Chapter 204: It Was About Her Peace Of Mind
"There’s one more thing," Sienna added after a moment.
"I’m listening."
"I hope people remain unaware that I’m your wife... especially while the Black Scorpion case is attracting so much attention."
Zachary fell silent.
If it were entirely up to him, he would proudly tell the whole world that Sienna was his wife. He wanted everyone to know she belonged with him and that no one had the right to look down on her again.
But this wasn’t about his wishes. It was about her peace of mind.
After a thoughtful pause, he finally gave in.
"All right," he said gently. "I’ll keep that in mind."
"Thank you, Honey."
Her voice sounded much brighter than it had at the beginning of the call. The heaviness that had weighed on her heart seemed to have eased.
Then, as if wanting to change the mood completely, she asked, "So... how much longer until you get home?"
Zachary glanced through the car window before checking the time.
"Not long."
"Good."
"Why?"
"Because someone told me this morning that he’d come home early."
"I remember saying that."
"And?"
"And I fully intend to keep my promise."
She laughed softly.
"I’ll believe it when I see you walk through the front door."
"So now my wife doubts me?"
"Just a little."
"I’m hurt."
"You’ll recover once you get home."
"Not unless my wife welcomes me home properly."
Sienna laughed again.
"And what exactly does ’properly’ mean, Mr. Sterling?"
"I’ll tell you when I get there."
"You really like keeping secrets."
"Only the fun ones."
"All right. Sky and I will wait for you for dinner."
"I’ll be home soon."
"Tell Logan to drive safely."
"I will."
There was a brief pause before Zachary smiled warmly and said, "Bye, my love."
"Bye, Honey."
...
Anderson Hospital.
The next day, Scott sat in his office at Anderson Hospital, reviewing several medical reports he needed before his next major surgery. The procedure was complicated, and he wanted to go through every detail personally. He had barely finished reading the second page when a knock sounded on the door, interrupting his concentration.
Scott looked up with a slight frown. He wasn’t expecting anyone, and he had already instructed his secretary not to let anyone disturb him unless it was an emergency.
"Yes?" he called lazily before lowering his gaze to the report again.
Then a familiar voice answered from outside.
"Scott!"
His head immediately snapped back toward the door. A smile of surprise crossed his face when he saw his best friend, Kevin Richardson, standing there in a perfectly tailored office suit, looking as though he had just walked out of an important board meeting.
"Kev?" Scott quickly stood from his chair. "What are you doing here this early? Are you feeling unwell?"
Kevin rarely visited Anderson Hospital unless he actually needed medical attention. Even then, he usually called Scott first instead of showing up unannounced.
Ignoring the question entirely, Kevin walked straight into the office. He made himself comfortable in the sitting area as though the room belonged to him.
Scott shook his head with quiet amusement. After closing the door behind him, he walked over. Still, he remained standing a few steps away instead of taking a seat immediately.
"Seriously," Scott said, folding his arms, "for the CEO of Cresswell Tech, you seem to have plenty of free time to visit my office in the middle of the workday."
Kevin let out a long sigh and gestured toward the chair opposite him. "Sit."
Scott raised an eyebrow.
Kevin pointed again, looking unusually serious.
"This is because of you," he said with an irritated look. "How could you disappear after dropping such huge gossip on us?"
Scott stared at him blankly for a second. "Gossip?"
The question had barely left his mouth before he realized exactly what Kevin was talking about. An amused smile slowly spread across his face.
"Kev," he said, shaking his head, "you are unbelievably impatient. I already told you I’d explain everything the next time we met, but you rushed here simply to find out about that?"
"Well, man, here we are, in a meeting." Kevin crossed his arms firmly over his chest and narrowed his eyes. "...So start talking. What secret has Zach been hiding from us?"
Scott couldn’t help laughing under his breath. Seeing Kevin this impatient was strangely entertaining. Usually, Kevin was the calm and composed one among them, but today he looked as though he hadn’t slept because of curiosity.
Scott finally sat down opposite him and leaned back comfortably. "Alright, man..." he said with an amused grin. "Just don’t pass out from the shock."
Kevin leaned forward immediately.
"I’ll survive."
Scott’s eyes sparkled with excitement. He had been waiting to see their reactions ever since he knew Zachary was married to Sienna.
"Listen carefully," Scott began. "The secret is that Zach already—"
Before he could finish, another knock echoed through the office.
Scott closed his eyes for a brief second. "You’ve got to be kidding me!"
He turned toward the door just as it opened, revealing another familiar face.
"Ethan?" Scott asked in disbelief.
Ethan Hall, one of his best friends, stepped inside, dressed in his business attire.
Scott chuckled in confusion. He asked, "I thought you were out of town, on your business trip today."
"Yeah... but no. I postponed my trip," Ethan said with a slight smile before walking farther into the office.
"Close the door, Ethan..." Scott called after him.
Ethan acted as though he hadn’t heard a word. Instead, he walked straight to the sitting area and casually dropped into the seat beside Kevin.
Scott let out a tired sigh. Without another word, he walked back to the door himself, closed it, then returned to face his two best friends. The way they sat together made it look less like his office and more like they were holding a meeting without his permission.
He stared at them for a long moment.
To his annoyance, neither of them looked the slightest bit guilty.