Chapter 165
Chapter 166
Chapter 166
Dominic’s POV
I wanted my confession to her to be deep. For her to know I wasn’t playing a game. That this wasn’t just about possession or control or obsession anymore. I wanted her to feel what I couldn’t say.
But I couldn’t say it.
Not the way she needed.
Not the way she deserved.
So instead, I stood there, swallowing everything and giving her a version that didn’t even scratch the surface.
“I didn’t do it to prove anything,” I said. “I didn’t give it all up for glory or pity or ego. I did it because I didn’t want to see you in someone else’s hands ever again.”
Her lips parted slightly. Her brows furrowed, and I could see the wheels turning in her head, trying to make sense of my words, trying to dig through them to find what I wasn’t saying.
“That’s not love,” she said after a beat. “That’s fear.”
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Because maybe she was right. Or maybe fear and love had always been too tightly wound for me to tell the difference.
She stepped back from me, arms folded across her chest. She looked tired.
More than tired.
She looked like the weight of the last few days had finally caught up to her, and she was barely holding it together.
“I just… I need you to tell me the truth,” she said. “Not protect me from it. Not act like I’m some fragile thing you have to keep locked away. You keep giving up things for me, Dom. But I never know if it’s because you care or because you think I’m the last piece of yourself you haven’t broken yet . ”
Her words hurt more than a bullet ever could.
I stepped closer. “I care, Aria. I care more than I can explain. That’s why I‘
But she shook her head. “Stop. Don’t do that. Don’t talk around it. Don’t make it vague or pretty. Just say it.”
She was trembling. Her skin pale. Her breathing uneven.
And then-
She swayed.
“Aria?”
She blinked at me like the room had spun.
“I just… need a second,” she whispered.
And then she collapsed.
Right in front of me.
“Aria!” I caught her before she hit the ground, her body limp in my arms, her face slack and cold with sweat.
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08:06 Tue , 3 Jun
Chapter 166
“Help!” I shouted, “I need help in here!”
Her chest was rising–but too slow.
Too shallow.
She wasn’t responding.
My heart slammed against my ribs as I lifted her, holding her like glass.
“Come on, baby. Don’t do this. Not now.”
She was cold, like ice. Her fingers slack against my chest, her breath shallow. Her head rolled against my shoulder like she couldn’t hold it up anymore, like her body had finally given up fighting.
Luca opened the back door of the car. “Boss-”
“I know!” I snapped, climbing in with her, clutching her tight. “Drive. Now.”
The tires screeched. I didn’t care who we hit. I didn’t care if the city burned behind us.
I looked down at her face, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “You don’t get to go quiet on me, Aria. Not now. Not when we’ve come this far.”
Blood smeared her lips. I didn’t know where it was from. I couldn’t see an injury. But something inside me knew.
This wasn’t about what just happened.
This was older. Deeper.
Something she never told me.
By the time we reached the private hospital, I had already called every specialist I could think of. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I hated that they saw me like this–terrified, helpless.
“Private wing,” I barked as they wheeled her out of my arms. “Call Dr. Huerta. Dr. Emory. I want both of them here now.”
The nurse nodded, not bothering to ask who paid for what. I did. I paid for everything. I would burn money if it meant keeping her here. Alive.
Luca tried to speak again, but I shoved him aside. I followed the gurney. Followed her. Until the nurses held me back outside the double doors.
“I’m sorry , sir. You can’t be in there.”
“Try me,” I growled.
But they were already inside. Already cutting her shirt open. Already plugging her into machines.
And I was left standing there like a man on the edge of a cliff with no idea how far the fall would be.
It took two hours.
Two fucking hours of me pacing that hallway like a caged animal. Luca stood near the door, quiet. I was so tensed, I didn’t say anything as I waited patiently. Praying to whatever God above to save her for me.
Finally, Dr. Emory stepped out. He looked at me for a long moment, then sighed.
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Chapter 166
“ For now ?” My voice cracked through the air. “What does that mean? ”
He glanced down at the chart. “There were signs… in her scans. Things we missed last year because she stopped treatment halfway. Though the origin is gone. The cancer–we believe it metastasized. It’s spread beyond the original site.”
My stomach dropped.
No.
I grabbed his arm. “Fix it. I don’t care how much it costs. I don’t care if you need to bring someone in from space. You fix it.”
His voice softened. “We’ll try. But the odds are-”
“I don’t want to hear odds.”
He hesitated, then gave me the one truth I couldn’t fight.
“She may not survive another round of treatment. Her body’s already weakened.”
I turned away before I could break something. My hands balled into fists. My chest heaved.
How the hell had I missed this? How long had she known?
Why didn’t she say anything?
They let me into the room a little after midnight.
The machines beeped softly. The IV line ran into her hand. She was pale. So pale it made my throat burn.
I pulled the chair closer, sitting down beside her.
“You were supposed to tell me,” I whispered. “You were supposed to let me fight this with you.”
Her eyes didn’t open.
I ran a hand over my face. “I thought I was protecting you. I thought I could control everything else. Nico. Victoria. The Syndicate. But you…” My voice broke. “You’re the one thing I can’t lose . And I didn’t even see it coming.”
I reached for her hand again. She didn’t squeeze back.
But I leaned forward anyway. Pressed my lips against her temple.
“You don’t get to leave me, Aria.”
I closed my eyes.
“You hear me?” I whispered against her skin. “You don’t get to fucking leave me. ”