Chapter 180: What did you do?

"Yes, Aliya," Sienna said, unhurried, setting down what was left of the shattered cup with a steady hand.

"Because unlike you, I don’t run after men who don’t want me." She met Aliya’s eyes without flinching.

"Simon did love me before he cheated on me. So, girl, you are nothing like me. And I don’t need to fight you."

Aliya’s smile faltered slightly, but Sienna kept going, her voice calm, almost gentle, which somehow made it worse.

"You want Viktor? Go get him. You want your father to annul our marriage? Go right ahead." She tilted her head.

"Sadly, the man you want avoids you like a plague. And I don’t have time to waste fighting someone with no brains at all." She paused, letting her eyes drift briefly, almost pityingly, over Aliya’s face.

"Tell me, who goes to this length for a man who doesn’t even want her?" A small, soft breath escaped her, almost a sigh.

"I just feel sorry for you. Because you have no brains." Something in Aliya cracked.

She let out a sharp, furious sound and lunged forward, one hand flying up to grab at her own hair in frustration, the other slamming against the counter as she screamed toward the door.

"Guards!" Two men rushed into the kitchen almost instantly, boots skidding against the tile. "Hold her," Aliya barked, pointing at Sienna, her chest heaving.

The men moved fast, closing in on either side of Sienna, gripping her arms before she could react.

Down the hall, Marcus heard the commotion and broke into a run, his heart slamming against his ribs, already dreading what he’d walk into.

"I have had it with you," Aliya snarled, dragging a hand across her face to wipe away the heat rising in her cheeks.

That was when she felt it. A strange itch, sudden and sharp, prickling against her palm.

She scratched at it without thinking, dragging her nails across her skin and, in doing so, smeared the fine, toxic powder still clinging to her hand across her cheek, her jaw, the delicate skin near her eyes.

The pain hit almost instantly. A deep, burning sting that bloomed outward, fast and vicious.

"Are you okay, boss?" One of the guards had Sienna by the arm when he asked the question.

His attention wasn’t on her anymore. It was on Aliya. Aliya stood a few feet away, staring down at her hands.

For a moment, nobody understood why. Her fingers moved over the back of one hand, brushing at something invisible. Then she rubbed harder.

Her brows pulled together. "What the hell..." She stopped. Her expression changed. The guard holding Sienna noticed it first.

"Boss?" Aliya suddenly scratched at her wrist. Once. Then again. Harder.

The faint irritation on her skin had become a sharp, crawling sensation. It moved beneath her skin like hundreds of tiny needles, spreading from her wrist toward her palm.

Aliya’s breathing changed. "Why is it," She scratched again.

This time, she dragged her nails across her skin so hard that angry red marks appeared. "Boss, what’s wrong?" Aliya looked up.

"Do I look okay to you?!" The scream that came out of her made everyone in the room freeze. She clawed at her arm. Then her neck.

Then her face. Whatever had started on her hand was spreading. "Get it off me!" The guards exchanged alarmed looks. "What is it?"

"I don’t know!"

"Get it off!" Sienna watched them with wide, innocent eyes.

Then, very slowly, she glanced toward the counter. A crumpled napkin still lay there. "Oh," she said. Everyone turned toward her.

Sienna tilted her head slightly. "You should probably help your boss." One of the guards frowned. "What?"

She pointed toward the napkin. "It looks like she has something on her." The guard’s eyes followed her finger.

In the middle of the confusion, nobody stopped to question why Sienna seemed so calm. One of the men immediately reached for the napkin.

"Here." He grabbed it and hurried toward Aliya. "Boss, let me see."

"Get it off!" Aliya screamed again. The guard began wiping her hands. At first, nothing happened. Then Aliya jerked violently.

"No!" She shoved his hand away. But it was already too late.

The powder had been rubbed across more of her skin. "What did you do?!" she screamed.

"I was trying to help you!"

"Don’t touch me!" The guard looked down at his own hand. His expression changed.

"What the..." He rubbed his fingers together.

A faint prickling sensation had started between them. He frowned and scratched his palm. The sensation didn’t stop. It got worse. "Boss..."

Aliya wasn’t listening anymore. She was scratching at her neck, her face flushed and blotchy now. The second guard stepped forward. "What happened?"

"I don’t know," the first guard snapped, suddenly rubbing at his fingers. "Something is on her."

"Move." The second man grabbed the napkin from him.

Marcus’s head slowly turned toward Sienna. Sienna didn’t look at him. She was too busy watching the second guard wipe at Aliya’s arm.

Marcus narrowed his eyes. The second guard stopped.

His fingers twitched. Then he scratched the back of his hand. Once. Twice. "What the hell?" The first guard looked at him.

"You too?" Before either of them could figure it out, two more guards rushed into the room. They had heard the screaming.

"What happened?"

"Something is wrong with the boss!"

"Help her!" One of them grabbed Aliya by the shoulder. The other reached for the napkin. Marcus stared.

"Oh, no," he muttered under his breath. Sienna finally looked at him. Her lips twitched. Marcus gave her a look.

Sienna’s face immediately became serious again. Or at least, she tried. Within seconds, the room had turned into chaos. Aliya was scratching furiously.

The first two guards had begun feeling the same burning irritation crawling over their hands. One of the new guards suddenly dropped the napkin.

"Why is my hand burning?" The other man looked at him.

"What?"

"My hand!" He began scratching. Then the second man looked down at his own fingers. A second later, his eyes widened. "Oh, shit."

"Don’t swear in front of me," Sienna said automatically. Marcus slowly turned to stare at her. Sienna blinked. "What?"