The ride home felt like the longest and most torturous journey Sienna had ever endured.
She lived in one of the most secluded residential areas in the country, far from anything, really, so undoubtedly the journey would be long. But this one was worse. At every stop, it felt like people were peering into the car, trying to see who looked so graceless and unkempt. She kept her head bowed throughout, her messy hair forming a pathetic curtain that shielded her identity from the driver's curious glances in the rearview mirror. When she finally arrived at her place, the digital clock on the dashboard of the car showed the ride was just forty minutes, but it felt like hours had passed.
She begged the driver to please wait while she fetched his money from inside, and luckily he complied, maybe because he felt someone who lived here wouldn't lie to him even though she currently didn't look like someone who lived somewhere like this place. Still with her head bowed, she hurried away to her apartment like a wounded animal seeking cover.
Opening the door in a rush, she almost collided with a bulky female figure standing right behind it.
Ava. Her personal bodyguard. The one she'd been too stupidly excited to bring with her.
A dark-skinned lady with a hugely built frame and an intentionally unapproachable face and aura, Ava appeared dangerous to the outside world, but Sienna knew just how cute and innocent she was behind that intimidating exterior.
"Dr. Rivers," Ava called out, as if trying to verify the identity of this roughly dressed person who had just barged in.
Sienna rearranged her hair to reveal her face, then smiled awkwardly. "Good morning, Ava."
Ava's face darkened immediately, worry and anger spreading across her face at whoever had done whatever had happened to her mistress. "What happened, Doctor?" she asked, her voice filled with worry but edged with chill, almost reaching out to comfort her mistress.
"Nothing serious. I was drugged by my client, and when I managed to escape, I was robbed," Sienna lied as she moved past Ava quickly, heading toward her room for a blessed isolation.
"Who dares to do such a thing? Do they not know who you are?" Ava questioned, following after her.
"I don't know, Ava. Just let it die there and help me pay the taxi waiting outside." With that, Sienna slipped into her room and shut the door behind her immediately before Ava could move further.
"Yes, Doctor."
Even with how dodgy Sienna had been, Ava found nothing wrong. In fact, she assumed her mistress was traumatized—and that assumption only fueled her anger toward the people who had hurt her.
In the beautiful silence of her room, Sienna finally took a deep breath of relief.
She slipped out of her clothes and walked to the bathroom. Standing before the mirror, she could see the canvas of red spots her body had become; bruises in the shape of hungry hands decorated her hips, her thighs, and her breasts. Bite marks circled sensitive areas that made her face burn with fresh shame. All these were almost impossible to conceal. She facepalmed, too disappointed to continue looking.
She filled her bathtub with hot water, then submerged herself completely, desperate to wash away the evidence of her shameful act.
But even after a two-hour bath of relentless scrubbing and rinsing, the marks remained. Her skin had only turned pinkish.
She sighed in frustration, walked straight to her dressing table, and began dabbing herself with concealers, covering every single spot. That alone took another painful hour.
"What a pain," she muttered to her reflection, got dressed in an armor of a full deep blue suit, and then stepped out.
Ava was waiting diligently by the door. On seeing Sienna, she hurried over immediately, concern etched on her face.
"I am fine, Ava. It was a bad experience, but it has passed. Drop the thought of it," Sienna said.
In truth, she wanted no one to get involved. The people around her were very capable; they might eventually discover her shameful act. She couldn't bear the thought.
Ava wasn't really in support. Her frown said it all. She opened her mouth to protest, but Sienna beat her to it.
"Come on, get ready. We're going to the hospital." She headed out to her car.
'It was a one-time thing,' she comforted herself. 'Not like we're going to cross paths again. Or it's ever going to happen again. Drop the thought, Sienna.'
Ava soon joined her in the car, and all through the ride to the hospital, Sienna could feel her worried gaze burning into her. She couldn't help but sigh internally.
Immediately upon arrival at the hospital, she slipped away to get contraceptives. Anything more than what had already happened would be unforgivable.
Then she let herself flow with work until lunch break, when the hospital director, Rowan Crawford, came looking for her.
He was a young man—the youngest hospital director the institution had ever had. And Sienna knew very well he had a thing for her. Well, everybody knew. His gaze and behavior said it all. Unfortunately, she couldn't reciprocate his feelings, no matter how she looked at him. He was always her superior.
On entering her office with some kind of urgency that immediately shifted her focus, he didn't sit. In fact, he said nothing at first. He simply scanned her from head to toe, brows furrowed with worry.
She panicked, fearing he'd heard or seen something.
"Good afternoon, Director," she greeted immediately, keeping her voice steady.
But he said nothing until he was done with whatever inspection he was doing.
"Are you fine, Sienna?" he asked, his voice filled with deep inquiry and concern.
"I am. Why do you ask?" Sienna replied, wearing the calmest expression she could muster.
"The Prime Minister called just now with information that the person you had a meeting with last night was an imposter. The real patient was never able to leave their country because the ailment unfortunately killed them. He fears the imposter did something to you."
"I actually realized earlier and fled the place, so I am fine," Sienna said.
"Then why didn't you come report this morning?" Rowan asked. He still wasn't convinced.
"Well, since I wasn't hurt, I didn't want to bother you." Sienna maintained the calmest facade she could manage.
After a long silence, the tension finally melted.
"It's good you're okay, then." He paused. "Do you want to grab lunch? The prime minister has booked a spot for you at V Louisa as a form of apology."
"He really shouldn't have. The tension between Subrind and Dilrik is rising—with a very high probability of war hanging in the air. I'm barely significant in all this. With everything on his plate, he really shouldn't have bothered," Sienna muttered.
Rowan's expression softened into care and admiration. "He knows that. He's just being apologetic. Come on, let's go."
That was meant to ask him to cancel the order, not admire her, but obviously it didn't work; she stood up and followed him out, the morning craze fading into distant memory.