Chapter 21

Vespera slowly regained consciousness. Tilting her head to the side, she saw Dominic sitting by the bedside. His shirt was wrinkled, and his sleeves were rolled up. Three buttons at the collar were undone, giving him a casual appearance. It looked as though he had just run a marathon.

“Mr. Reid,” she croaked, her throat hoarse, her voice heavy with nasal congestion.

“Do you remember what happened earlier?” Dominic asked her.

“I remember,” Vespera replied with a faint, bitter smile. Although she was disoriented, she wasn’t completely unconscious from the moment she was attacked until he saved her.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” she said sincerely. Without his help, she probably wouldn’t have made it out alive.

Dominic stared at her for a moment, his eyes dark and unreadable. “One piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which one would you like to hear first?”

“The good news is you weren’t assaulted, and the drug needle didn’t go into you. The one in the hallway was just a sedative, so you’ll be fine. As for the bad news…” He paused for a moment. “This whole incident was orchestrated by your boyfriend.”

“I know,” Vespera’s gaze lowered as she clenched her hands tightly under the blanket.

Dominic made no judgment about her feelings. “This time, I’m responsible for what happened and how you ended up there. I’ve detained those people for you. If you want to report them to the police, I can help again.”

Vespera raised her eyes and said, “You’ve already done so much for me. The rest, I’ll handle myself.”

“Are you sure you don’t need my help?”

“I already owe you a huge debt. I can’t owe more; I wouldn’t be able to repay it.”

Dominic chuckled softly, unable to say anything. At that moment, the phone on the table rang. It was Vespera’s phone. He picked it up for her.

Vespera glanced at the screen. It was her father calling; it was almost 1:00 am, and Vernon and Wanda must have been worried since she hadn’t come home yet. Although she was an adult, they still couldn’t help but worry. Clearing her throat, she answered the phone. “Dad…”

“Vera, where are you?”

“I’m… I’m at a club with some friends.”

“You’re not coming home? Your mom won’t sleep. She’s worried about you. Hurry back.”

After hanging up the phone, Vespera felt a wave of bitterness in her heart. She couldn’t bear to think about what her parents would have gone through if something had happened to her tonight, how much pain they would have felt.

She turned to Dominic and asked, “Can you take me home?”

Dominic paused for a few seconds before replying, “You’re going to go home looking like this? Aren’t you worried your parents will notice?”

Vespera jokingly said, “If I don’t go home, my mom won’t sleep. I have to at least…” She trailed off, her eyes reddening again. She took a deep breath, trying to suppress the aching sensation in her throat. To cover up the awkwardness, she added, “It’s so strange; I don’t know why I feel like crying again. It’s so embarrassing.”

“If you want to cry, just cry. I’ve seen it all already; one more time doesn’t make a difference,” Dominic said.

It was nearly 2:00 am when Dominic arranged for someone to take Vespera back to her parents’ house. She had applied makeup to conceal the red marks on her wrists and the traces of tears on her face. Once home, she pretended to be drunk, talking to her parents for a few minutes before saying she was tired and needed to go to bed. Her parents were relieved to see her, quietly.

“Quietly. I’m going to ruin his reputation.”

Vespera went to her room, washed her face, and immediately called Rebecca. “Becca, there’s no way Luke and I are going to end things quietly…”

Rebecca, who had been drifting in and out of sleep, instantly snapped awake.