Chapter 189

Chapter 189: Chapter 189

Lena’s POV

The second Samuel got back from his trip, he immediately pitched dinner with Dominic and Daniel. Guys only. No partners allowed.

Both of them shut that down on the spot.

So he caved and said fine, partners could come.

Dominic and I got there first.

"You look different," Dominic said. "Guess the trip went pretty well."

Before Samuel could answer, I smiled and cut in. "So, did you fly all the way over there just to wreck Aria’s relationship?"

Samuel arched a brow. "She told you?"

"I saw her posts," I said with a tilt of my head. "A bunch of stuff about ’starting over’ and ’letting go of the past.’ You didn’t pull anything shady, did you?"

"Do you seriously think I’m capable of that?" The second Aria came up, all his confidence pretty much clocked out.

"Whatever happened, the window of opportunity is open now." I gave a small shrug.

Samuel shook his head. "She’s on the other side of the continent, and she’s been wary of me from day one. I’ve got feelings, sure, but strategy? Yeah, that part’s lacking."

"So you’re giving up?" Dominic asked.

"Not a chance. I’ve waited this long already. I just need to be smarter about it." Samuel looked dead serious. He had watched Aria walk away from a man who never deserved her, and there was no way he was wasting this chance. But he also knew Aria wasn’t someone you pushed. If he wanted any shot at all, patience had to come first.

Anna and Daniel arrived a little later. They sat close together, Daniel’s arm draped over the back of Anna’s chair, way more openly affectionate than before.

Samuel let out a dramatic sigh so loaded with envy it was almost funny.

That was our circle. At dinners like this, nothing was off-limits, and nobody had to tiptoe around anything.

Halfway through the meal, Anna and I got up to use the restroom.

We were washing our hands when Eliza walked in.

She stopped the moment she saw me. Her eyes locked onto mine like knives, and the corner of her mouth lifted into this cold, weird little smile.

I dried my hands and walked straight past her without giving her so much as a glance.

Anna came out right behind me, clearly irritated. "What was that look? Seriously, I wanted to slap that expression right off her face."

I didn’t take Eliza seriously. Whatever game she thought she was playing, Dominic wouldn’t entertain it. And now that Gemma was back, the leverage Eliza used to have was basically gone.

If she had any sense, she’d stay in her lane, take advantage of Gemma’s goodwill, and rely on whatever loyalty Dominic still had toward the family name to keep living comfortably.

"She’s not going to cause trouble again," I said.

Anna frowned. "Just because Gemma is decent doesn’t mean Eliza magically turned over a new leaf. They’re sisters. If one bites, the other might bite even harder."

"Gemma hasn’t contacted Dominic even once since she came back."

I didn’t know Gemma well. But from the only two times I’d met her, she felt nothing like Eliza. She had restraint. She knew herself. She could read a room. She wasn’t the type to force herself into the center of things.

"I hope you’re right." Anna looped her arm through mine. "I just have a bad feeling. Like that creepy calm right before a storm hits."

I squeezed her hand. "Whatever happens between Dominic and me, I can handle it."

Anna didn’t reply. She didn’t say the word "separate" anymore, like if she refused to name it, maybe it couldn’t become real.

We headed back toward the private room. I pushed the door open and heard a voice I didn’t expect.

Not exactly unfamiliar. Just... unexpected.

A wheelchair was parked beside the table, facing away from the door. When it opened, Gemma turned around.

Anna recognized her instantly. This was the first time she’d actually seen Gemma in person after hearing her name. Her fingers tightened hard around my wrist.

"Gemma." I stepped inside, keeping my tone even. "I ran into your sister in the restroom just now."

Gemma turned her wheelchair toward me. "Did you?"

"I was outside taking a call and saw her passing by," Samuel said quickly, like he was worried I’d think this had all been set up. "So I invited her in to say hi."

"We’re all friends here. The more the merrier, right?"

I glanced at Dominic. His eyes were on Gemma. Even across the table, even with everyone talking and the room buzzing around us, I could still feel that invisible thread between them.

Celeste loved Gemma deeply, and Dominic had once loved her too. The logic behind that wasn’t hard to see.

"I go to bed early these days," Gemma said as she turned her wheelchair away from the table. "I won’t keep everyone." Then she looked at me. "Lena, could you walk me out?"

I paused. There was something under that request, something unspoken.

"Of course."

I followed her out. As I passed Dominic, I caught the tightness in his eyes. Worry.

Was he worried about what she might say to me?

Or what I might say to her?

Outside, the night air was cool and clean.

Gemma stopped her wheelchair and turned to face me.

"I’m dying."

The words hit so suddenly I didn’t have time to brace for them.

She drew a slow breath. Her smile was faint, thin as paper, like it was barely holding down something huge underneath.

I just stood there, lips slightly parted, and for a second I couldn’t say anything at all.

"I don’t want you worrying that I’m going to come between you and Dominic," she said quietly. "I never thought I’d make it back alive. Being able to see everyone again, being able to be here at all... that’s already more than I expected."

Her eyes were clear and bright, with no mask in them, no performance.

"He has you. That’s enough."

"Celeste wants Dominic to end our bond and be with you instead," I said, because there was no point dancing around it.

"I know. I already told her that’s not happening. What Dominic has with you works well. She should be grateful for that." Gemma held my gaze. "I like you, Lena. Honestly, you suit him better than my sister ever did."

My heart dropped.

She knew about Eliza. She knew her sister had spent years chasing Dominic, scheming, manipulating, trying to force herself into a place that had never been hers.

"Gemma." A voice came from behind us.

I turned around. Eliza was standing a few steps away, her posture stiff, eyes fixed hard on her sister.

The smile disappeared from Gemma’s face. "Hey."

"What are you doing out here?"

"About to head home. It’s late." Gemma took out her phone. "I called a car."

Eliza frowned. "I’ll take you."

"We don’t live that close anymore. And it’s already on the way." Gemma lifted her screen a little. "Two minutes."

Then she looked at me. "Go back in, Lena. Don’t keep everyone waiting."

I nodded. "Good night, Gemma."

I turned and walked back inside. Behind me, I heard Eliza’s voice drop lower.

Eliza’s POV

I waited until Lena was gone before I spoke.

"What did you say to her?"

"That she and Dominic make sense together." Gemma rested both hands on the armrests, calm as ever, voice flat and light.

"You’re just accepting this?" I crouched beside the wheelchair, gripping the armrests so hard my nails bit into the leather. "This is Dominic. The man you treasured. The man you loved like crazy. And you’re really just going to hand him over without even fighting for him?"

Gemma looked at me the way someone looks at a child throwing a tantrum in public—calm, detached, and just a little tired.

"Even if I got him back, it wouldn’t mean anything now."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means the battle I actually need to fight is somewhere else." She didn’t explain further. "You’re the emotional one right now, not me. Why is that?"

I clenched my jaw. "Because he was supposed to be yours. And she doesn’t deserve him."

"Dominic doesn’t belong to you either, Eliza." Gemma’s eyes turned colder. "My car is here."

My grip tightened even more. The veins on the back of my hands stood out under my skin.

So this was it. She was giving up. Letting Lena take everything that should have been hers, and somehow still smiling while she did it.

I didn’t buy it. Nobody was that selfless. Nobody faced the person they loved most and just walked away without even trying.

Unless she was playing a much bigger game.

"I don’t believe you’re being this generous," I said as I straightened up.

Gemma didn’t answer. She rolled herself toward the car. The driver got out, folded the wheelchair, and put it in the trunk.

The door shut. The car pulled away.

I stood there in the cold wind, staring after those red taillights as they grew smaller and smaller, until the rage twisting inside my chest pulled so tight my whole vision started to burn red.