Bella barely breathed a sigh of relief once Mere was wheeled into the operating room. Then, she realized her hands and dress were stained with blood. Herre had donated a kidney a few days ago and was still recovering, so she couldn't tell if he would be alright.

Because of the accident, the party ended abruptly, and both the Sawyer family and Dominic rushed to the hospital. Daniel's eyes pierced me as he stared at the operating room lights, unsure if it was from anger or concern for his eldest son. Diane gently patted his chest. "Don't worry. He'll be alright."

"Who was behind this? I'm going to make him pay!" Daniel snarled.

Diane shot her second son, Xavier, a look, and he dragged Daniel away. Noticing Bella covered in blood, she walked up to her and took her cold hand.

"Thank you for everything today," Bella said. "If you hadn't been there, Mere would have… Why don't you go home with Dominic, clean up, and change your clothes? I'll host another party to properly thank you both another time!" Her gratitude was heartfelt and sincere; Diane was truly a dedicated stepmother.

Bella sighed. "Don't mention it, Madam Sawyer. I've already briefed the doctors here about Mere's recent surgery, so they'll be extra careful. I'll be going now. Let me know if you need anything!"

Diane nodded and watched as Bella and Dominic got into the car before heading back inside. When everything quieted down, Bella felt exhausted. It was a natural reaction after being stressed for a while.

She looked at the bloodstains on her clothes, then at Dominic, who surprisingly didn't flinch. Out of the blue, she remembered how he had instinctively protected her when Mere was hurt. She felt her heart skip a beat as she recalled his quick and forceful reaction. She forced herself to push down the growing feelings in her heart, reminding herself that he had simply acted like a gentleman. Just then, her phone rang, breaking the silence in the car. Bella pulled out her phone and checked the caller—it was Felix.

Feeling a little guilty, she glanced at Dominic before answering the call by the window. "Hi?"

Felix called to check in after that night's incident. "Please, is he okay?"

"We don't know yet, but I think he'll be fine. It's been one hell of a night. You should rest as well," she responded.

He paused for a moment before asking, "Are you okay? I noticed Dominic was shielding you… so I didn't come over!"

When she glanced at Dominic again, she noticed that he was also looking at her. Bella hurriedly said goodbye to Felix and hung up the phone, feeling inexplicably nervous. Shortly after she hung up, she received a message. She assumed it was from Felix and didn't dare to read it. It wasn't until she was alone in the bathroom that she finally checked her phone. To her surprise, it was Simon who had texted her.

Bella only then realized Simon had been at the party. Perhaps he was too afraid that others would know about their relationship, so he didn't dare to greet her. Aside from asking her if she was okay, Simon also praised her for staying calm under pressure, though it all seemed like empty flattery to Bella. She read the message and decided to ignore it.

She was just about to take a shower when Simon sent her another message: "You and Dominic at the pool. It looks like you two are more than just siblings."

The final two lines ("Search the FindNovel.net website on Google") are promotional and not part of the narrative, and have been omitted.