This scene takes place in Chapter Ten of Perfect Addiction [published version] 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.

"I don't think so," I say after a while. "I think I'm going to hang out with some friends."

"Wow. And I thought we had something special going on here, Si." Brent faux gasps.

"Aw, you know you're my number one, baby," I tell him cheekily. "But I need a breather from Kayden. And they're really nice. They live in our apartment block."

"Cool," he says, genuinely happy for me. "I'm glad that you've met new friends."

"Yeah. Me too," I say, feeling a smile creep onto my lips. With Dakota and Trevor out of the picture, it feels nice to have people you can rely on again. "I'll see you guys later, okay? And tell Evans if he finishes all the Cheetos, I'm gonna kill him. And consider our treaty as over."

The phone rattles with a breathy chuckle. "Alright. I'll pass the message along."

After I hang up on him, my finger swipes to my contacts and jams on Cara's number. I'm relieved when she answers on the third ring.

"Hey," her bright, chirpy voice travels through the phone. "What's up, Sienna?"

"Hey, Cara." I smile to myself. "You got any plans today?"

***

When I finally make it to Cara's place, I'm immediately confronted by the smell of pancakes wafting through the air and tickling my nostrils. The door is already open so I let myself in.

It's interesting to see how different people decorate the same type of apartment layout. Whereas mine and Kayden's look like a murder closet, Cara and Alex's have a very cosy feel to it. They clearly put a lot of effort into the decor, with a very maximalist style featuring pastel walls and colourful statement pieces. There are books and papers strewn everywhere - on the coffee table, dining table and nearly every available chair.

When I step into the living room, I find Cara's sprawled on the couch with her dozen or so throw pillows, her head resting against her boyfriend's lap as the both of them murder their game controllers with their fingers trying to beat each other on the game that they're playing. They look really into it and I'm suprised to see Cara raging as she lets the bullets fly all over her enemies, spewing out every kind of insult in the dictionary, and then some.

"Hey, guys." I give an awkward wave. "Sorry for just... letting myself in. The door was open."

Cara's attention rockets towards me in recognition. "Oh shit, hey!" She chirps at me. A second later, she's jamming on the pause button, throws the controller onto the coffee table and shoots off the couch excitedly to greet me.

"Sienna!" She smiles as she ropes me into a hug. I'm still not used to the kind of loud and generous affection she gives, but I'm willing to get over it because she's friendly and seems like a good person. When she notices the somber expression on my face, she clicks her tongue "Damn. Did Mr. McMoody give you hell today or something?"

"Yep," I mutter as I drop my gym bag by the door.

"Welcome to the club," she says, grabbing ahold of my hand and tugging me along to introduce me to the rest of her roommates. "Come meet everyone! That's my boyfriend, Simon, on the couch."

Simon gives a shy wave at me as he adjusts the frame of his glasses to sit better on his face. He's timid, certainly not who I imagined Cara would be dating, but I get the feeling he's the kind of guy who is so much more than what he allows people to see. I wonder if I'll get to see that side of him.

Cara pulls me towards the kitchen. "And of course, you know Alex. That's her boyfriend, Daniel, beside her."

Two bodies that huddled together by the stove twist towards our direction. Alex breaks into a friendly smile when she sees me.

"Hey, Sienna." She curls a finger, beckoning me to come closer. "Come and try this." She handclaws a piece of pancake from the stack seated beside the stove, tears a small piece and drops it into my open mouth. The texture is interesting. It isn't as dense as most of the pancakes I'm used to; it's fluffy and airy and not too sweet - the perfect combination.

"Holy shit," I say in awe. "This is actually quite good. What's in this mix?"

"It's a secret." I hear Daniel say from beside her.

His head lifts to reveal a set of vivid blue eyes, full mouth and a strong, curved jaw. A brooding smile climbs onto his lips as he looks at me. Damn. I get why so many women in Boston are so obsessed with him. He's just as swoon-worthy as he is on all the magazines and TV interviews I've seen him in, if not more.

"Not really a secret if you've told everyone in his household," Alex comments, resting her body against Daniel's. He takes the opportunity to kill the stove and slide his strong arms around her. She shivers in delight, nuzzling her head on his shoulder.

"Fine. It's an open but well-kept secret," Daniel corrects, his fingers dancing over Alex's stomach. "Nice to finally meet you, Sienna. I heard you moved into 4-B."

"Yep. The infamous murder house that everyone's been talking about."

"Glad you're still alive then." He grins. "Alex told me a lot about you. Said you were a ninja of some sort."

I can't help but laugh. "I wish I was that cool."

Alex pats her boyfriend on the shoulder. "You need to stop being so gullible, babe."

He shakes his head. "I just put way too much trust in you. That's a sign of being a good boyfriend, you know."

She rolls her eyes, but she looks touched by his comment.

Daniel swivels his head back towards me. "So what you do?"

"I'm an MMA trainer at UFG."

"Whoa. That's sick," he coos, wiping his flour-dusted hands onto his pants. "Do you like, fight people and stuff?"

"I don't do it competitively. But uh yeah, I do spar with other fighters from time to time."

He presses his lips together in a rather cocky smile. "Cool to spar with me?"

I look at him warily. "Like... right now?"

"Yeah. Sure why not?" He says it like fighting is just another regular Tuesday for him.

"Um, do you have any experience with MMA? Or fighting in general?" I question, worried that he won't be able to take the heat. My eyes scroll up and down his body; he's incredibly well-toned that's for sure, but he doesn't look like a fighter.

"No. No experience," Daniel says with a shrug. "But how hard can it be?"

"Those are famous last words for a reason, you know," I say.

Alex pulls away from her boyfriend, letting out an incredulous laugh. "I love you, sweetie, but she's going to annihilate you."

"It can't be that bad," Daniel reasons. He lifts a brow at me, hoping I can ease his concern. "Right?"

I don't answer. I merely smile.

Cara relents a sigh as she shuffles out of the kitchen, her slender shoulders slacking tiredly. "I'll go grab the emergency medical kit."

The rest of us gather beside the dining table, the only available space in the apartment big enough for a fight. Daniel and I both take our positions on either side. Both Alex and Simon lean against the dining table, watching by the side-lines, excitement thrumming through them.

"Bet you twenty bucks he'll be on the floor in 10 seconds." Alex sticks her hand out, waiting for Simon to shake it.

"I can't take the bet." Simon shakes his head. "Because I agree with you."

Alex stifles a laugh. Daniel rolls his eyes at the comment.

"We go really easy, alright?" I instruct him as I finish wrapping my hands and flex my fingers to get used to the pressure. When I'm done with that, I slide into a pair of MMA gloves and throw Daniel another pair I'd stashed in my bag for emergencies. Unlike with Kayden, I'm going to hold back. Even just with how Daniel is curling his fists – thumb outwards rather than tucked inwards – is already not a good sign that this fight is going to be fair for him. "You don't have much padding on you and we don't have a mat so I don't want you getting hurt."

"Who says I'm gonna get hurt?" Daniel replies coolly, easy confidence seeping off of him.

"Alright," I shrug. "Your funeral."

I relax into a stance and Daniel does the same, emulating what I'm doing. I let him attack first, barreling towards me with a fist that I avoid easily, choosing to duck underneath his arm and landing a hit on the side of his abdomen.

He tries to intercept the punch by blocking his body and I use that as an opportunity to drive my other fist towards his face, knocking him to his cheek. He reels back immediately from the pain, hand flying to the place where I just hit him.

"Shit," he hisses, eyes flicking towards me in surprise. "You weren't kidding."

Cara returns with a box filled with emergency supplies. As she sets it down on the table, her gaze floats towards the pool of red spreading across Daniel's face. She cuts Daniel a glare. "Really? Already?"

"One more time," Daniel announces, lifting up his fists and steadying himself.

"Okay," I say, getting ready once more. "Last one, alright? Then you're done."

He dives towards me again and it doesn't take much effort for me to block him. I move into a classic jab cross combo, but he seems to catch on, locking his arms tight to protect himself. All in good time because I send most of my energy towards my leg, driving it forward to swipe him. My foot catches his easily, sweeping his legs off from under him and sending Daniel to the ground.

He tries to catch himself, overcorrecting and stumbling forward, giving me ample opportunity to come up from behind him, plant my foot firmly on his ass and give him a slight shove, sending him face-first to the floor of the apartment. I hook my hand around his arm at the last-minute to pull him so the impact upon him hitting the ground wouldn't be so bad.

"You're not looking at your feet. And you're too focused on blocking your face that you're leaving yourself exposed everywhere else. Your guard needs to be up all the time. Especially against someone like me, who's smaller and who's gonna do everything they can to break it," I advise him as I help haul him up. "All rookie mistakes, so don't worry about it. That's why I'm good at what I do and why you're on the ground, wheezing in pain."

"Alright, fair enough," Daniel rasps, trying to find his footing to get himself up into a standing position. "That was brutal."

"Really?" I say, eyeing him with humor. "That was nothing. You should see me train with Kayden. That's brutal."

"How bad can it get?"

"Have you been to any of Breaking Point's fights?" I inquire and he shakes his head no. "It's as barbaric as it can get."

"Sienna's helping Kayden win the underground championship against her ex-boyfriend," Alex tells her boyfriend, pulling him towards her to inspect his face. A concerned look crosses her face as she runs her thumb across the red splotch on his cheek.

Daniel doesn't seem the least bit fazed by his injury though. He peels himself out of her grasp, a curious gleam in his eyes as he looks at me.

"That's why you moved into the murder house?" Daniel asks and I nod in response, peeling off my gloves and chucking them to the side. "You must be one of the best if you're training him for a championship."

"He needs all the help he can get," I say, a frown touching my mouth at the thought of him.

As much as I detest Kayden right now, I can't help but wonder if he's going through something big right now. Clearly he's got issues he needs to work through but I'm worried that it's going to prevent him from getting good enough to fight Jax. He needs a strong, focused mind if he's going to be fighting against him. Otherwise, he's only going to set himself up for failure.

I can't keep pushing him like this. If Kayden wants to get serious, he should be the one to come after me. I'm not in this deal with him to play games. I want to win. And I can only do that if he makes the active decision to get real with me.

Cara materializes from the kitchen with a pack of ice. She hands it to Daniel, but he refuses to take it.

"No." He pushes her hand away. His gaze flickers to me again, a small but determined look on his face. "Teach me what I did wrong. I'm here to improve."

Boy, I sure like him a lot better than I do Kayden right now.

"Alright," I say, grinning as I reclaim my gloves again. "Let's start with the basics, shall we?"

***