"What is it?" Sienna asked Hunter in a bored voice when she saw him coming inside, holding a tray. Steam was curling out of the bowl that was placed on it.

"Soup!" Hunter placed the tray down and moved to her to help her sit up.

"The X-ray came back clear," He added casually, helping her up by placing his arms under her shoulders, "No fracture. Congratulations. Your bones are good, Menace."

A flicker of relief passed on her face, "Thank God. What about him?"

Hunter knew who she was asking about, "Umm. You need to be careful, though. It’s a severe sprain," He adjusted the pillow behind her.

Just last night, Sienna fought Li to convince her to stay. She didn’t want Hunter to look after her like a baby.

All that touching and getting closer.

She wanted to avoid all that. But her poor friend already had commitments, and Sienna understood.

"So when can I start walking?" She saw Hunter taking the edge of the bed, holding the bowl.

"Not too soon. Your ligaments took a hit. The doctor wrapped it to keep it stable. You can’t put your weight on it for a few days."

He had started blowing on the spoon that was filled with soup.

"So, am I stuck here?" She made a pout, but then opened her mouth when he brought it to her lips.

The soup tasted good, "Umm. Who made it? Brian?"

She didn’t wait for his answer and glanced at her bandaged foot.

"Hunter. How will I stay in bed for so long! Moreover, I can’t leave the office like that... how will they function without me..."

The panic was back in her voice. Hunter placed the bowl down and held her gaze, "Shh," He gently cupped her face in his hands, "Who said you’ll stay here? Finish your soup, and I’ll take you to the living room."

That funny, weird feeling was back in the pit of her stomach.

She didn’t feel embarrassed by the notion that he would carry her around. Actually, it was a relief that he was there for her.

Urgh! She was confused!

She ate the soup slowly while he kept talking to her about her health, her diet, and the weather. Everything except the incident and the office.

He was folding the napkin before placing it on the tray when she held his hand, "Hunter. What about the office?"

Hunter watched her hand placed on his and then raised his face, "One problem at a time, firecracker. This is the technology era, and you can do business easily by sitting at home. Just stop worrying about it."

She nodded and was still smiling when the door opened, and Brian came inside to collect the tray, "How are you doing, Miss?"

"I’m good. What about that man, Brian?" The odd silence followed her question.

Brian gave her the innocent look while Hunter was handing over the tray to him, avoiding eye contact.

"Huh? Th... that man?" Brian stuttered.

"Yeah," She said with a small smile, "Is he okay?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Of course," He gave her a strained smile, "He got discharged the same evening."

Brian was avoiding eye contact, she noticed.

"But... wasn’t he... injured? Like ... I hurt him... I hit his head with the rod and ..."

"Sugar," Hunter cut her, "Brian did say he is alright. You have never seen blood, maybe that’s why you’re being paranoid."

He then signaled Brian to go outside, "Now let’s take you to the living room," He leaned ahead and scooped her up as if she weighed nothing, "Then I can play your favorite show on Netflix."

Sienna didn’t argue. What did he even know about her?

He thought that she had never seen blood in her life.

Well. He was mistaken!

She was soaking in her own blood before her death. Wasn’t she?

***

He played a Romcom for her and was almost leaving when she suddenly held his hand, "Where’re you going?"

He pointed up with his index finger, "Upstairs. Why?"

Sienna shook her head, "Watch it with me, Hunter. Please..." She batted her lashes with fake innocence.

Hunter raised his head and closed his eyes as if thinking hard. Sienna smiled when she saw the little frown on his face as he pressed his lips together.

"Come on. Stop acting as if you’ve got some important meeting to attend," She teased him. He exhaled, looking at her.

"You’re right," With a tight-lipped smile, he sat beside her. She quickly moved her ass a little bit to get closer to him and placed her cheek on his arm.

Hunter gulped and then looked down at her head. Watching a romantic movie was torture to him.

He tried to hold his yawn and checked the time on the wall clock. He already postponed the meeting due to her condition. He wanted to make sure that she ate the vegetable soup on time.

And now he was suffering.

The door to the living room opened, and Brian came out holding grocery bags. His face turned red when he tried to hold back a laugh. Sitting beside Sienna, watching some stupid romantic shit, Hunter’s face looked funny.

"Ah. Boss. What should I cook?" The so-called butler wanted to divert his attention. The response to his query came from Sienna.

"Anything with lots of cheese, Brian."

"Sure, ma’am."

"Didn’t I ask you to call me by my name, Brian?" The butler gave a confused look to Hunter, who nodded at him in approval.

"Sure, ma’am... I mean...Sienna..."

Sienna’s eyes were already on the TV screen, and Brian had a feeling that she would fall asleep soon.

Well! He was damn right.

***

Sienna felt someone shaking her gently, "You need to eat something..." But Sienna’s eyes focused on the man who took her to the alley.

She didn’t want to lose sight of him.

What if they really got her daughter?

"I ... I want my daughter back," She swiped her tongue on her parched lips, "Don’t harm her."

"But I’ve already got her. Wanna meet her?" His evil laughter disgusted Sienna, but still, she wanted to accompany him

"She... she is very little..." Tears came out of her eyes, "Please let her go."

"Hey, sugar. Wake up."

A familiar voice reached her ears as she felt a gentle hand running through her hair.