratching the surface. Even that glimpse had left him floored.

This only amplified Pansy’s distress. “She’s barely out of her teens-why put that much pressure on herself? It’s not like we couldn’t support her…”

“You should be proud of her,” Rolf countered, rubbing his chin with a wide, satisfied grin. “Stop fussing over nothing. No Cooper family members worth their salt is a pushover! Sienna isn’t one to leech off the family-

she’s got serious chops and can shoulder real weight. That’s a win all around.”

His voice brimmed with unfiltered pride. “If Theo’s calling her exceptional, you know she’s the genuine article. What else would you expect from a Cooper?”

Amanda lingered on the sidelines, absorbing Rolf’s effusive praise for Sienna, every word dripping with pride, as Gerard, Pansy, and Theo nodded in full agreement.

That open admiration stung like a thousand pins, jabbing right into her chest.

She thought, “The spotlight should be on me right now-the obvious achievement of landing a spot with Professor Sharp! If Sienna were truly that talented, she’d have shown it off at home long ago-why all the secrecy?

‘They don’t even know what Sienna is actually doing, yet here they are, bursting with pride over zilch?’

Amanda clenched her fists in rage, feeling utterly pushed to the margins in her own family.

Beatriz Jennings, who’d been hovering right behind Amanda, noticed her face twist slightly and quickly jumped in with a cheerful smile, aiming to shift the spotlight back to her. “Exactly, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper-the kids you’ve brought up are all real standouts. Just look at Amanda; she’s heading off to meet Professor Sharp in a bit.”

But it made barely a ripple.

Pansy just gave an absent nod. “Yeah, Amanda, stay safe out there.”

Her mind was clearly still on Sienna as she turned away, murmuring to herself, “No, I’ve got to swing by the kitchen-whip up some soup for Sienna to perk her up when she gets home…”

Amanda’s smile finally shattered, her immaculate nails digging deep into her palms.

Beatriz subtly tugged at her hand. “Miss Cooper…”

When Amanda furrowed her brow hard and tried to yank away, Beatriz shot her a pointed wink and gently pulled her outside.

Once they were out of earshot, Beatriz whispered urgently. “Miss Cooper, pull it together-you can’t let that no-good country hick steal your thunder!”

Hearing Beatriz’s derisive nickname for Sienna softened Amanda’s scowl, and she eased up on the glare aimed at Beatriz’s frustrated expression.

Beatriz kept going. “That little pest shows up, and suddenly everyone’s acting like they’ve been hexed. You can’t drop the ball now! If this keeps up, your spot in this family…”

She left the rest unsaid, but the warning was crystal clear.

Amanda balled her fists. She thought, ‘As if I don’t already know?’

But she felt helpless-even dropping Patrick’s name had only scored her some superficial pats on the back

and a handful of gifts.

“Miss Cooper, you’ve got to watch out for number one. I just overheard Melva from housekeeping saying the Brown family car… it’s back.” Beatriz gave her hand a reassuring pat. “Seize the day—if you snag a marriage into the Brown family, you’ll be the queen of Orlathis City! The Cooper family will always make room for you.”

Amanda’s pulse quickened, her eyes lighting up brightly. She thought, ‘Mason is here again?’

She hastily patted down her perfectly styled hair and hurried toward the estate gates in a light jog.

She was secretly thrilled that she’d spent over two hours primping this morning for her Patrick visit-she was at peak perfection.

The thought of Mason brought a coy blush to Amanda’s cheeks.

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