Chapter 55 Hospital Runs

Chapter 55 Hospital Runs
SIENNA

The drive to the hospital had to be the hardest moment of my life. I didn't know how I survived being in the same car with Ethan, considering how much I despised him.

The problem wasn't even being with Ethan; it was how to handle the whole situation. How do I tell everyone that I wasn't sick like they thought? I was just sick of my feelings and everything that had to do with them. How do I tell the doctor their equipment wouldn't be able to detect my ailment because it had to do with my emotions and not my physical body?

"Thank you, Mr. Ethan," I muttered, stepping out of the car and slamming the door without waiting for his response. I headed towards the hospital. The plan was simple: I would go inside and hide somewhere until Ethan was gone, and then I would leave. However, I didn't expect to hear his voice just before I took a step into the hospital.

"Sienna!" he called, causing me to halt my movement. I tilted my head slightly and saw him coming.

Oh my God! What does he want now? I really cannot forgive Angel for what she caused me today.

"I'll see the doctor with you," he uttered, stopping in front of me. "Let's go inside." He stretched his hand towards me, trying to touch my arm, but I recoiled.

"Why? Are you also sick?" My tone wasn't nice, and I absolutely loved that. "Even if you're sick, you can visit the doctor on your own. You don't have to visit the doctor at the same time as me."

He swept a confused gaze over me for a few seconds. "I'm not sick. I just want to accompany you to see the doctor."

"Oh!" I flashed a cold smile. "That's cute, Mr. Ethan, but thank you." The smile dissipated. "I don't need your help. Stop acting like we're close."

"Uhm... Sienna," he said. "This isn't about being close or not. I just want to..."

"And I said NO." I yelled at him. "No fucking NO. Got that?" My chest heaved up and down due to frustration. I hated when I had to explain the same thing over and over again. Without waiting for his response, I hissed and stormed into the hospital.

I hated seeing his face, and this would have been avoided if Angel hadn't acted like an enemy in disguise.

When I got inside, I found a space to settle in the reception area. For minutes, I stared at everything around me. Thankfully, the hospital was busy, and the nurses paid less attention to the people waiting at the reception, so I was able to wait for a long while without being probed or harassed.

After forty minutes of sitting, I stood up and left. I just wanted to go home and stay in a quiet place. That was the only way I could get my emotions back on track and stop hurting over an undefined relationship.

"Sienna!" I heard Ethan's voice the moment I stepped out of the hospital, and my head voluntarily turned in the direction of the voice before I could stop it.

My stomach churned with anger, irritation, and disgust. I was shocked too, but anger shrouded every other feeling. He didn't leave? He waited outside?

He rushed over, smiling. Oh my God! How I wished I could give him a reason to cry. I hated his smile.

"What's it? How did it go with the doctor?"

"Don't you have to return to the office?" I ignored his question.

"Uhm..." He kneaded his brow with his fingertips. "I've asked for a few hours' absence. Work doesn't matter. I just need to be sure you're okay."

"Quit the act, Ethan," I deadpanned, rolling my eyes. "Quit the fucking act and stop cringing me out. This is not you," I muttered. "You're a selfish bastard who doesn't care about others. Live up to your reputation and stop digressing."

The smile on his lips faltered. "I'm not acting, Sienna. I'm sincere."

"I don't want your sincerity," I countered almost immediately. "I don't need it. Keep it."

His face was calm. "At least, let me drive you home."

"N..."

"Not as your shitty ex-husband." He interrupted my speech almost immediately. "But as your boss." He tucked his hands into his pockets afterward. Something about the way he made that statement suppressed my anger, and I hated it.

I was supposed to be angry at him forever. A statement from him shouldn't have the capacity to make me calm, even if it was only for a second. My brain snapped back to reality.

"I don't need your help, Ethan," I refused blatantly.

"I insist, Sienna," he chipped in. "I understand I made a lot of mess in the past, and I'm not trying to justify my actions or ask for your forgiveness right now. You're not feeling too well. Let me take you home."

He wasn't going to stop even if I rejected it. I knew this because he'd waited for me even though I told him to leave. So I just succumbed. Having him drive me home didn't mean I'd forgiven him or that I was back with him. If there was anything, I deserved to use him for today because I wouldn't have been involved with my boss if he hadn't betrayed me months ago.

"Sienna... Please," he muttered, jolting me out of my thoughts.

"Fine. Just this once," I said and walked past him toward where the car was parked.

He opened the door for me, and I hopped in. He also entered through the other side and zoomed off after restarting the engine and stepping on the accelerator.

I gave him the address to my place. The drive home wasn't as suffocating as the drive to the hospital. Maybe it was because I permitted him to drive me this time.

Soon, we were home, and I stepped out before he could reach my side to open the door himself.

"Thank you, Mr. Ethan." I made a curt bow.

Yeah. Building boundaries. I accepted his help today as his junior colleague, not as his ex.

Lines of displeasure appeared on his face, but I retracted my gaze. What he felt or how he felt was none of my business.

"You can take a few more days off," he informed me.

"That won't be necessary, Mr. Ethan. I would be fine after resting today," I let out, politely rejecting his offer.

Again, displeasure flashed across his eyes, but he was quick to mask it with his smile.

"Take care of yourself, Sienna," he said. Then he touched my arm. The contact was brief, but I felt irritated by it.

I couldn't believe it. These were the same hands that had touched me for five years. The same hands I'd also begged to be touched by for another three years. And suddenly, instead of getting pleasure from it, I was disgusted.

Pheeeew. Crazy.

I stood rooted to the spot, watching as he got into his car and drove off. A loud breath escaped my lungs as soon as his car disappeared down the road.

You did a good job, Sienna. You didn't kill your ex-husband despite spending a little longer with him today.

And just as I turned toward the house, my eyes caught a familiar car parked just beside the house. My body stiffened.

Has it been there since I arrived, or did it just get there? I rummaged through my head, trying to remember which one it was. However, at the same time, the door opened, and he stepped out.

"B... Bos... Boss. Lucien."