Chapter 3He Chose Steak Over My Life

"Margot!" Dominic’s voice was thick with hatred. "You dare lay a hand on her in front of me? Have you lost your mind?"

I laughed, a jagged, cold sound. "She opened her mouth first. I’m just reclaiming my dignity. And you? You should check the news. There was an actual earthquake. I don't control the tectonic plates, Dominic. I’m not that powerful."

"Fine," he said, his voice dropping to a terrifyingly soft register. He turned to Daisy. "Hit her back."

Daisy blinked, stunned.

"Hit her," he repeated. "She thinks she can touch what’s mine without consequences. Don't be afraid. I’m right here."

Daisy looked at me, a flicker of triumph dancing in the depths of her "innocent" eyes. She stepped forward, pretending to be hesitant, but as she reached for me, she didn't aim for my face. She grabbed the neckline of my dress, yanking downward.

The delicate silk shredded. The front of my gown tore open, exposing me to the crowded hospital entrance.

Dominic didn't stop her. He didn't even flinch.

I scrambled to cover myself, my face burning with a mix of fury and humiliation. "Daisy! What the hell are you doing?"

"Oh my god, I’m so sorry!" Daisy squeaked, her hands flying to her mouth. "I was just trying to talk to her, and she got so aggressive... she must have torn it herself to make me look bad..."

"You lying little—"

"Enough!" Dominic roared. "I saw everything. You’re pathetic, Margot. Tearing your own clothes to frame a girl who has nothing? You’ve lost your shame, and I’ve lost my patience."

"Dominic, it’s my leg," Daisy moaned, clutching her calf where the tiny scratch had long since stopped bleeding. "The stress... I can't breathe... it hurts so much..."

"We’re going," Dominic said, immediately draping his suit jacket over her shoulders. "I’m getting you a full trauma sweep."

Before they turned away, Dominic’s eyes lingered on my swollen, purple ankle for a split second. A shadow of a frown crossed his face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

He turned to a nearby hospital administrator. "This woman is not to be treated. Not tonight. Consider it a lesson in humility. If I find out a single doctor touched her, I’ll pull my funding from this wing."

I watched them disappear into the private elevators. I ended up buying a tube of ointment from a 24-hour pharmacy and limping back to the apartment I paid for with my own salary.

Late that night, the sound of a key in the lock startled me. It was Dominic. He smelled of Scotch and bitterness.

Before I could speak, he was on me. His hands were heavy, roaming over me with a possessiveness that felt like an assault.

"Dominic! Stop!" My voice trembled. "What are you doing?"

He pinned my wrists to the headboard, his weight crushing the breath out of me. "That little performance at the hospital? That was about being desperate, wasn't it? You’re starved for attention."

I struggled, screaming for him to get off. "Let me go!"

He laughed against my neck. "Why the act? You’ve been in my bed for three years. You think you’re a virgin now because you’re mad at me?"

He forced a kiss on me, his mouth tasting of expensive liquor and resentment.

Memory hit me like a physical blow. In my previous life, he had come home drunk after Daisy died, sobbing her name while he forced himself on me. That was the night I got pregnant.

But in this life, Daisy was alive. Why was he here?

I bit his lip, hard. The metallic tang of blood filled the air.

"You bit me?"

The pain seemed to ignite something darker in him. He pressed down harder. "Fine. I like it when you fight. It makes it feel like you actually have a soul."

I screamed, my hand fumbling blindly on the nightstand. My fingers closed around a heavy crystal water glass. I swung it with every ounce of strength I had left.

CRACK.

He slumped to the side, dazed. I pushed him off with a guttural cry, grabbing a shard of the broken glass as I scrambled off the bed. I backed into the corner, clutching my torn robe, my ankle throbbing.

"Touch me again," I hissed, "and I will end this. For both of us."

Dominic wiped a smear of blood from his forehead, staring at me with a mix of shock and mounting rage.

"You hit me. You actually hit me." He stood up, his voice trembling. "We’re done, Margot. The engagement is over. You won't get another dime, another contract, or another second of my time. You’re nothing without the Blackwood name."