"I’m not married."

"Ah..." That was all the word Sienna managed to say.

Her mind, however, was saying so many more words.

’Not married. So, he divorced? Or did his wife pass away? When did she die? Wait, when did he get married? He looked so young...’ The words echoed in her head so loudly, she felt like they were banging inside her head.

"Goodnight," he said simply, turning toward the stairs without waiting for her response.

"Goodnight, Zach," she whispered.

Sienna stood there for a moment, watching his figure fade up to the second floor. Only when she could no longer see him did her hand gently rise, resting over her chest.

Her heart was still beating fast.

But this time... it felt different.

...

Sienna returned to her bedroom, gently closing the door behind her as if afraid to disturb the stillness of the villa.

What happened today—no, the entire evening—played slowly in her mind, like scenes from a movie she wasn’t quite ready to rewatch

For a moment, she simply stood there, letting the silence settle around her.

After a while, she finally moves—

At first, she planned to soak in a warm bath to enjoy this villa’s luxury.

But that idea faded almost as quickly as it appeared. The thought of waking up late, or worse, making a mistake in the kitchen, was enough to make her abandon the idea entirely.

"No," she muttered softly to herself, shaking her head. "You need to sleep early. Be responsible once, Sienna."

She quickly showered, letting the warm water wash away some of the tension clinging to her shoulders.

By the time she stepped out, wrapped in a soft towel, her body felt lighter, though her mind was still far from calm.

After changing into her short silk pajamas, she moved toward the bed, ready to slip under the blanket and force herself to sleep.

But then, her gaze landed on her phone.

It sat quietly on the bedside table, screen dark, innocent, and yet somehow... tempting.

"...Just one look," she whispered, as if negotiating with herself.

She reached for it and leaned back against the headboard. Her fingers moved quickly as she unlocked the screen and opened her messages.

"Let me check the gang group chat..."

The moment the chat loaded, her eyes widened.

+100 unread messages.

Sienna gasped in surprise.

"What the heck..." she muttered, utterly speechless.

Their group chat, Foody Gang, was usually lively, yes, but not like this.

Normally, it was Riley sending random food photos at midnight, Mia reacting dramatically to everything, and Ava occasionally dropping in with something actually useful.

But this? This looked like a full-blown investigation.

Suspicious, Sienna began scrolling.

At first, she only skimmed, but then her brows slowly furrowed as she caught certain words.

"Boyfriend?"

"Secret?"

"Blushing?"

Her fingers stopped.

"...Excuse me?" she whispered, her eyes narrowing. "Why did they assume I have a boyfriend?"

Now fully alert, she scrolled up faster, determined to find the origin of this nonsense.

And there it was. The beginning of chaos.

[Ava: Guys... I have some shocking news!]

[Mia: Make sure it’s really shocking or I will choke you, sister Ava...]

[Riley: Don’t tell me your boyfriend finally proposed?]

[Mia: Wow! That’s really shocking! Seriously, Ava? Congrats!!]

[Ava: It’s not about me, but about Sienna.]

[Ava: I guess she is having a boyfriend.]

Sienna froze.

"So...Ava Parker, you are the one," she murmured, her voice filled with disbelief.

She continued reading, her expression growing more complicated with every line.

[Ava: Well, she asked me to teach her how to cook. She even asked me to create fancy dish names. And when she said she couldn’t join us this weekend, I realized she was hiding something.]

[Riley: Dang it! Sienna, seriously? You have a new boyfriend?]

[Mia: Wow! This is really shocking news! @Sienna, please answer! Are you seriously having a new boyfriend?]

[Ava: Well, believe me, she won’t answer us. She is now busy with her new boyfriend.]

Sienna let out a long breath.

Then she laughed, not a cheerful laugh but a tired, slightly dramatic laugh.

"Seriously, guys? You’re all really terrible detectives..." she muttered, shaking her head. "I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m just here to earn extra money, alright!?"

She kept scrolling for a few more minutes, reading their wild theories and exaggerated conclusions.

At one point, Riley even suggested she had run away with a mysterious rich man.

"Well, he is indeed rich..." She paused, her mind suddenly flashing to a certain someone flying a helicopter. She quickly shook her head. "No. Don’t go there too far, Sienna, or you won’t be able to sleep."

After reaching the latest message—sent two hours ago—she stared at the screen, thinking.

"Should I reply?"

If she stayed silent, they would only make things worse.

If she replied... they would still make things worse.

"...Fine," she sighed. "Let’s end this nonsense."

Her fingers moved quickly.

[Sienna: Unbelievable. I never thought you guys had a talent for becoming gossip reporters.]

She hit send.

Then she waited. After only five seconds, a notification popped up.

[Riley: Wow, you finally responded. Where have you been? Are you serious about this new boyfriend?]

Sienna rolled her eyes so hard as she typed back:

[Sienna: Stop spreading rumors about me. There’s no boyfriend in my dictionary at this moment. #Singleliferocks!]

Almost immediately, Mia joined.

[Mia: Sienna, don’t lie to us. I know you have a boyfriend. You’re always blushing when looking at your phone recently.]

Sienna stared at that message.

Then, her reflection was faintly visible on the dark screen.

"...Blushing?" she repeated.

’Was I really that obvious?’ she thought, suddenly feeling a bit exposed because she remembered reading Zachary’s text a few times when Mia was around.

She shook her head quickly, trying to dismiss that thought. Then she typed back.

[Sienna: Detective Mia, you need to resign from your detective agency. You are terribly making assumptions.]

She pushes send.

Another text appears:

[Ava: Sienna, no need to feel shy. We understand if you don’t want us to know yet. But don’t waste your time keeping him a secret from us for too long, dear. We’ll find out about him sooner or later anyway.]

Sienna dropped her phone onto her lap. She was utterly speechless.

"... Alright, I give up," she muttered.