Dominic POV

CHAPTER 4

'Dom, where the hell are you?'

'The meeting’s about to begin now, Dom. We need you to make an appearance. Please don’t keep the investors waiting.'

That was it. The messages wouldn’t stop pouring into my phone, one after the other, the screen lighting up, buzzing against my palm every now and then, but still… it didn’t make me move an inch.

I was still in the hospital.

Still sitting there after bringing the woman in on a wheelchair. The same woman I had almost hit with my car on my way to that goddamn meeting.

And it's been over an hour since then. Over an hour since the doctors attended to her and told me she would be fine.

And of course, I should have been long gone.

I had a meeting to attend a really important one. The same meeting I had been speeding to before everything went wrong and I almost hit her with my car. But then here I was waiting.

Hell, I didn’t even understand it myself.

I wasn’t the kind of man who cared about anyone. Women especially. I never stayed, never lingered, never got involved.

But the moment I saw her… Sitting there in the rain in her wheelchair, soaked, trembling with tears streaming down her face like she had nothing left to hold onto, I felt something crack inside me.

Something I never even knew existed until now...

“Mr. Walker…”

The familiar voice suddenly came up behind me, snapping me out of it.

I looked up immediately, rising to my feet as I saw Doctor Martin, my family doctor and also an old friend, approaching. He was one of the few people who actually knew me.

“You’re still here?”

I only nodded slowly in response to his questions, and I saw his brows pulled together immediately in clear surprise, but I couldn’t even blame him.

He knew the kind of man I was. Waiting around for someone, especially a woman, was not something he would ever expect from me.

Hell, even I didn’t expect it myself.

Not that I was selfish or unreasonable; the thing was I just didn’t connect or attach to people easily.

“Oh… but I told you, the lady is only in shock. That she’d get over it soon.”

“Yeah…” I exhaled slowly, already stepping toward him before I even realized it. “But I still need to see her before I leave. Can you make that possible?”

He studied me for a moment, that puzzled look still sitting on his face, and then he gave a slow nod.

“Alright. Come with me.”

The walk to her ward felt longer than it should have. And the entire time I felt this tense kind of restlessness within me; my chest felt tight for reasons I couldn’t explain.

And then finally we got to it; however, before I could move inside, I heard it.

Her voice, which sounded broken and shattered, was coming from inside the room, like she had been crying.

“He ruined my life, Bethel… oh, Alvin has ruined me…”

My hand, which had been about to push the door open, stilled in midair; it trembled slightly.

Hell, there was something in her voice… It wasn’t just pain. It was devastation. The kind that came from being completely destroyed from the inside out.

My chest clenched hard as I wondered.

What the hell was going on?

Who was Alvin?

And how the hell did he ruin her life like that?

Before I could stop myself, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The sound made her snap slightly, and I caught her quickly tucking her phone away, like she had just ended the call.

And as she did, I caught a glimpse of her face; it was red, puffy, and completely streaked with tears.

Her eyes looked swollen, like she had been crying non-stop for a long time now, and gawd, something about that sight made my jaw tighten instantly.

My fists clenched immediately without me realizing just as a dark and unfamiliar thought slipped into my mind.

I didn’t know who Alvin was…

But I suddenly felt this strong, almost violent urge to find him and make him pay.

“Hi…” I said, my voice coming out quieter than I expected as I further stepped inside.

She glanced at me briefly just once, though, then quickly turned her face away like I didn’t exist and continued crying.

Something in my chest twisted painfully at that.

There was just something about her eyes; even in that brief second, I'd see it. That haunted look, and I also remember seeing it in her eyes when I first saw her in the road under the rain earlier, like she had seen something she couldn’t escape from.

And yet even with all that I still couldn't help but admit she was beautiful. So damn beautiful.

Even with the tears. Even with the brokenness and the fact that she was disabled, that didn't hide her beauty away.

And for a split second, a dangerous thought crossed my mind.

I wanted to walk up to her and wipe those tears away, maybe even kiss them away and then pull her into my arms and just…

I clenched my fists harder, snapping myself out of it immediately.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I wasn’t that kind of man.

I had never been that kind of man.

So what was this?

Ignoring the way she had clearly dismissed me, I found myself stepping closer anyway, my strides slow and careful, but still I didn't fail to catch the way she flinched with every step I took towards her. The reaction was immediate, sharp, and instinctive, like she saw me as some kind of threat, and that alone made me pause.

“It’s okay…” I said, raising both hands slightly in surrender. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

She didn’t respond, but then her body still stayed tense, shoulders slightly hunched, like she was bracing herself for something, like she expected pain.

And hell, that didn’t sit right with me. She knew I wasn't a threat, so why was she acting like I was one, or maybe everyone was?

I moved again, slower this time, taking the seat beside her but keeping a noticeable distance between us, but even then I saw her flinch again.

I kept my eyes fixed on her, watching and observing her, and then I noticed it.

Her eyes weren’t still or focused; instead, they kept moving and darting around the room. First to the wheelchair. Then to the door. Just like that back and forth.

Her fingers, which were gripping the edge of her gown, curled tightly into it, knuckles already white. Her breathing came out uneven, quick, and controlled, like she was trying not to panic.

Something was off; I could sense it with the way her eyes were moving everywhere like a trapped rabbit who was looking everywhere for a place to escape.

Escape?

The thought suddenly slid into my mind.

Could that really be this case?

Was she trying to run?

But from what or who exactly?

The questions flooded my head immediately, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't find an answer to them.

“Hey…” I said softly, my voice lowering without me meaning to. “It’s okay. Whatever’s bothering you… you can talk to me about it.”

I said, trying to at least get her to open up to me. I'd be lying if I said her silence wasn't killing me, but still nothing. Even after everything, she didn’t even look at me; just silence… and quiet tears.

My chest tightened even more as a result of it, but before I could come up with something else, the sharp ringing of my phone suddenly cut through the silence.

I pulled it out immediately, and the moment I saw the name on the screen, my expression darkened; it was my father calling, and seeing his name back brought back the reality of what was going on before I came across his woman.

The meeting and deal I was supposed to attend.

“Uh…” I glanced at her briefly. “Can you give me a minute? I need to take this.”

Surprisingly she looked at me this time, though she said nothing, but that was enough.

Immediately I stepped out of the ward and answered the call when I got to a quiet corner.

“Dom?” The voice on the other end was cold and controlled, and with it came everything I hated to hear. My chest tightened instantly.

“What is it, Father?”

“The hell are you, son? Do you have an idea what time it is? The investors are here already. How dare you keep us waiting?!” His voice came out gruff and harsh, the anger in his tone barely contained, and I didn't need to be there to know he was throwing this around, and that was him; he was such a short-tempered person.

"Look..." I exhaled slowly. “Something came up, and I don't think..."

“What the f**k do you mean something came up?" As expected, he didn't let me finish before he cut me off, his voice rising even more, and I swallowed. If there was a reason why I hated this man, it was his impatience.

"Tell me, Dom, do you think this is some kind of joke? Do you—”

“Look, Father…"

“No.”

The single word cut through me before I could speak yet again.

“This is what you're going to do for me; you're going to make a choice.” His tone turned deadly now, and my grip on the phone tightened. I knew whatever was completely next wouldn't be nice.

“You come here, and I let this slide…”

He deliberately paused, letting the threat hang in the air.

“Or you stay there… and we lose this deal."

My jaw clenched.

“And I swear to God, Dom…if you make us lose this desk, I’ll make you f**king pay. I'll swear to make you regret every bit of it, and if I also find out you're deliberately doing this because of a woman, then it'll be double because I'll find her and bring her down as well…"

A brief silence stretched between us at that instant, cold and suffocating.

“So choose wisely, son. I'm your father, and you know I don't bluff.”

The line went dead after that, and I lowered the phone slowly.

My chest felt tight. Too tight.

This was crazy; my father was crazy while he was here, threatening to ruin my life. On the other hand, I thought as I turned my head back and my eyes landed back on the ward door.

Behind it was a crying, shattered, and broken woman.

Whom for some reason felt heavier than everything I was about to lose.

I swallowed hard.

Can I do this?

Like, can I choose her over my life or choose my life over her?