Perfect Addiction

DELETED SCENE FROM CHAPTER 10

This scene takes place after Kayden storms out of their training session and Sienna feels like she's unable to get through to him to get him to focus. Because I had a 120K word limit to adhere to when rewriting the paperback version of Perfect Addiction, so I decided to axe this particular scene because it felt a little redundant and I wanted to make way for other scenes that served to progress the plot. Nevertheless, it's a cute scene with Sienna and the Perfect Illusion gang, so I thought I'd share it with you guys because you know I love sharing bonus content with you guys.

Be aware this isn't canon since this scene didn't get published, but you're free to enjoy it as such anyway.

RECAP:

Kayden clenches his jaw tightly, as if trying to keep all of his emotions from spilling out of him.

"You don't know what I'm going through, Sienna," he says through gritted teeth.

My mouth tightens. A part of me feels guilty for being so hard on him. But he's gonna need a massive wake-up call and if I have to be the villain and break it to him, that's more than fine with me.

"You're right. I don't know what you're going through," I say, my tone softening. "But I believe you're better than just beating yourself up about it. You know what makes a person a fighter? It's not the number of punches he can throw or how long he can last in a cage. It's when he shows real courage and strength to overcome his battle wounds. You have scars, Killer. Own up to them. Otherwise, I don't know what the hell we're doing here."

He doesn't say anything for a while. He merely remains silent, pondering what I've said. Instead of waiting out the awkwardness, I turn my back on him, snatching the pads off the mats and making my way back to the shelf."

"Go home, Kayden. Take the rest of the day off. If you still want out, I'll leave your apartment first thing in the morning," I mutter.

I turn to see if he heard what I said, but as I look around I notice that—

He's already gone.

One step forward, two steps back.

***

 After completely murdering the punching bag, I sigh in defeat and go for my phone in my bag. As much as I hate Kayden for being so hot and cold with me, I'm still worried about him. And I want to make sure he's okay.

Guilt prickles at me, knowing that I'd been harsh on him. I didn't mean to snap so hard; I just wanted him to treat me the way I deserve to be treated.

I dial Brent's phone number and wait for him to answer. I'm relived when he does pick up. "Hey, Si."

"Hey," I say softly. "He's with you?"

"He's gone out to cool off," he tells me. "But he'll be fine."

I let out a sigh of relief. Thank god. "Honestly, Brent. It's really hard trying to handle him."

"Cut him some slack," he says softly. "I don't think he's used to someone like you."

I raise a quizzical brow. What does that mean?

"Someone like me?" I inquire.

"Who pushes him. Makes him confront things about himself that he doesn't like to think about," he pauses for a beat. "Don't worry. Give him some time to adjust. After today, he'll realize how badly he treated you and he'll be really sorry about it. Trust me."

"I don't know..." Trusting seems hard when it has to do with Kayden.

"Are you coming back?" He sounds worried.