Chapter 2

I couldn't sleep that night.

Maybe the fireworks were too loud, each one rattling through my chest.

It wasn't until the last spark died out that everything finally went quiet.

That was when my phone rang.

Dominic's voice was as calm as ever.

"Something came up with the Family tonight. I won't be coming back."

He paused, then added flatly, "If you don't believe me, you can check the clinic's surveillance footage."

His tone was certain. He must have already destroyed the footage or avoided the cameras, but I didn't care anymore.

I gave a quiet "Mm" and hung up.

That night, instead of forcing myself to sleep, I got up and drafted a set of divorce papers.

Early the next morning, I brought them to the clinic.

"I'm not going inside. Tell Dominic to come out and sign."

This was the first time I'd ever backed off on my own, but the guards didn't offer so much as a nod. They just held up the Don's seal.

"The Don gave explicit orders. Nothing you say is to be trusted.

"Here, our only job is to protect Miss Blake."

The words had barely left his mouth when the guns across from us cocked in unison.

My guards' expressions shifted. The moment one of them reached for his holster, dozens of muzzles swung toward us.

I stared at that ring of black gun barrels and let out a furious laugh, then held out the divorce papers.

"Then give these to Dominic—"

"Hold her down!"

Several men lunged at me.

My arms were wrenched behind my back, and my face was slammed into the mud.

The divorce papers slipped from my bag.

A combat boot stomped on them, then a second, then a third.

Until the pages covered in my signature were ground into the dirt beyond recognition.

Rage nearly burned through my composure.

Then a pair of black leather shoes stopped in front of me.

A guard immediately reported, "Don! The Donna just tried to force her way into the clinic. After we stopped her, she ordered her people to draw their weapons!"

Dominic was quiet for a moment before speaking, his voice low. "Serena wasn't frightened, was she?"

Every muscle in my struggling body went rigid.

Once he received a negative answer, he finally glanced down at me and let out a weary sigh.

"Let her go.

"Don't forget, she's still the Donna."

The guards released me.

My people rushed to help me up, every face burning with indignation.

But I only stared at Dominic's cold retreating figure.

He didn't look back. He just said flatly over his shoulder, "Come inside."

He led me into a room next door.

The room had his usual armchair, his coat hanging on the rack, and a half-finished glass of liquor on the table.

Every corner bore traces of his life here.

Meanwhile, back at our estate, the dust on his desk had gathered thick.

Dominic sank into the armchair and fixed me with a cold stare.

"What is it this time?"

I looked down at the divorce papers in my hand, the pages so trampled the words were barely legible, and was about to speak.

But he lit a cigarette first, his voice heavy with weariness.

"Just because I didn't come home last night, you couldn't wait to chase me down here and make a scene?

"Noelle, give it a rest."

Smoke blurred his features.

"If you hadn't ruined her legs, I might have repaid my debt to Lucas by now."

That sentence ignited the fury I'd been swallowing all day.

"I didn't come here to make a scene!

"Dominic, I've had enough too! You want to take care of her, fine. You want to stay by her side, fine. I—"

Before I could finish, a doctor burst through the door.

"Don! Miss Blake just fell!"

Dominic's expression shifted instantly. He shot to his feet and shoved me aside.

I stumbled backward into the corner of the table, and a sharp pain lanced through my lower back.

He didn't even look back.

The words "I want a divorce" shattered in my throat before they ever left my lips.

I chased after him through the pain.

Serena was clinging to Dominic, trembling and sobbing.

"Dom, please don't come see me anymore. The farther you stay from me, the safer I'll be...

"I can't take her curses anymore. She just told me that losing my legs wasn't enough, that she wouldn't stop until I was dead!"

"That's a lie—"

I took one step forward, and a guard blocked my path.

Serena caught a glimpse of me through the gap in the door and let out a shriek, shrinking into Dominic's arms.

Dominic's expression darkened. He immediately crouched down and shielded her.

"That won't happen."

He wiped her tears away, his voice so gentle it was almost tender.

"Even if she torments me to death, I will never let you die."

I stared at his unguarded back, thunderstruck.

Every defense I'd been rushing to voice jammed in my throat.

So being with me was, to him, a fate worse than death.

I turned and left with tears burning in my eyes, and I never looked back.