Chapter 2

Malachi's POV

"Sienna." Ryan, who had been quietly watching the drama unfold, suddenly spoke up. He looked at Sienna with a dejected expression and asked, "Should we step out of the hospital room and give you and your fiance some time alone to talk things through?"

"He's not my fiance!" she snapped and instinctively shoved me away.

I lost my footing and fell backward, my lower back slamming into the table behind me. A glass of water toppled off the table and shattered on the floor.

A shard grazed Ryan's ankle, and he sucked in a sharp breath. Before he could even say a word, Sienna's expression shifted instantly. She crouched down to check his wound, then helped him to his feet. "Let's go see a doctor."

I clutched my lower back, unable to move for a moment because of the pain.

Inside the hospital room, one of their friends tried to win their favor by grabbing a basin of dirty water and emptying it over my face.

"Malachi, don't think you can act all high and mighty in front of Ryan just because you gave him credit for your work! To both Sienna and us, you're nothing but a lapdog!"

"Look at how frantic Sienna got just because Ryan got slightly injured. I bet you've never gotten that kind of treatment after all these years of groveling at her feet. Do yourself a favor and leave while you still can. Otherwise, you'll only end up humiliating yourself!"

Laughter filled the hospital room. Every remark was meant to ridicule and belittle me.

I wiped the dirty water from my face, my voice perfectly calm as I said, "I won't get in their way. After all, I've never liked Sienna to begin with."

My words stunned everyone in the room.

Just as they were about to mock me, the door opened, and Sienna walked in. When she saw the mess on the floor and me drenched from head to toe, she frowned.

"What are you all doing?" she asked unhappily.

No one had expected her to come back, let alone get angry on behalf of a simp like me. It took a while before someone finally laughed awkwardly and tried to explain, "Sienna, we were just joking around with this simp—"

"Is this your idea of a joke?" Sienna cut him off, her expression turning grim. "Even if he's a simp, he's my simp. No one gets to bully him. Anyone who laid a hand on him, slap yourself. Don't make me do it myself."

This time, I was the one who was stunned. Since when had Sienna grown a conscience and started treating me so well?

As slaps resounded one after another, Sienna took off her scarf, draped it around my shoulders, and led me away. I followed her out of the hospital room, confused.

Just then, her phone rang again. It was Ryan calling. "Sienna, where did you go? I feel a bit uneasy being alone in the hospital. Could you come back and keep me company?"

His deep, gentle voice came through the phone. Sienna's expression turned hesitant as she asked, "Malachi, can you see the doctor by yourself?"

I looked down at my drenched clothes and scraped palms, then suddenly laughed. "Of course."

When she heard my answer, she sighed in relief, as if she had just received a reprieve. She said, "Go back on your own first."

I nodded. "Okay."