Chapter 190

Chapter 190: Chapter 190

Lena’s POV

On the way home, Gemma’s words sat on my chest like a rock.

I glanced at Dominic. His hands were steady on the wheel, solid as ever, but his expression was impossible to read.

"You’re not curious what she said to me?"

"She told you to take care of me."

I straightened at once. "How do you know that?"

"She would never say anything that could hurt us."

The certainty in his voice said everything. He trusted Gemma completely.

Next to that kind of trust, I felt weirdly small.

"I always knew you’d never fall for someone like Eliza," I said softly. "Gemma is the one who fits you."

Dominic said nothing.

"She told me she’s dying."

His eyelashes trembled very slightly. That was it.

He already knew.

I pressed my lips together. "Dominic, do you want to—"

"Don’t."

I paused. "I wasn’t even done."

"I know what you were going to say."

"Fine." I turned to the window, my stomach churning.

I honestly couldn’t believe how calm he looked. The woman he’d loved for years had told someone else she didn’t have much time left, and he was still driving home with steady hands and a jaw locked tight.

Had he really accepted it?

Or was he just holding himself together with everything he had, like one more hit would make the whole thing crack?

The second we got back to the manor, Dominic dragged me straight into the shower without a word. His hands locked around my waist, his mouth pressed against the side of my neck, and under the hot water, the thoughts spinning in my head slowly got washed away.

Over the next few days, he took me every night.

The hunger in him was urgent, burning, like he wanted to swallow me whole. He came at me hard, relentless, never seeming to get enough.

His grip on my hand was tighter than usual. His movements were rougher too. Twice, he forgot protection, and both times I took the pill afterward.

"You can’t keep taking that." He watched me swallow the tablet with water. "Too much in a year is bad for you."

"I know."

He looked at me. "Are you really that scared of having my child?"

"It’s not part of my plan." I set the glass down. "I don’t want my whole life going off track."

"Your life wouldn’t change. I’d take care of everything." ℯℯ𝑙.

"You have no idea what raising a child actually means." I leaned back against the headboard. "It’s not just money. It takes time, energy, attention, sacrifice. A child isn’t some pet you can rehome the second it gets inconvenient."

"We can absolutely afford all of that."

I held his gaze. "Dominic, do you really want a child, or is there something else behind this?"

He went silent. Then he said flatly, "Forget it."

Just like that, the warmth between us cooled off.

I lay down with my back to him and said nothing.

The lights went out. The room went quiet.

Then a faint glow lit up behind me, followed by a low vibration.

His phone.

I heard him get out of bed. Heard the rustle of clothes. Heard him lean over to my side.

"Lena."

I kept my eyes closed and didn’t answer.

"There’s something urgent at work. I have to go." He knew I was awake.

He got dressed and left.

He never came back.

The next afternoon, Celeste came to see me.

"Lena, I’ll be direct." She sat across from me in a café not far from my office, posture perfect, smile polished to just the right degree. "I want you and Dominic to end things nicely."

Ever since Gemma came back, Celeste’s attitude toward me had done a complete one-eighty.

The woman who used to treat me kindly now looked at me with cool, polite distance, like she was handling business.

"You already talked to Dominic about this. You know his answer." I tried to keep my tone even. "He refused. There’s nothing I can do about that."

A slight stiffness flashed across Celeste’s elegant face. "You entered this arrangement for compensation. That was never a secret. There was no love between you then, and there isn’t now. What you and Dominic have is physical, not emotional. Any woman could provide that."

I met her eyes and said nothing.

"If you want him to agree, it’s simple. Give him a reason." She tipped her head slightly. "Make him believe you’ve been unfaithful."

I stared at her.

I genuinely couldn’t believe this woman was suggesting I fake cheating to destroy my own contract.

Celeste smiled. "I’ll pay you well. Enough for you to live however you want for the rest of your life. Go anywhere. Do anything."

"So you want me to humiliate myself, just so your son can throw me out."

"I’m offering you freedom and financial security. When you agreed to this contract with Dominic, money was your reason. That hasn’t changed."

Her eyes sharpened. "Unless you’re about to tell me you’ve actually fallen in love with him."

"You’re right," I said. "This isn’t about love."

About the beginning, she wasn’t wrong.

I came to the Bloodmoon Pack for the money, to get away from my father’s house, to survive. Back then, I didn’t love Dominic.

As for now... even I couldn’t give a clear answer.

Celeste reached into her bag, pulled out a check, and placed it on the table. The amount on it was enough to buy several apartments outright.

"End it within ten days, and it’s yours."

Ten days.

She really couldn’t wait.

I picked up the check, looked it over, then slipped it into my bag. "Okay."

"I actually do like you, Lena." She stood and smoothed down her coat. "The timing is just unfortunate. If you had come first, none of this would’ve happened."

I wanted to tell her to save the lines, but in the end I only smiled.

Then she left.

I sat there staring at the place where the check had been.

Celeste’s money was real. Her concern for Gemma was real too. And the gap between what Dominic said and what his mother was doing behind his back was getting wider by the day.

I was tired.

If there was no love holding this relationship together, then why was I still trying so hard to keep it alive?

After work, I called Anna and told her I needed to unwind. She picked a thermal spa on the west side of the territory, the kind of place that could melt the tension out of your body and your brain at the same time.

We soaked in a mineral pool, warm herbal water turning our skin pink and loosening every knot in my back.

"This is exactly what I needed." I sank deeper into the water and closed my eyes.

After the soak, we went to the steam room, and only then headed to the changing area.

I was getting dressed when I noticed a wheelchair parked outside the door of the private changing room next to mine.

I recognized that wheelchair.

"Is anyone there? Can someone help me?" The voice from behind the door was muffled, but familiar.

I walked over and knocked. "What’s wrong?"

"Lena?" Gemma’s face appeared through the crack in the door. Her eyes widened. "Wow, I really didn’t expect to run into you here."

"What do you need?"

She looked a little embarrassed. "My medicine is in my bag, but I left the bag by the lockers. Could you grab it for me?"

"Sure."

I went to the lockers, picked up her bag, and came back. "Here. Need anything else?"

"No, this is enough. Thank you." She opened the door a little wider and took the bag from me.

The door swung open more than she meant it to.

I saw her arm.

I saw her back.

Scars. So many scars.

Long, raised marks, crisscrossing over each other, spread across her shoulder blades, ran down her spine, and curled around her upper arms.

They looked like lash marks. Whip marks. The kind left by something made to split skin and leave proof behind.

I froze.

My eyes locked on those brutal scars, and my stomach lurched so hard I thought I might throw up.

Gemma noticed where I was looking and quickly pulled the door back, trying to cover herself.

"I’m sorry." I jerked my gaze away. "I didn’t mean to—"

"It’s okay." Her fingers tightened around the handle until her knuckles went white. "I need to get dressed now, Lena."

I nodded and helped pull the door shut for her.

Then I stumbled back to my own changing room, my steps unsteady.

Missing for eight years.

What kind of hell had she gone through in those eight years to leave that on her body? To destroy her legs? To strip her down until she was little more than skin and bone?

She survived.

She came back.

But she was dying too.

She had looked me straight in the eyes and asked me to take care of Dominic, because she didn’t have long left and wouldn’t be able to do it herself.

I pulled off my top, my hands shaking so badly I couldn’t stop them.