Chapter 10
1085 Words
Sienna’s POV
The drive back home felt longer than usual. Maybe it was the weight pressing on my chest or the faint smell of antiseptic still clinging to my clothes from the hospital. Visiting Yvette always reminded me why I fought so hard in this industry why I put up with the scandals, the paparazzi, and the betrayals. She deserved someone rooting for her, and if that someone was me, then so be it.
But the moment I stepped into my penthouse, my sense of fragile calm shattered like glass.
Louis was waiting in the living room with her tablet in hand, her expression tight and unreadable. That was my first warning. Louis never looked like that unless the world was falling apart again.
“What now?” I asked, dropping my bag onto the couch with a sigh.
She did not answer. She just turned the tablet toward me.
Headlines screamed across the screen in bold letters:
“Sienna Blaze’s Secret Battle With Cancer?”
“Leaked Medical Records Suggest Troubling Diagnosis.”
“Hollywood’s Ice Queen Hiding Terminal Illness?”
My heart stopped. “What what is this?”
Louis scrolled down, showing me snapshots of forged hospital charts, doctored images of me entering clinics, and anonymous “sources” claiming they had seen me in oncology wings. My throat went dry.
“They are saying you have been hiding it for years,” Louis said quietly. “That the stress explains your ‘erratic behaviour.’ ”
“This is insane.” I pressed a hand to my forehead, trying to steady the world that suddenly tilted around me. “I do not have cancer. I was visiting Yvette. She is the one that has it.”
She raised a hand, calm and steady. “I know. But the public does not, and I'm sure it was Claire who leaked this. She made sure that the public believed her.”
Claire. Of course it was her. She never missed an opportunity to twist the knife.
I staggered backwards until my legs hit the couch, then sank down, staring blankly at the coffee table. My career, my reputation… and everything I had built, it all hung by a thread, and with this lie, that thread was fraying fast.
“If they believe this,” I whispered, “my career is over. Who is going to hire an actress they think is… dying?”
The silence was thick. Louis finally sat across from me, her hands clasped together. Her voice was calm and measured, but it landed like a verdict.
“Which is why we need to implement the plan.”
I blinked at her. “What plan?”
“The one I suggested before,” she reminded me gently. “You and Joe. Fake dating. It will distract the media and give them a new narrative to chase. Instead of speculating about illness, they will be obsessing over your unexpected romance.”
My mouth fell open. “Louis, you can not be serious.”
“I am.”
“You want me to date… my maid?” My voice rose with disbelief. “He can not even tell the difference between disinfectant alcohol and a three-thousand-dollar bottle of wine! Do you know how ridiculous this would look? They will laugh me out of Hollywood.”
From the kitchen, a quiet clatter echoed. I turned sharply to see Joe standing there, frozen halfway through, setting down a tray with two cups of water. His face was pale, like he had walked into the wrong movie.
I had not even realized he was still here.
Louis’s voice stayed calm, but her eyes flicked briefly toward Joe. “you know that the public already sees you as untouchable, dramatic, and… cold.”
I glared.
She cleared his throat, continuing, “But with Joe, you look approachable.... Normal.... Human. A star who could fall for the ‘average guy.’ It softens your image. It changes the story.”
I shook my head violently. “No, absolutely not. I will not destroy what is left of my dignity by playing house with my maid.”
Joe shifted uncomfortably, his hand tightening on the tray. “Uh… I will just ”
“Stay,” Louis said firmly, cutting him off.
Joe froze, shoulders stiff. He clearly wanted to be anywhere else. For a moment, I almost pitied him.... Almost.
“This is absurd,” I snapped. “The media will eat us alive. They will say I have lost my mind.”
Louis leaned forward. “They will say you have found your heart. And that is exactly what we need right now. And when we have gathered the publics attention, then we can expose all of Claire's lies to the public.”
Her calmness only made my blood boil more. My mind raced with images of tabloids plastered with my face next to Joe’s his clumsy hands, his wide-eyed innocence, his complete lack of polish. He was not made for this world.
“This would not work,” I whispered.
Louis’s gaze softened, but she did not back down. “Sienna, we are out of options. Claire’s got forged records, she has got the public’s ear, and she is pushing this narrative hard. If we do not replace it with something bigger, your career would not survive the month.”
The weight of her words pressed down on me. My chest tightened until it hurt to breathe.
I looked at Joe again. He was not saying anything, but his eyes conflicted, almost guilty met mine. For once, there was no sarcasm, no awkward joke, no bumbling clumsiness. Just silence, like he hated this idea as much as I did.
“Would you actually agree to this?” I asked him, my voice sharper than I intended.
He hesitated, then gave a stiff nod. “If it helps you.”
Something in my chest cracked. I turned away quickly, staring at the floor so no one would see the flicker of emotion in my eyes.
It felt like my world was collapsing and my reputation, my dignity and privacy had gone. And now my only lifeline was tying myself to someone I barely trusted, someone who could ruin me further just by opening his mouth at the wrong time.
But Louis was right. I had no choice.
I drew in a shaky breath, forcing the words out through clenched teeth.
“Fine. Let us go ahead with it.”
- Writer
