Chương 4
For the next two days, Clara learned how strange it was to be alive.
Everyone around her acted like survival should feel like a victory.
Doctors smiled when her numbers improved.
Nurses congratulated her when she walked five steps farther than the day before.
Isabella cried the first time Clara sat up without help.
Clara understood why they were happy.
She just did not feel happy.
She felt unfinished.
Her body belonged to a person who had almost died.
Her mind still belonged to the woman who had gone to work carrying champagne trays and worrying about rent.
The two versions of herself had not met yet.
On the third morning after waking up, she found Dominic sitting in the corner of her room.
Not talking.
Not using his phone.
Just sitting.
She looked at him for several seconds before speaking.
“Do you always sit silently in hospital rooms?”
Dominic looked up.
“No.”
“Just mine?”
“Yes.”
She adjusted the pillow behind her.
“That is somehow more concerning.”
A small movement touched the corner of his mouth.
Not quite a smile.
“Your doctor said you should not argue.”
“My doctor also said I should walk more.”
“Are you comparing arguing to physical therapy?”
“For me, they are both exhausting.”
This time he almost smiled.
Clara noticed.
She did not mention it.
There were still things about him that made her uncomfortable.
The expensive suits.
The quiet men who waited outside her door.
The way nurses became careful whenever his name came up.
But there was also something else.
He looked lonely.
She hated that she noticed.
Lonely people were easier to forgive.
And Clara was not ready to forgive him for something she did not understand.
“Your mother came yesterday,” she said.
“Yes.”
“She brought me flowers.”
“She does that.”
“She told me you were difficult.”
Dominic looked mildly offended.
“My mother says that about everyone.”
“She said you never apologize.”
“That is not true.”
“She said you apologized once in 2017.”
Dominic looked away.
Clara stared.
“Did she seriously remember the year?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“I was wrong.”
“And?”
“I apologized.”
“That sounds like a story with missing information.”
“It is.”
She laughed quietly.
The sound surprised both of them.
It was the first time she had laughed since waking up.
The moment disappeared quickly, but Dominic saw it.
He saw how much effort it took for her to be normal.
That bothered him more than anger would have.
Anger meant she still had energy.
This was a woman trying to rebuild herself one small piece at a time.
A knock interrupted them.
A man in a gray jacket entered carrying a paper bag.
“Breakfast.”
Clara looked at him.
“Are you another person assigned to make sure I eat?”
The man glanced at Dominic.
“No.”
“That answer was too fast.”
The man looked uncomfortable.
Dominic sighed.
“Clara, this is Enzo.”
“The person who follows you everywhere?”
Enzo raised his eyebrows.
“I do more than follow him.”
“Like?”
He thought for a moment.
“Mostly I stop him from making decisions when he is angry.”
Clara looked at Dominic.
“That sounds like a full-time job.”
“It is.”
Enzo placed the bag on the table.
“I brought coffee.”
Clara immediately looked interested.
“What kind?”
“Black.”
“Good.”
Dominic looked between them.
“You drink black coffee?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I am tired, not because I am trying to enjoy a dessert in a cup.”
Enzo looked down to hide a smile.
Dominic noticed.
“You agree with her?”
“I am not getting involved.”
“You already did.”
The room became strangely normal for a few seconds.
A woman recovering from gunshot wounds.
A powerful man with a dangerous reputation.
His closest employee.
All standing around discussing coffee.
Clara almost forgot how strange her situation was.
Almost.
Then her phone arrived.
A nurse handed it to her later that afternoon.
The screen was cracked.
The case was missing.
But it still worked.
Clara stared at it for a long time.
There were eighty-seven missed calls.
Most were from the hospital.
Some were from unknown numbers.
Three were from her boss.
And twelve were from her mother.
Her chest tightened.
She called immediately.
The phone rang once.
Then her mother answered.
“Clara?”
The fear in her voice hurt more than the bullets had.
“Hi, Mom.”
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Ellen started crying.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just quietly, like she had been holding it in for days and her body finally stopped cooperating.
“I’m sorry,” Clara whispered.
“No.”
“I scared you.”
“You almost died.”
“I know.”
“No, sweetheart.”
Her mother’s voice broke.
“You don’t know what that feels like from this side.”
Clara closed her eyes.
The hospital room blurred.
“I’m okay.”
“You always say that.”
“Because I am.”
“You are lying.”
Clara opened her eyes.
She looked at Dominic.
He was standing near the window, giving her privacy.
Even though he was listening.
Even though he probably knew every detail of her life.
She lowered her voice.
“Mom.”
“Yes?”
“There’s something weird happening.”
Her mother became quiet.
“What?”
“I don’t know.”
That was the problem.
She did not know.
She knew there was danger.
She knew someone had tried to kill Isabella.
She knew Dominic was protecting her.
But she also knew none of those things explained why someone had been watching her before the shooting.
After the call ended, Dominic noticed the change in her face.
“What happened?”
She looked at him.
“My mother asked if I was safe.”
“She is right to ask.”
“That is not comforting.”
“No.”
“You could at least pretend.”
“I would be lying.”
Clara looked down at her phone.
“Why were they watching me?”
The question sat between them.
Dominic did not answer.
That was answer enough.
Her eyes lifted slowly.
“You know.”
“I know some things.”
“How many?”
“Not enough.”
“Do not do that.”
“What?”
“Talk like you are protecting me while keeping me in the dark.”
His expression changed slightly.
May you like
Because she was right.
And he hated that she was right.
