Chapter 7

The world became a blur of frantic activity and suffocating guilt. Dominic didn' t leave Hazel' s side. He watched as doctors and nurses bustled around her, hooking her up to IV drips and monitors. He felt like a ghost in the room, a helpless spectator to the damage he had caused.

He sat by her bed for two days straight, refusing to eat or sleep. When the nurse brought her medicine, a bitter powder that had to be mixed with water, Hazel was too weak and unconscious to swallow. Without thinking, Dominic took the medicine into his own mouth and pressed his lips to hers, coaxing the life-saving liquid down her throat. It was a desperate, intimate act of penance.

On the third day, she finally woke up. Her eyes were clear, but they were empty. When she looked at him, she looked right through him.

Just as a sliver of hope began to dawn in Dominic' s heart, a new crisis erupted. A panicked nurse rushed in to tell him that Julia had collapsed. Her condition was critical.

He went to Julia' s room. She lay in a hospital bed, looking even more fragile than before. The doctor' s diagnosis was a death sentence.

"Her kidneys are failing. It' s a complication from the... incident. She needs a bone marrow transplant to survive. Immediately."

Dominic' s mind went numb. He felt a wave of self-recrimination wash over him. This was his fault too. He had pushed Julia, promised to send her away, which led to her desperate act, which led to this. He was destroying both of the women in his life.

He found himself standing outside Hazel' s room again. He looked at her through the glass panel in the door. She was sitting up, staring out the window, looking as fragile as a porcelain doll.

He had to do this. He had to save Julia. It was the only way to balance the scales of his guilt. He convinced himself that Hazel owed Julia this. It was a life for a life-the life of the baby Hazel had inadvertently caused Julia to lose. The logic was twisted, insane, but it was the only thing that made sense in his fractured mind.

He walked into the room.

Hazel didn' t turn. She seemed to feel his presence, her shoulders tensing slightly.

He stood behind her, watching her reflection in the dark windowpane.

"Julia is dying," he said, his voice flat.

Hazel remained silent.

"She needs a bone marrow transplant," he continued. "The doctors say you' re a perfect match."

He saw her reflection smile, a bitter, humorless twist of her lips. "What a coincidence."

"This isn' t a coincidence, Hazel," he said, stepping closer. "This is fate. This is your chance to make things right."

"Make things right?" she finally turned to face him, her eyes burning with a cold fire. "By letting you carve up my body again for her sake?"

"You owe her this!" he snarled, his control snapping. "Because of you, she lost our child! Because of you, she' s on her deathbed!"

"You are delusional," she said, her voice dripping with contempt.

He knew, on some level, that she was right. He knew Julia was a master manipulator. But admitting that would mean admitting that all of this-Hazel' s pain, the lost baby, Julia' s illness-was his fault and his alone. The weight of that truth was too much to bear. It was easier to blame Hazel.

"You will do this," he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous low. "If you refuse, I will cancel the merger. I will use every resource the Watts empire has to crush your family' s company. I will destroy your father. I will leave you with nothing."

He reached out, his hand hovering over her shoulder. "But if you do this, I will forgive you. We can put all of this behind us. We can start over."

Hazel flinched away from his touch as if he were acid.

"I don' t want your forgiveness," she said. "And I don' t care about your threats. The engagement is over. We are over."

His face darkened. He grabbed her arm, yanking her to her feet. The sudden movement made her gasp in pain.

"Over?" he snarled, his face inches from hers. "Nothing is over until I say it is. You belong to me, Hazel. You have always belonged to me. Your life, your body, your very soul. I own you, and you will do as I say."

The madness in his eyes was terrifying. This wasn' t the man she had loved. This was a monster.

"She needs your bone marrow," he said again, his voice chillingly calm now. "And you are going to give it to her."

"No," she said, her voice shaking but firm.

He laughed, a cold, empty sound. "You think you have a choice?"

He released her, and she stumbled back onto the bed. He walked to the door and opened it. Two large men in black suits stood outside, along with a nurse pushing a trolley. On the trolley was a collection of gleaming medical instruments and leather restraints.

"You can do this willingly," Dominic said, his voice soft and terrible. "Or we can do this by force. Either way, Julia will get what she needs."

His eyes were devoid of all warmth, all love, all sanity. They were the eyes of a man who had completely lost his way, and he was determined to drag her down into the darkness with him.