“I feel like I just ruined your relationship,” Amara said softly. 

I looked at her the moment I closed the door, leaning against it for a second as I exhaled. There was no relationship–not really. 

But what I had with Dominic? It was complicated. Messy. 

I forced a small smile, shaking my head. “Trust me, Dominic and I have had worse fights.” 

Amara gave me a doubtful look. “He seemed really pissed.” 

I sighed, walking over to the couch and sinking into it. “He’s always pissed about something.” 

She hesitated before sitting next to me. “Still… I don’t want to be the reason you two-” 

I waved a hand dismissively. “It’s not just about you. Dominic likes control. When something happens that he didn’t plan for, he loses his mind.” 

Amara gave a small laugh. “Sounds healthy.” 

I smirked. “Oh, incredibly.” 

She looked at me for a moment, her expression softening. “But you care about him.” 

I swallowed. “I… don’t know what I feel.” 

That was the truth. 

Dominic infuriated me. Controlled me. Owned me in ways I wasn’t sure I could ever escape. 

But the way my heart raced when he was near? 

The way his touch burned into my skin? 

It wasn’t something I could ignore. 

Amara studied me, then sighed. “Guess we’re both in shit situations.” 

I let out a breath. “Yeah. We are.” 

Her fingers toyed with the hem of her dress, and I could tell something was still on her mind. “What?” I asked. 

She hesitated. Then- 

She reached forward, brushing a strand of my hair back. 

Her fingers paused. 

I stiffened. 

Her expression shifted–something unreadable flickering across her face. 

And then, quietly- 

“Aria…” 

I didn’t move. 

I knew what she saw. 

What she felt. 

The strands of hair that came loose at her touch. 

The reality had been avoiding. 

She swallowed. “Your hair…” 

I closed my eyes briefly before opening them, forcing a smirk. “Guess my shampoo isn’t working.” 

She didn’t laugh. 

Instead, her voice turned gentle. “Are you sick?” 

There it was. 

The question I had been dreading. 

I exhaled, staring at my hands. “I was.” 

Amara frowned. 

Successfully unlocked! 

1/5 

Chapter 43 

I sighed. “I had cancer. Have cancer. Stage two. I stopped treatment a while ago.” 

She sucked in a sharp breath. “Aria-” 

“I’m fine,” I said quickly, before she could start pitying me. 

She wasn’t convinced. 

“How long?” she asked. 

I hesitated. “The doctors said… six months. Maybe more. Maybe less.” 

Silence. 

Then- 

Amara’s eyes filled with tears. “We just met today, but… fuck.” 

I gave her a small smile. “Yeah. Fuck.” 

She wiped her face quickly. “I’m so sorry.” 

I shook my head. “Don’t be. I don’t want pity. I just… I want to live while I still can.” 

Her gaze softened. “And you’re doing that? With him?” 

Dominic. 

I swallowed. “I don’t know.” 

I didn’t know if being with him was living or just another form of dying. 

But it was something. 

Amara exhaled shakily, nodding. “Okay. Then we make the best of it.” 

I blinked. “We?” 

She smiled. “You saved me today. Let me return the favor. We’re in this together.” 

My chest tightened. 

I had been alone for so long. 

I missed Carmen. I missed the feeling of having someone to talk to who wasn’t trying to control me. 

Maybe Amara and I had only met today, but there was something in the way she said it–something that made me want to believe her. 

So, I nodded. “Yeah. Together.” 

The mood lightened after that. 

I suggested we do something normal, something fun, and before long, we were sitting in the hotel’s private lounge, getting 

mani–pedis, sipping overpriced drinks, and laughing like we weren’t two women running from the men who had tried to own 

1. us. 

Amara talked about all the ridiculous things she had done to sneak away from Dario, and I told her about some of the questionable people I had danced for back at the club. 

For a moment–just a moment–everything felt normal. 

Like I wasn’t dying. Like she wasn’t running. 

Like we weren’t both trapped in different ways. 

By the time we got back to the suite, we were exhausted. 

“Ugh,” Amara groaned as she flopped onto the bed. “I think I drank too much.” 

I smirked. “Lightweight.” 

She flipped me off, making me laugh. 

I changed into one of Dominic’s oversized shirts, too tired to care about anything else. 

We turned off the lights, the room falling into silence. 

But sometime later- 

I heard whispering. 

Soft. Shaky. 

I blinked, my heart pounding as I adjusted to the darkness. 

I turned my head slightly, straining to listen. 

Amara’s voice was barely above a breath. “I did it… I did it…” 

2/5 

Then 

A sob. 

My stomach twisted. 

I kept still, kept my breathing even, pretending I was still asleep. 

But I could hear her moving. 

The sound of something being put away 

A drawer closing. 

I didn’t move. 

I didn’t say anything. 

But I didn’t sleep, either. 

I waited. 

And when I was sure she had settled back into bed, I carefully slipped out of mine. 

One eye open. 

One breath at a time. 

I padded silently across the room, my heart thudding against my ribs. 

I crouched near the nightstand, my fingers brushing against the drawer handle. 

Slowly, quietly, I pulled it open. 

And when I saw what she had hidden inside- 

My blood ran cold. 

A phone. 

Not the cheap kind. Not the kind you’d use just to text a friend. 

This was expensive. A burner. The kind used for specific reasons. 

The screen was still dimly lit, a message left unread. 

“It’s done.” 

My breath caught in my throat. 

I stared at the words, my mind racing. 

What the hell had she done? 

I glanced back at Amara’s sleeping form. Her face was turned away, her body curled under the sheets. 

She had been crying. 

Whispering. 

I did it. I did it. 

I swallowed hard, my hands gripping the edges of the drawer as I tried to steady my thoughts. 

She had just escaped Dario… or at least, that’s what she said. 

But now… 

Now, I wasn’t so sure. 

I couldn’t stay here. 

I needed to tell Dominic. 

**** 

I found him in the suite’s private lounge, a drink in hand, his back to me as he stared out at the city lights. 

I hesitated for only a second before stepping forward. 

“Dominic.” 

His head turned slightly, but he didn’t look at me right away. “It’s late.” 

I ignored that. “We need to talk.” 

Something in my voice made him finally look at me. His eyes scanned my face, then flicked down to my hands. 

I was still holding the phone. 

His brow furrowed. “What is that?” 

Chapter 43 

I placed it on the table between us. “I found it in Amara’s things.” 

His expression didn’t change, but I felt the shift in the air. 

He picked it up, his fingers barely brushing the screen before his jaw tightened. 

The message was still there. 

“It’s done.” 

Dominic’s eyes darkened. “Explain.” 

I inhaled. “She was whispering to herself. I pretended to be asleep, but I heard her say I did it. And then she started crying. I waited for her to fall asleep before I checked her things.” 

He didn’t say anything. 

But I could see the way his grip tightened around the phone. 

“She told me she was running from Dario,” I continued, my voice steady. “But what if she wasn’t running from him?” 

Dominic exhaled slowly, his expression cold. “You think she’s working for him.” 

I swallowed. “I don’t know.” 

His gaze flickered toward the door. “Where is she now?” 

“Asleep.” 

For a long moment, he just stared at the phone. Then, finally- 

He looked over his shoulder. 

“Matteo.” 

The head of security stepped in almost instantly. His dark eyes flicked between Dominic and me before he inclined his 

head. “Boss.” 

Dominic tossed the phone to him. “Get Dario here. Now.” 

Matteo frowned but didn’t question it. “Alive?” 

Dominic’s jaw ticked. 

“For now.” 

Matteo nodded and left the room without another word. 

I exhaled, pressing a hand to my chest. 

Dominic watched me carefully. “You were right to come to me.” 

I blinked up at him. “I don’t feel right.” 

He smirked slightly. “That’s because you don’t know how this world works yet.” 

I swallowed. “And how does it work?” 

His gaze darkened. 

“Trust is a luxury,” he murmured. “And right now, Amara doesn’t have it.” 

I shivered. 

Not because of his words. 

But because, deep down- 

I agreed. 

Dominic held my gaze for a long moment, his expression unreadable. My chest felt tight, my stomach twisted in knots. Amara had seemed so real, so genuine–but if there was one thing I had learned in this world, it was that nothing was ever what it seemed. 

Dominic exhaled sharply, turning away as he ran a hand through his hair. “Matteo will handle Dario. If your friend is working with him, we’ll get answers.” 

I nodded, still trying to process everything. 

And then- 

His phone rang. 

A sharp, cutting sound in the tense silence. 

Dominic’s brows furrowed as he pulled it out, glancing at the screen. Without hesitation, he answered. 

“What?” 

Chapter 43 

A pause. 

His entire body stilled. 

I stepped forward. “Dominic?” 

His grip on the phone tightened. 

His jaw clenched. 

And then, in a voice devoid of emotion, he muttered- 

“She’s dead.” 

The world tilted. 

My breath caught. 

I swayed on my feet, my heart hammering against my ribs. 

“Who?” 

He gulped. “Amara.” 

S