Chapter 147

Dominic POV

She makes it halfway down the garden path before I finally crack.

The hedges blur past her as she storms away, jeans snagging against low branches, breath coming sharp and uneven.

Then she wobbles.

I exhale hard and go after her.

“Ellie—slow down,” I call, closing the distance in long strides. “You need to breathe. You’re not helping yourself.”

She doesn’t even turn around.

“Relax,” I add, softer, because I can hear the edge now. The warning signs.

That’s when she spins on me.

“Back off,” she snaps, shoving my chest with both hands. “Don’t tell me what to do. I don’t need you!”

The shove doesn’t move me, never does, but it still lands.

“Yeah, I know,” I say, forcing the words out evenly. “I’m not trying to—just let me get you back to the hospital before you pass out.”

I reach for her arm again.

She jerks away like I burned her.

Her voice explodes through the hedges, sharp and breaking all at once. “Your father knows he could help my mother! He knows—and he’s choosing not t