Page 37 of Ashes

“I saidleave,” I repeated, my tone even colder this time.

“Fine,” she huffed out.

She cursed under her breath in Spanish. I didn’t understand everything she’d said since my Spanish was rusty, but I understood enough to know it was something about me being an ungrateful asshole.

She wasn’t wrong, but I couldn’t let her get close.

I’d expected her to slam the door, but when she simply shut it closed behind her, it only made me feel even worse.

I groaned, running a hand over my face.

Why do I do this to myself?

I let out a deep breath and headed to the bathroom. After brushing my teeth, I washed my face and grabbed a facecloth to dry my skin.

I still couldn’t believe I’d slept all night without being aware that she was there.

I rarely remembered whentheyhappened. The night terrors had started when I’d come back from the hospital and started living with Noah at his new place. The first time it happened, I’d woken up the next morning drenched in sweat with Noah kneeling next to my bed, a horrified look on his face.

He’d looked like he’d spent the entire night watching over me, and I’d later learned that he indeed had. Since waking me up wasn’t a solution, he’d stayed up to make sure I didn’t injure myself from all the trashing I did during my sleep.

He’d asked if I remembered what happened and I’d looked at him confused, unaware of what he’d been talking about. That’s when I learned about them.

I had them frequently and every time I did, I woke with Noah by my side.

We’d eventually gotten them under control, but Iguessed the recent events must have stirred them back to the surface.

I combed my hair then made my way to my closet and changed into one of my suits since Kai and I had to make an appearance at the office for a new acquisition.

When I came downstairs, Kai was sitting on one of the island chairs, typing away on his laptop. “Morning,” he said cheerfully, too cheerful for my current mood.

I grunted in response and walked over to grab a mug from the cupboard. Then I grabbed the carafe and was mid-pour when I asked him, “Where’s Sienna?”

I knew I shouldn’t have asked, especially after I’d kicked her out of my bedroom when she’d only tried to help me. But I couldn’t help myself.

“She left for work. Man, I don’t know what you said to her, but I’ve never seen someone be so eager to go to work,especiallyafter the day she had yesterday.”

Wait, what?

I almost spilled coffee all over myself when I whipped around to face him. My brows furrowed and anger exploded in my chest. “What do you mean ‘the day she had’? What the fuck happened to her yesterday?”

He took a sip of his tea, then said, “Calm down. We were talking and right before she left, she mentioned that she hoped none of her patients today would hit on her like the last one she examined yesterday.”

As soon as I heard the wordshit on her, my mind went on a whirlwind and started planning how I could infiltratethe hospital’s records, find this man, and show him what happened when he made my wife feel uncomfortable.

“Hit on her?”

He shook his head and rolled his eyes at me. “Have you seen her?”

“Do not talk about my wife,” I said through clenched teeth as I glared at him.

He held both of his hands up, feigning innocence. “Hey, you know what I meant. She’s a beautiful woman, but she’s not my type.”

The more he talked, the more irritated I became. “Tell me what happened.”

“Listen, we’re late for our meeting with Williams. All she told me was that a patient flirted with her yesterday and it made her extremely uncomfortable.”

“She’s married to me.”