Chapter 2He Chose Steak Over My Life

I hauled myself up using the edge of the table, my white dress ruined by wine and soot.

Outside, the air was thick with sirens. Dominic had already commandeered the only available ambulance for Daisy’s "scratch," taking all his bodyguards with him.

His last words to me before slamming the door were, "Find your own way home, Margot. I have a crisis to handle."

He drove off into the chaos. I didn't have my keys, and the restaurant was on a secluded ridge—miles from the city center. In the wake of a tremor, Uber was non-existent.

The remaining guests were trickling out, snapping photos of the damage for Instagram, whispering as they passed me.

"What is Margot West still doing here? This was her engagement night, wasn't it?"

"Did you see her just sitting there drinking while that girl was bleeding? She’s a sociopath. I heard Dominic’s been looking for a way out of the engagement for months."

I ignored them. My phone buzzed. It was a notification from Instagram. Daisy had tagged me in a post.

It was a photo of her in the back of the ambulance, leaning her head on Dominic’s shoulder. The caption read: I never imagined someone would be willing to stay in a collapsing building just so I could finish a meal. Thank you for choosing me, Dominic. My hero.

I almost laughed. The girl was an amateur. If the press got hold of the fact that the CEO of Blackwood Industries risked a hundred lives for a steak, the stock would plummet by morning.

As I began calculating exactly how to ruin him, a black SUV pulled up. Three men in suits stepped out.

"Ms. West. You’re coming with us."

"Where?" I took a step back, my pulse quickening.

"Mr. Blackwood’s orders. We’re taking you to the hospital."

I started to refuse, but they didn't give me the chance. They gripped my arms, one on each side, with a bruising strength that told me this wasn't an invitation.

"Let go of me! I can walk!"

When we arrived at the ER, Dominic was standing by the entrance. The look on his face wasn't relief. It was pure, unadulterated disgust. Daisy was slumped against him, limping theatrically.

"She’s here, Dominic," Daisy whispered, her voice a fragile reed.

I gritted my teeth. "Why am I here, Dominic?"

"Because you love to put on a show, don't you?" He stepped toward me, his voice a low hiss. "The scene tonight felt incomplete without your brand of calculated ice."

He swung his hand. The slap was so hard my ears rang. My lip split instantly, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth.

"You have 'gifted' hearing, Margot. You knew that ceiling was coming down. Why didn't you speak? Why did you sit there and watch her get hit?"

My swollen ankle gave out. I stumbled, tumbling down the three stone steps leading to the hospital entrance. I landed in a heap, my ruined dress Tangled around my legs.

Dominic loomed over me. "You wanted her dead, didn't you? Or maybe you rigged the damn ceiling yourself. It’s exactly the kind of cold-blooded move you’re famous for."

The speed of his turn made it clear: someone had been whispering in his ear. In my previous life, the "friends" who wanted to stay in Dominic’s good graces had lined up to trash my reputation the moment they saw him favor Daisy.

I looked up at him, my eyes shimmering with fake tears. "If I had told you to move, you would have called me a killjoy. You told the room that anyone who left would be fired. You remember that, don't you?"

In my last life, saving him was a crime. In this life, letting him stay was a sin. There was no winning with a man who had already decided you were the villain.

Daisy’s eyes welled up. "Dominic, look at her... she always has an excuse. I just wanted one nice meal, and she wanted me to die for it. Why do you hate me so much, Margot?"

I didn't think. I hauled myself up and delivered a stinging slap across Daisy’s face. "Daisy, shut up. I am still the woman who holds the contracts to his name. I am still his fiancée."

Daisy gasped, clutching her cheek. "Dominic... she hit me..."