Chapter 3

Kayden's POV

"Sorry," Sienna said.

She stood in the foyer, silent for a few seconds. "My phone died last night. I thought you were already asleep. You haven't had breakfast yet, right? I'll make you something."

She walked into the kitchen on her own, whipping up a large breakfast spread.

Sienna was a total disaster in everyday life but a genuine expert in the kitchen.

I had stomach issues, so to help me recover, she spent six months studying dozens of cookbooks, constantly coming up with new recipes for me.

As the final pot of soup was done, Sienna packed all the cooked dishes into food containers instead and slid a plate of blueberry jam toast toward me.

"Kayden, just make do with this. I need to rush to the hospital to bring Ivan breakfast. Mind cleaning up the pots and dishes?"

The splash of blue on the toast stung my eyes. Sienna forgot that I never eat blueberries.

As I watched her rush around in a panic, a sarcastic smile curled on my lips. "You really care about that student of yours, don't you?"

"Kayden, what is that supposed to mean?"

For once, she lost her temper with me. She furrowed her brow and spoke with a hint of frustration. "I treat all my students equally. If any of my students got sick today, I would go take care of them just the same."

"Is that so?" I looked up, meeting her gaze. "Would you drink from a straw that another student had already used, too? Sienna, I thought you were a clean freak."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Embarrassment flashed across Sienna's face. She grabbed the food containers and tried to brush past me to leave.

I caught her arm and shoved the hospital report into her hand. "If you don't get what I'm saying, you should at least get what's written here."

I threw the blueberry toast into the trash. When I turned back, she was already gone.

That hospital report had been crumpled into a ball and tossed straight into the wastebasket.

I stood frozen in place for a long time, feeling as if a piece of my heart had been ripped out raw. Empty as I felt, the tears just wouldn't come anymore.

Eventually, I retreated to my room and began packing my bags.

Caleb sent a courier over with the divorce papers. I checked the division of assets, and everything looked fine. All that was left was for Sienna to return and sign them to put an end to this absurd joke of a relationship.

At 9:00 pm, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door to find Ivan breathlessly supporting a completely wasted Sienna.

"We had a celebration dinner for our project," he said. "Professor Waller took a few extra drinks for me. I didn't expect her to protect me when she has such a low tolerance for alcohol."

I didn't say anything. I instinctively reached out to support her, but Ivan pulled her away from me.

He casually closed the door behind him and took Sienna to the bedroom. Only then did he turn to me with a beaming smile.

"Mr. Richmond, don't blame me for keeping you away from Professor Waller. I just know she finds you filthy. Forget being drunk. She rarely lets you touch her even when she's sober, doesn't she? Otherwise, how could you be married for seven years without a single kid?"

He suddenly stepped closer and leaned in with a low, condescending sneer. "After all, Professor Waller said every time she touches you, she can't help but picture you locked in that embrace with another woman years ago. She thinks it's disgusting."

A loud ring echoed in my head as the last string holding me together snapped.

Sienna's father was a gambler. To help her pay off his debts, I sang at a bar every night, only to get drugged by a female thug and dragged into an alleyway.

That day, Sienna went wild. She beat the person bloody with a wooden stick.

In the end, she collapsed into my arms, sobbing hysterically with her hands trembling uncontrollably. "Kayden, it's my fault. I swear I'll never let anyone hurt you again."

The nightmare of my 19-year-old self, the secret I had kept hidden for eight years, had become nothing more than gossip for Sienna to share with a male student who was into her.

My head snapped up, and my eyes locked dead on him. "What did you just say?"

"I said Professor Waller thinks you're—"

Before he could finish, my fist landed squarely on his face. I put every ounce of strength I had into that strike.

Ivan stumbled and fell, his forehead slamming hard against the coffee table. Blood immediately began to trickle down.

He wiped his mouth, his face flushing deep red. "Fuck! Are you out of your damn mind?"

He scrambled up to charge at me, but I planted a kick right into his stomach before dragging him out the door.

"Get the hell out! Get out of my house!"

I slammed the door shut behind him.

Drained of all strength, I slid down against the doorframe to the floor, feeling an icy numbness creep through me.