Sienna heard the words.
"I love you," he said to her many times during that night. They had slept together, and the sweet nothings he whispered to her had been all she'd ever wished for.
So why? Why had he been so indifferent, throwing his clothes on and leaving once they had opened their eyes?
Sienna watched him leave with every disregard to her feelings. She pulled on her clothes and walked out of the room. After freshening up a bit, she saw that it was already noon. She met her friends for lunch, sitting in an empty chair near them and eating.
Her friends immediately noticed that she was in a daze. That was, until she saw him.
He walked right past her, not even sparing her a second glance as he sat next to his own friends, talking about what happened in the industry recently.
Sienna stared at him.
He, noticing her stare, returned it with equal force until Sienna turned away.
His assistant walked past her to deliver a few things to him, and Sienna grabbed his arm. Her strong grip stopped him from going anywhere, and the assistant almost dropped what he was holding in pain.
Sienna pulled the assistant closer, murmuring a few words in his ears, which she saw he effectively delivered to him.
His name was Everett. Everett received the message his assistant dutifully gave him.
"Tonight?"
Sienna had forced Everett's assistant to ask him.
Everett looked back to Sienna's expectant eyes and gave the slightest of nods to agree to her suggestion.
Sienna gave him a small smile back before one of her friends shook her shoulder.
"Hey, where are you looking? Your favorite food is right in front of you. You usually devour it instantly."
"Oh, sorry, the smell from their food attracted me. It smells really good." Sienna closed her eyes and took a deep breath to enhance the believability of her blatant lie. Well, it wasn't all a lie. There was an enticing smell coming from the food from Everett's table, and she really wanted whatever it came from.
"Haha, you're way too into food. I honestly wonder why you have this job instead of being a chef sometimes." Everybody at the table laughed at the joke.
Even Sienna laughed, but her mind was somewhere else entirely.
That night, Sienna laid in an unfamiliar hotel bed again. Everett did whatever he wanted to her, reminding her every once in a while that this was just a fling.
When Sienna opened her eyes the next morning, Everett was already clothed. Sienna got off the bed and wore her clothes.
"Sienna," Everett called. Sienna looked at Everett in acknowledgment.
"I feel like you're too much into this play."
A play? Then why did he whisper such loving words when they were alone just two nights before?
"Remember that this is just an act for the audience," Everett continued.
The audience he called his parents?
Nevertheless, Sienna obediently nodded her head.
"It's good that you understand. And also, if we ever do this again, stop gripping onto me so hard. Don't forget that you were chosen because of your incredible strength, it hurts when you hold onto me like that."
And those were the last words Everett said to Sienna for the rest of the day.
A few days later, Sienna stood next to Everett again to meet his parents. They walked into the dining hall together, looking like a sweet couple.
Sienna politely waited for Everett's parents to sit down before she did. When she finally did, she found that all the cutlery and utensils here confused her, but she pretended like she understood it all. She picked up her fork and knife to cut the delicious-looking steak in front of her, eating in small, tame bites, looking like a polite young miss.
"Well," Everett's father started. "I thought she would be less well-mannered, considering she came from a commoner's family. I suppose that's one point for you, Son."
"I appreciate your open mind, Father," Everett politely replied.
Everett's mother snorted, and Sienna's hand stilled, nervously waiting for her biting remarks. "It doesn't matter if she's well-mannered. In this industry, it matters if she can protect herself from all of those people that try to attack her because of you. That and protect you."
Everett's mother looked over at Sienna. "Girlie, after your dinner, we're headed to the strength training room to see if you can protect yourself with those dainty arms."
And so they quickly finished dinner and went to the weight room.
"Let's start out small," Everett's mother said, moving aside, so Sienna could see what she would be lifting.
Sienna took one glance at the dumbbells and started sweating just looking at them. Everett's parents wanted her to lift twenty pounds! Did her arms look like they could handle that?
She placed her hands under the bar, struggling to lift it even an inch above the ground. Veins popped out on her neck and hands to show how hard she was trying, but to no avail.
Surrendering, she took her hands off the bar and gasped for air.
"That's all? You can't even lift twenty pounds? Every adult is capable of lifting this much unless they've been lazing around for their entire life!" Sienna hung her head in shame at Everett's father's words. She snuck a peek at Everett's face, only to see him looking at her with the same expression as everybody else in the room; disappointment.
Still, Everett sighed and defended her, which warmed her heart. "I know she can't protect herself, but we have people that can protect her. In the end, all that matters is that I love her. Can't you accept her just based on that fact?"
Everett's mother and father looked at Everett's pleading eyes and reluctantly accepted Sienna for his sake.
Through the rest of the day, Everett's parents slowly warmed up to Sienna. While they were having a cheerful conversation, Sienna noticed the time. "Oh! Look at the time, I should be going home."
Everybody agreed, and Everett offered to take her home. Sienna nodded, and they left the house together.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Everett turned cold. "Good job back there," his monotone voice complimented.
"You too," Sienna reciprocated, and they left the area.
Once Sienna got back to the hotel room she was staying in, she crashed, sleeping deeply through the night.
...
Sienna watched as Everett put on his coat and scarf to leave for work.
"I'll be back in the evening. I love you." Everett dropped a soft kiss on Sienna's lips, making her stiffen.
"What's wrong?" he inquired worriedly.
"Why do you always do this? You change faces so quickly. What's wrong with you?! I'm done with this if you don't explain!"
Sienna's eyes widened as soon as the words dropped from her lips. She hastily apologized. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted like that, that was very rude of me."
She looked up to see Everett's stone-cold face and her courage wilted. "Sorry," she murmured again.
Everett sighed. "It's fine, I'll leave you here to figure out what's going on."
Everett did exactly what he said he would, and Sienna was left alone. Her friend, who witnessed the scene, pulled her aside.
"What are you doing?" He demanded. "How could you ask that question that early on? You're supposed to be a top spy, and they don't ask so many questions before they get the trust of whoevers involved!"
Sienna apologized again.
"Remember. This is an act, you are only supposed to do this for the information. You will not fall in love."
Sienna repeated, "I will not fall in love."
Her friend nodded. "Good."
"John."
Sienna's friend turned around to see who called him. It was Everett. "Can I talk to you?" Everett asked.
Sienna secretly followed them to see what they would say.
"John, Sienna is supposed to get pregnant soon to follow what we have planned."
Sienna's eyes widened. How did he know when Sienna would get pregnant?
"Her being pregnant is the most important part, it will definitely make my parents happy if it goes well. I'm worried that whatever is wrong with her will continue. She's too into this," Everett continued.
"Alright, I'll try my best to help you." John agreed to help quickly.
Sienna covered her mouth to stop any sounds from coming out and rushed back to her chair.
How could John agree to help Everett so fast about her getting pregnant? Whose side was he really on?
Whose side was Everett on as well? How could he have known that Sienna was only acting?
John came back to Sienna and looked her dead in the eye, reiterating what he said earlier. "You will not fall in love."
Sienna kept her mouth shut this time. She nodded, and the conversation ended.
A few days later, Everett confessed.
"To tell the truth, I actually have more than one personality. If I ever act differently, it's my other personality."
Sienna would be sure to bring this information back to the spy organization. "Really?"
"Yes. I'm sorry I didn't tell you this earlier. I just didn't know if I could truly trust you."
"Can I... can I see him?"
"Well, he just comes out whenever he wants to, you see. I can't contro–" Everett couldn't finish his sentence before his face completely changed expressions.
"Hello," an icy voice spoke.
Sienna was intimidated. "Hi," she squeaked.
"Why are you squeaking? Are you scared of me? Hmph, girls are all the same." Everett's other personality snorted.
Hold on, this wasn't the personality that Sienna came in contact with before. The other personality was indifferent, this one was more of a... tsundere.
Sienna laughed. "You sound exactly like a classic tsundere from a show."
"I am not." Everett's other personality controlled Everett's body to turn away, but he could not hide his red ears from Sienna's sharp eyes.
She giggled. It didn't matter when the third personality would come out, she would bond with this one right now.
...
Sienna got pregnant like Everett wanted. Their days passed quickly, and Sienna found that Everett's trust in her continued to grow as well as both of their personalities. They matured together, going through trials and tribulations, while also living a sweet life.
Sienna also constantly betrayed Everett because she was a spy, and, for some reason, she felt she had already left him. Maybe spiritually, she felt it happen. She didn't want to spy on him anymore, maybe?
Sienna always disregarded the side of Everett that would sometimes appear, the cold, indifferent side, and Everett never spoke about him to her.
One day, Sienna felt particularly intrigued by Everett's other personality. Especially because she felt like her time with him was ending. She didn't know why. She just felt an endless sense of dread sitting in the pit of her stomach.
She finally popped the question. "Can I ever formally meet your third personality?"
Everett was startled, and he looked pointedly somewhere and subtly shook his head. Sienna wondered what he was looking at, but he interrupted her wondering before she could look.
"What third personality?"
Sienna was confused. "The one that never liked me."
Everett furrowed his eyebrows in concern and gently turned Sienna's face up to look at him. "Are you sure you've been okay these past few days? You've been asking me weird questions like this. I've only ever had two personalities."
The two sat on the couch, staring at each other for some time before Everett finally talked. "I'm going to get some water to help you clear your head.
Sienna stayed on the couch, wondering who that person was, if he wasn't real. Was it just a figment of Sienna's imagination? Has she really gone crazy?
Sienna felt like she was submerged a mile deep in the water with a weight pulling her farther down. The sunlight that used to break through the surface of the water couldn't reach her anymore, just like the words of the people above the water.
She couldn't communicate with them anymore. She wondered when it started. All the previous miscommunications piled up in her head. Until...
Sienna heard the word.
The one word.
Fresh air filled her lungs to the brim along with clarity to her mind. Guilt and disappointment rushed into her heart. She couldn't believe it. What a fool she had been.
But the word also brought with it freedom. Freedom from the role she was playing.
John came over to hug her as tears slipped out of her eyes.
It was finally over. She never wanted to do that again. Maybe quitting and becoming a chef really was the best option. A small chuckle left her lips while thinking about that joke, which quickly turned into laughter.
Ahhh. When's the last time I laughed like this?
She had been trapped in the role for so long that it had almost become a part of her.
A few months later...
Sienna walked down the vermillion red carpet in a stunningly gorgeous purple dress to see the debut of the most highly anticipated film of the year.
She sat comfortably in her seat next to the male lead of the movie, Everett, and his parents. His parents were very excited to see the film. Sienna could see their eagerness easily.
Before long, the sound of the film starting drew Sienna's attention away from Everett's parents.
It was about a woman who was a spy. She was part of an organization that spied on others' companies and sold the information to other companies.
The woman stayed with a man for a few years, who wanted to use her as a fake marriage partner for his parents to see, learning many secrets of his company and himself too and dutifully passing it onto the organization.
They fell in love. However, it was the ending that shocked everybody. Nobody could have expected that after the woman betrayed the man and left, the man launched a counterattack because he knew what was going on all along. He used their child and many other things to make the woman's life miserable.
And that was how the film ended.
Sienna had a good time watching the film and also sat to watch the credits roll.
"Cast of Cut:" it had read at the beginning of the credits.
Sienna snorted. Who knew that one word would still haunt me today.
The name of the film was "Cut". Nobody knew why the scriptwriter chose that title, but there were many speculations.
To Sienna, though, it would be a lesson engraved in her heart.
Once the director yelled, "Cut!" the scene ended.
That one word was enough to bring her back to the real world, to keep her from getting lost in the act. She would rely on that word for the rest of her acting career.
End
Did you get it? Was it confusing at first? Did it all come together at the end? Say yes, say yes!
A challenge from the author:
Can anybody tell which parts were for the film and which were real interactions they had? Put your guesses in the comments.
I think the most confusing part was "Sienna also constantly betrayed Everett because she was a spy, and, for some reason, she felt she had already left him. Maybe spiritually, she felt it happen. She didn't want to spy on him anymore, maybe?"
Can anybody make sense of that? Why did Sienna feel like she had already left Everett?