It's you

Grandmother Wright's birthday parties were always a lavish affair.

Today, there was a string quartet in the garden, expensive food laid out on tables and everyone invited was very influential.

Damon and Sienna arrived together, as expected of a newlywed couple. While Damon seemed quite relaxed, Sienna was extremely tense.

Grandmother Wright's birthday celebration had been one of the most humiliating and painful events for her at the start of her marriage. Not only had one of Vivianne's friends spilled wine on her, everyone had laughed at her.

Sienna was a private person, to be jeered and mocked by such a crowd, was a nightmare. Moreover, at that time, Damon had been nowhere to be seen and later she had discovered he had gone back to work and hadn't even been around.

On top of that, the Wright relatives had made cutting remarks about her throughout and without anyone or anything to fight them with, Sienna had quietly endured it all.

That night, she had gone back and sobbed herself to sleep.

This time round, she was prepared.

But that didn't mean she had forgotten the trauma of her past. If Damon noticed how skittish she was, he didn't say anything.

Instead, he looked at his wife, and said sincerely, "You look lovely."

Surprised, Sienna turned to him. She had purposely picked a dark coloured dress and one that wasn't too expensive or new so that it wouldn't be bad if it got dirty. However, Damon had seemed genuine. Did he like this kind of style?

"Oh, thank you," She was so surprised and preoccupied with her worry about the day that she forgot to be cold, "This is just a simple dress."

"It's you," He told her bluntly, "You make it look good."

Now Sienna couldn't help but blush. She had loved him for three years despite him being colder than the Arctic and now that she had sworn to ignore him, he was paying her so much attention! Could she be blamed for feeling a rush of warmth?

Before she could reply, they were ushered in to see Grandmother Wright and Sienna braced herself.

Grandmother Wright was a formidable woman in a petite frame. She barely came up to Sienna's shoulder, but she had the grace and aura of a woman who had single handedly taken over and successfully led her husband's empire when he passed away.

For almost forty years, Grandmother Wright had held the fort at Wright Enterprises. She had appeared on the cover of Forbes and countless other magazines more times than any other businessman or businesswoman.

She was Sienna's idol.

Respectfully, she and Damon greeted the silver haired woman.

The old woman studied the couple. While she hadn't liked that this marriage was an agreement that tied their family to the Astors, she was relieved that it was the older girl that they had gotten instead of the frivolous actress sister.

"Sit," She commanded, and the couple took their place in the main parlour with the rest of the family.

One of the older uncles was trying to boast about his son, "So Brian managed to get an exclusive deal with Whitmore. That will cut our costs down by almost half!"

Grandmother Wright surveyed her family. There was a reason she had waited until Damon, her grandson, had come of age before announcing her successor.

Then she noticed his new wife's expression.

"What is it, child?" She asked and Sienna jolted when Damon tapped her to get her attention.

Sienna was wide eyed but Grandmother Wright pressed, "You had something to say. Go on, say it."

Sienna hesitated. This would not be a good first impression for her husband's family, but she regretted not saying anything to them the previous time.

"Whitmore is known to cut corners and has inconsistent quality. Although it will help to cut costs, in the long run it could cause more problems if our own products become viewed as unreliable," Sienna's voice had started soft but steadily grew stronger as she found her footing.

The uncle who had been boasting wore a black face. How dare this new girl try to criticise his son!

"What does a wench like you know about business sense?" He snarled, "Are you trying to say you're better than my Brian?"

Sienna was pale but she held her ground, "I didn't mean to offend anybody, but the Wright Enterprises brand image and customer perception is very crucial in terms of building a lasting name. I just wanted to ensure we did what was best for the company."

The uncle had stood up and now his face was red.

"You- you-" He blustered.

"Sit down," Grandmother Wright only had to say it once but the uncle had his butt on the seat faster than one could blink.

"This girl has said exactly what I was thinking," Grandmother Wright fixed the uncle with a deadly stare, "Are you saying that my business sense isn't good enough for you?"

Horror dawned on the uncle's face and his mouth opened and closed like a fish.

"Of course not," He mumbled sullenly.

"I thought so," She snapped frostily, "Tell Brian that if he can be responsible for customer response to inconsistent and lower quality products then he can proceed with the deal."

It was as if the uncle had seen a ghost. Somehow they had to break the contract even though it was difficult. There was no way they could be responsible if anything happened to Wright Enterprises!

"Well done, my dear," Grandmother Wright addressed Sienna directly, causing her to internally go into a frenzy, "You're quick thinking and brave enough to say that."

"I like her," She told Damon, "Don't do anything stupid, I won't be pleased if you lose her."

Damon's eyes crinkled. This was his grandmother's way of showing affection and giving her approval. He had been prepared to defend Sienna but had been beaten to it by his own grandma!

In his heart, he also felt surprise and pride. Who knew his wife was so bold and capable?

Just then, one of the relatives presented a huge crystal statue as their birthday gift to Grandmother Wright. Despite having been happy with the gift she chose, Sienna couldn't help but feel inferior.

Before she could spiral into worse thoughts, Damon presented their gift on their behalf.

As Grandmother Wright unwrapped it, someone whispered loudly, "What a tiny present. I can't believe they thought it was appropriate."

Beside Damon, Sienna stiffened and went pale.