After the meeting with Isaac, Sienna's mind began to fall apart.
No one would notice it immediately.
She still walked through the hospital halls with perfect posture, wore her composed expression and spoke with calm professionalism.
But internally
Her mind was in chaos.
For two straight days, she barely slept properly.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw those photographs again.
Isaac's eerily calm voice and the cold certainty in his eyes.
It was suffocating.
For the first time in ten years, Sienna canceled a major surgery. She wasn't in the right state of mind to perform it.
The notification alone shocked the entire hospital.
Doctor Rivers avoiding surgery because she was "unwell" was almost unheard of.
She had always been untouchable and perfect.
But right now, her hands didn't feel steady enough to hold a scalpel, and that terrified her more than Isaac's threats did.
Because medicine was the only thing she had ever truly possessed, the only thing that defined her and belonged entirely to her.
Everything else in her life had always been just there.
Even her existence.
Sienna had no family, no roots, and no surname she could trace back through generations.
She was an orphan abandoned at birth.
The first seven years of her life were spent inside a crumbling orphanage on the outskirts of Dilrik, where children survived more than they lived, food was scarce, and affection was more scarce.
The caretakers were cruel people hardened by poverty and frustration.
Back then, little Sienna had been an odd child. Quiet, skinny, and clumsy.
Always watching people with unsettling focus.
And then one day the First Lady visited the orphanage.
The woman smiled kindly at the children while cameras followed behind her.
Everyone else had been excited.
Except Sienna.
Because all she could see was sickness.
The yellow tint hidden beneath the woman's makeup, the swelling around her neck, and the exhaustion in her eyes.
Without understanding the weight of her own words, six-year-old Sienna had looked at the first lady and said:
"You're dying of cancer."
The entire orphanage froze.
Then chaos erupted.
The staff beat her so severely afterward that she nearly lost consciousness. They accused her of trying to curse the president's wife.
Until two weeks later, the First Lady returned personally.
And confirmed the child had been right.
She had an early-stage blood cancer.
A diagnosis Sienna had made with nothing but observation.
That moment changed Sienna's entire life.
The government immediately removed her from the orphanage and placed her under national protection.
Experts trained her.
Elite tutors educated her.
The nation invested everything into her potential.
And Sienna repaid them with brilliance.
At least in medicine.
Because outside of it…
She was honestly helpless.
She forgot simple things constantly.
Burned food.
Got lost easily.
Tripped over absolutely nothing.
At one point, some of her instructors genuinely suspected she had memorized information rather than understood it because her common sense outside medicine was catastrophically poor.
But once it involved illness, anatomy, diagnosis, or surgery she became terrifyingly gifted.
At sixteen, she took both the Global Medical Competency Exam and the United Council Medical Board Examination.
She became the youngest candidate in history and the highest scorer among every participant worldwide.
The entire medical world exploded with her name overnight.
From then onward, her life became inseparable from the title:
Dr. Sienna Rivers.
The miracle doctor.
The genius of Dilrik.
The nation's pride.
And because of that—
She could never betray the country that gave her everything.
Even if the current government had technically granted her freedom years ago, Sienna still felt indebted to them.
Which made Isaac's threat even more horrifying.
Dilrik's moral laws were absurdly strict.
Unmarried men and women caught engaging in intimate relations could face years of imprisonment.
And if the man involved happened to be the hidden crown prince of the enemy nation Surbrind.
The outcome would be catastrophic.
Her reputation would collapse instantly.
Her medical license would vanish.
And treason alone carried a death sentence.
Sienna gripped the balcony railing tighter unconsciously.
Cold wind swept through her hair as the city stretched below.
"How are you feeling?"
The familiar voice behind her pulled her abruptly from her spiraling thoughts.
She turned.
Rowan Crawford stood there holding a mango milkshake.
Her favorite.
Sienna forced a smile.
"I'm fine."
The lie was painfully obvious.
Rowan walked toward her and offered her the drink.
"You skipped surgery this morning."
Sienna accepted the milkshake quietly.
"Thank you."
At least this smile reached her eyes slightly.
The two stood beside each other in silence for a while.
The hospital balcony remained peaceful at this hour. Distant city sounds echoed faintly below while a chilly wind drifted between them.
Then Rowan finally spoke again.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?"
Sienna stared down at the drink in her hands.
"A problem shared is half solved."
His voice was gentle, but Sienna avoided looking at him.
"I'm just tired," she replied softly. "Probably because I've been overworking lately."
Another lie.
And they both knew it.
Rowan's chest tightened slightly.
For years, he had tried getting closer to her.
Not as a director or as a superior but as a man in love
But no matter what he did, Sienna always kept a polite distance between them.
She respected him deeply and trusted him professionally.
Yet emotionally
She never leaned on him or depended on him.
And he wanted that more than anything.
He wanted her to laugh freely with him.
To complain to him.
To cry on his shoulder if she were hurting.
He wanted to become someone irreplaceable in her life.
But every attempt ended the same way.
A polite smile, a gentle refusal, and distance.
"I should rest for a while," Sienna said eventually, stepping away from the railing. "Sorry for worrying you."
Then she lifted the milkshake slightly.
"And thank you for this."
Before Rowan could say anything else, she walked away.
He watched her leave quietly.
Disappointment settled heavily in his chest.
"She still won't let me in…" he murmured softly.
"You're wasting your time on her."
A feminine voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Hannah stepped onto the balcony.
A senior nurse at the hospital.
Big-chested, quite beautiful, and hopelessly obsessed with Rowan.
She had witnessed the entire interaction from a distance earlier, and jealousy had been burning inside her ever since.
No matter how hard she tried, Rowan only ever looked at Sienna, and it infuriated her.
Slowly, Hannah approached him from behind and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Director Rowan," she whispered softly against his back, "I'm always here for you."
Rowan frowned immediately.
He gently but firmly removed her arms from around him before turning toward her.
"What are you doing here, Nurse Hannah?"
His tone carried visible disapproval.
But Hannah simply stepped closer again fearlessly.
"I came to comfort you like usual."
"Hannah."
Warning entered his voice.
Yet instead of retreating, she pressed herself lightly against him.
"You're frustrated again because of Doctor Rivers, aren't you?" she murmured and gripped the rod beneath his thigh. "Let me help you relax."
Something shifted in Rowan's expression. The professionalism from moments ago disappeared, replaced by chill and detachment.
His hand suddenly gripped her butt roughly, and Hannah gasped; then a pleased smile appeared on her face.
"There," she whispered. "That's more like it."
The cold wind swept across the balcony as Rowan lowered his head and kissed her hard, not out of love or desire, just distraction.