The three of them ate in silence and listened to music. It was awkward for Aaron to be in their presence when they were together, but both seemed friendly when alone with him. He finished up the delicious food and then excused himself. 

“Hello, this is Mr Wohoon. I am Mr Foster’s private investigator. I would…” He started to say into his phone as he walked off to his apartment.

“So Declan finally found someone he could trust.” The man on the other side of the call chuckled. 

“Yes, Mr Hoffman. I was told you have a file for me. Will you email it to me, or must I collect it?” Aaron asked.

“Please call me Ryan. You and I will be in contact often, I’m sure. I’ll email you my hotel’s address… actually scratch that. I’ll be hosting a masquerade party soon. We’ll meet then.” Ryan replied, then hung up the call.

“I guess that means to collect it,” Aaron said to himself and shrugged.

***

Declan watched the waitress as she ate and admired how well she fit into the clothes. She looked like a woman from a proud family of wealth and status. Yet, instead of the arrogance that most women had, Sienna was kind and caring. 

“Did you enjoy the meal?” Declan asked as the staff cleared the table. Aaron had left, and he could feel the tension in the room building between him and Sienna.

“Yes.” She replied. Lately, all he had been receiving were one-word answers, and they were starting to irritate him.

“Very well. Goodnight.” He added and stood up. Sienna watched him and decided it was time to return to her room. She followed after him and vanished into her room before he could turn around. Sienna listened to noises coming from the other room, and her heart started racing when the shower switched on. Images of Declan’s naked body sparked in her mind. 

His strong arms, the bit of hair on his chest, the V-lines that dipped down… no. She shook her head to stop thinking of him and instead got dressed in her pyjamas. After figuring out how to use the remote, she watched a Korean movie on Netflix then fell asleep. 

Sienna woke up the following day and opened her eyes to the beautiful ocean view from her window. She put on some music and danced around in her room. I feel good by James Brown was on. It was a beautiful sunny day, and Sienna put on her costume after shaving. She covered herself with a white lace dress that showed off the one-shoulder bodysuit and had on a pair of flip flops. She even painted her toenails a blue to match the swimming costume and then walked to the dining room.

“Good morning Aaron.” She greeted with a smile. The private investigator was reading a newspaper and had a mug of black coffee in front of him. 

“Good morning, Miss Chae-Soo. Mr Declan already left for work early this morning.” He replied friendly. 

“I saw thinking we spend the day on the beach if you don’t mind.” 

“That’s not a problem at all. I’ll get dressed while you have breakfast. Mr Declan told the kitchen to prepare a fruit salad and yoghurt for you.” 

“Oh. Will he always decide what I have to eat?” Sienna asked, slightly annoyed. 

“I think he’s just trying to ensure you get all the necessary vitamins and minerals,” Aaron responded, then walked off as Mrs Grace walked in. 

“Good morning, Miss. How did you sleep?” Grace smiled and placed the food in front of Sienna. 

“Very well, thank you. How was your night?” 

“Oh, it was good thank you, Miss. Here are the pills you need to take after breakfast.”

“Thank you. Would you like to share with me? There’s so much food.” Sienna offered, which made Grace smile. 

“No, thank you, Miss. You don’t need to eat everything.” Grace winked then left her alone to eat.

Sienna played her music from her phone and swayed a bit while eating. Today, she was in an excellent mood, and the billionaire was at work, which made her even happier.

“Done!” She squealed after eating everything and skipped towards the outside patio that led onto the beach. Aaron followed after her and smiled at how excited she was to be near the sea. This was probably the first time she would have been on a beach as Samjiyon wasn’t near an ocean. 

“Smell that salty air, Aaron! The sand between your toes and the warm sunlight. Isn’t it amazing?” Sienna laughed and jumped around while holding her flip flops. 

“Yes, excellent.” He replied and set up their beach chairs and umbrella. 

“I’m going to feel the water. Are you coming?” 

“Can you swim, Miss Sienna?” 

“No, but I won’t go deep!” She smiled and took off her dress.

“I’ll watch; you enjoy.” He remarked, and she nodded, then ran off to splash in the water. Aaron took off his shirt to tan a bit. He didn’t have a massive chest or well-defined abs but looked attractive without a shirt on. He read over some documents he collected of Sienna while she enjoyed herself on the beach. 

She attended a public primary school where she learnt how to read, write and speak in both Korean and English. Sienna was an A student and got a scholarship for high school, which helped them with finances. Then in her last year, her parents were both fired as the factory shut down. Sienna chose to drop out of school to work instead of finishing. She had been taking care of her family since then.

“Can you please help me put sunscreen on my back?” Sienna asked, which made Aaron stop reading.

“Sure.” He nodded and rubbed the sunscreen into her skin. It felt weird to touch the waitress, and he worried Declan would be angry. Luckily, the billionaire was not home. 

Sienna felt awkward as well but tried to not show it. She usually didn’t let random men touch her, but she knew the billionaire would not like it if she burnt. She thanked Aaron then lay on a towel to tan. 

“I learnt that you did not complete high school. Why did you drop out if you had a scholarship?” Aaron questioned.

“I could go to school for free, but everyone at home would still be suffering. I decided to rather start working to keep them alive and put my wants aside. I don’t regret doing that.” She responded and turned around to tan her back.

“Would you like to finish high school?” 

“Do you think I can?”

“I will speak to Mr Foster about it. I’m sure he won’t mind.” Aaron replied.

“Thank you. That would be amazing. I always wanted to finish high school and go on to college. I wanted to study marketing before my parents were fired.” Sienna sighed. “I guess, now there’s no need to study further, but I at least want my matric.” 

“I have a criminal justice degree and wanted to join the police. Yet, I found myself more drawn to being a P.I.” 

“Your parents must be proud of you.” 

“I hope so. They died when I was young, so my uncle took me in. He wasn’t the best person to raise a child, but I am where I am because of him.” Aaron added. He was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Sienna. 

“Sorry about your parents.” She stated then stood up. “I’m going back in; you coming?” Sienna asked, but Aron shook his head. She shrugged then ran back into the water. 

It was cold against her hot skin, and the waves crashed against her legs. Since the beach was private, there was no one around them, which she preferred. She tried to move a bit more in, and now the water was by her stomach. 

“Sienna!” Aaron shouted, which made her look back. She mistakenly turned around and started walking back to shore when a massive wave hit her. Sienna was knocked under the wave and scrambled to stand up. As the water retreated, it pulled Sienna back, and she started panicking. 

She popped her head out of the water and took a breath, but another wave hit, forcing her under again. She screamed, and the salty water felt like it filled her lungs. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her and pull her up to the surface as she passed out. Aaron fought against the current and swam to shore with Sienna in his arms. He pulled her onto the sand and performed CPR, which made her cough up water. 

“It’s okay, Sienna. You’re okay.” Aaron reassured her and patted her back as she gasped her air. 

“Thank you, Aaron.” She whispered as her throat felt sore. 

“Let’s get you inside.” He added and helped her up. Mrs Grace ran towards them and helped Aaron carry Sienna inside. 

“Are you alright, Miss?” Mrs Grace asked. She had seen what happened through the window and ran out after yelling for someone to phone the paramedics and Mr Foster. 

Sienna nodded, and they put her onto the couch. The paramedics stormed into the house and checked up on Sienna, and luckily Aaron had saved her on time. 

“Where the fuck is she?!” The billionaire’s voice thundered through the house as he stormed in. 

“Mr Foster, she is okay.” Mrs Grace replied and followed after him towards Sienna. 

“Sir, your wife will be fine. Her vitals are stable, and the baby is okay.” A paramedic replied.

“Thank you.” He replied, relieved and thanked the paramedics. “Mr Wohoon, thank you for saving Sienna’s life.” He added as the paramedics left. “Are you alright?” He softly asked Sienna. 

“Yes,” She replied. Her throat still hurt, and she was a bit shaken from the experience but luckily still alive.

“Why the fuck did you go out so deep?!” Declan snapped.

“I didn’t….” 

“Are you trying to kill yourself? Are you trying to kill my baby?!” 

“No!” Sienna gasped. The billionaire grabbed onto her arm and jerked her up. He then pulled her towards the bedroom and shoved her in.

“What are you doing?” Sienna asked through tears and fell onto her bed. 

“Obviously, you are a danger to my child’s life. You almost died on the first day! You will stay in this room until I think you are more responsible!” Declan yelled and grabbed her bedroom key. He then slammed the door shut and locked her in.

“You can’t lock me in here!” Sienna yelled and bashed on the door. 

“Watch me!” He screamed back and shoved the key into his pocket. Declan hid that he was worried about her with anger and stormed off to punch a wall.

Sienna sunk to the floor and sobbed with her back against the bedroom door. The billionaire didn’t even care that she almost drowned and blamed her. She hated him. He was rude, cold and selfish. All he cared about was HIS baby! It was THEIR baby, but he just saw her as something that carried his child. 

She wiped her tears away and went to run a bath. Her wet clothes made her shiver, and she sipped on a fizzy cooldrink so that the sugar could help her with the shock. A knock came from her door a few hours later, and Declan walked in with a tray. He placed it next to her bed and sat down next to her.

“There’s your lunch and pills. How are you feeling?” Declan asked. He had calmed down, and Sienna noticed the skin on his knuckles had been split open again. 

“Fine,” She replied and looked away from him.

“If you want to be stubborn, suit yourself!” He hissed, then walked off again and locked her in. 

Sienna stayed in her room for the next couple of days, and either Aaron or Mrs Grace bought her food. The billionaire decided to stay away and kept himself busy at work until late every day. He tried to stay away as much as possible. The waitress could calm him down easily, but she could also anger him just as quickly.