Chapter 94 Calling Sienna
Hannah
The door clicked shut behind Timothy.
I stood there staring at it long after his footsteps faded down the hallway.
The silence that followed felt strange. Too quiet. Too heavy.
My body swayed slightly.
I grabbed the edge of the bed and sat down quickly before my knees decided to give out completely.
“What just happened,” I whispered to myself.
It felt like I had just been thrown into some alternate version of reality where nothing made sense anymore.
The panic attack had passed. My breathing was steady again.
But my heart still hadn’t settled.
Slowly, almost unconsciously, my hand lifted to my lips.
The memory came rushing back immediately.
The kiss.
Heat rushed to my face.
Timothy kissed like a starving man.
That was the only way I could describe it.
There had been nothing hesitant about it. No careful testing of the waters. He had kissed me like someone desperate for a taste of something he’d been denying himself.
And the worst part?
I had kissed him back exactly the same way.
I groaned and covered my face with both hands.
“Oh my God.”
The memory replayed in painful clarity.
His hand at my waist.
The warmth of his chest against mine.
The way my fingers had clutched his shirt like I never wanted to let go.
I shook my head quickly as if that could somehow shake the memory away.
This was bad.
Very bad.
My fingers fumbled for my phone on the nightstand.
If I didn’t talk to someone about this immediately, I was pretty sure my brain would explode.
I opened my messages and typed quickly.
>I kissed him.
I stared at the screen for exactly ten seconds before the reply came.
>WHAT??
I winced.
Right on cue, my phone started ringing.
“Sienna,” I muttered.
I glanced at the time on the screen and cursed softly.
“Oh no.”
It was late. Way later than I had realized.
I answered quickly.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t even check the time…”
“Oh bitch, forget about that. You kissed him?!”
Sienna’s voice cut right through my apology.
I sighed and flopped backward onto the bed.
“Yes,” I mumbled.
There was a beat of silence.
Then…
“How was it?”
I blinked at the ceiling.
“That’s your first question?”
“Of course it is.”
I groaned and dragged a pillow over my face.
“Sienna.”
“What? I need details.”
I peeked out from behind the pillow.
“I’m not giving you details.”
“You texted me a confession and expected me not to interrogate you?”
She had a point.
Still.
I wasn’t exactly eager to relive the moment out loud.
“It was just a kiss,” I said vaguely.
Sienna made a noise that clearly said she didn’t believe me.
“Hannah.”
“It was… fine.”
“Fine?”
“Yes.”
“Fine like a polite peck on the cheek or fine like your knees almost gave out?”
I pressed the pillow over my face again.
“…my knees might have gone a little weak.”
“I knew it!”
“Keep your voice down,” I groaned.
“Sorry,” she said, not sounding sorry at all. “Continue.”
I sighed.
“There’s nothing else to say.”
“Hannah.”
“He kissed me. I kissed him back. It got a little… intense.”
“A little?”
I hesitated.
“…okay maybe more than a little.”
“Details.”
“I’m not giving you a play-by-play!”
“Rude.”
I scowled at the ceiling.
“You’re more concerned with how the kiss went than the fact that we kissed at all.”
Sienna chuckled softly.
“Oh please. I knew you two would kiss eventually.”
My head snapped up.
“You what?”
“You don’t exactly hide it well.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Hannah,” she said patiently. “You and Timothy are terrible at pretending you don’t like each other.”
I sat up straight.
“That’s not true.”
“Yes it is.”
“No it isn’t!”
“Every time you talk about him during break at work, you look like someone just mentioned your celebrity crush.”
My jaw dropped.
“That is not true!”
“And the way he looks at you when he drops you off at the shelter in the mornings?”
I blinked.
“What about it?”
Sienna snorted.
“The tension could power a small city.”
I buried my face in my hands again.
“This is humiliating.”
“I’m just saying I’m not surprised.”
“Well I am!”
Sienna laughed softly.
“So what happened after the kiss?”
I hesitated.
“Uh…”
“Hannah.”
“I ran away.”
“You what?”
“I panicked!”
“Oh my God.”
“And then I had a panic attack.”
Her laughter stopped immediately.
“You’re serious?”
“Unfortunately.”
I told her everything.
Running to my room.
Locking the door.
The panic attack.
Timothy showing up.
Holding me while I cried.
And the promise about breakfast tomorrow.
When I finished, Sienna was quiet for a moment.
“That’s actually… nicer than I expected.”
“What did you expect?” I asked.
“Honestly? I thought he’d panic too and pretend nothing happened.”
I rubbed my face tiredly.
“Well, he didn’t.”
“So what’s the problem then?”
I sat up straighter and whispered harshly into the phone.
“Loretta.”
Silence filled the line.
“Oh,” Sienna said slowly.
“Yes. Oh.”
I flopped back onto the bed again.
“You remember why we got married in the first place.”
“Yeah.”
“Our families were drowning in scandal and we had to fix it.”
“I know.”
“And Timothy was dating my sister before all of this,” I added miserably.
Loretta.
Just saying her name made my stomach twist.
“This marriage is fake,” I said quietly. “Temporary.”
Sienna sighed softly.
“You’re right.”
I groaned into the pillow.
“I cannot be falling for him.”
“No.”
“I definitely cannot be kissing him.”
“Also true.”
“It’s practically a spell for bad things to happen.”
Sienna was quiet for a moment.
Then she spoke again, her tone turning more practical.
“Okay. First of all, stop spiraling.”
“I’m not spiraling.”
“You absolutely are.”
I huffed.
“Second, you need sleep.”
“I do not…”
“Hannah.”
“…fine.”
“And tomorrow you’re going to breakfast with him like a normal human being.”
I sighed.
“Then you’re coming over to my place.”
My eyebrows lifted.
“Why?”
“Because you need to leave that giant mansion for a while before you drive yourself insane.”
She had a point.
“We’ll go out,” she continued. “Coffee. Shopping. Something normal.”
I pouted even though she couldn’t see it.
“Okay.”
“Good.”
She paused.
“Are you okay though? Like actually okay?”
I considered the question carefully.
“…I think so.”
“Good.”
We talked for another minute before finally hanging up.
The room went quiet again.
I dropped my phone beside me and buried my face in the pillow.
A long groan escaped me.
Then, a small whining sound reached my ears.
I lifted my head.
Momo stood at the foot of the bed, his fluffy tail wagging energetically.
“Oh no,” I said immediately. “Did I forget dinner?”
He barked softly.
“Okay, okay!”
I hurried out of bed and grabbed his food bowl.
He danced excitedly around my legs while I filled it.
The moment I placed it down, he dug in happily.
I sat on the floor beside him, scratching behind his ears while he ate.
His fur was soft and warm beneath my fingers.
My mind wandered again.
I had no idea what came next.
Everything felt uncertain.
Complicated.
Messy.
But Sienna was right about one thing.
I didn’t need to solve everything tonight.
I scratched Momo’s chin as he finished his meal.
“Tomorrow,” I murmured.
Tomorrow I would wake up.
Go to breakfast with Timothy like the calm, rational adult I was supposed to be.
Then I would go see Sienna.
And after that…
Well.
I’d figure the rest out later.
Right now, I just needed sleep.