Chapter 4

"Take your damn wine and get the hell out!"

The glass bottle shattered at the hospital room door, expensive red wine splashing all over Vanessa's legs.

On the tenth day of his hospital stay, Vanessa took advantage of a guard shift change to sneak in. Banned by Carmine from visiting, she brought a bottle of top-tier wine from her family's vineyard, trying to spark their romance again.

Too bad she picked the absolute worst time.

On the bed, the once arrogant second-in-command of the Rossi family was emitting a foul smell of human waste.

Because his lower body lost all feeling, Dominic had lost control of his bowels.

Before the nurses could change the sheets, Vanessa pushed the door open.

Even though she tried her best to hide it, the twitch of her eyebrow at the sour smell and the tiny half-step she took backward were caught by Dominic instantly.

At first, Dominic's face held a touch of warmth. But that half-step crushed the very last bit of his dignity as a mafia boss.

"Dominic,I just wanted to see you!" Vanessa paled, clutching her dress, trembling before the shattered glass.

"Are you deaf?! GET OUT!" Dominic's eyes turned blood-red. Like a toothless beast going mad, he grabbed everything on the nightstand and threw it at the door.

Standing in the hallway shadows, I watched Vanessa run away in disgrace, a cold smile curling on my lips.

From that day on, Dominic threw himself into self-torturing rehab.

Every day, painful roars and the loud crashing of equipment echoed from the rehab room.

He couldn't accept becoming a cripple. He couldn't stand the pity or coldness in people's eyes. His temper grew wilder and darker. He even held a gun to a nurse's head just to keep everyone away.

A month later, in the rehab room.

"I don't need help! Back off!" Dominic shoved two trembling nurses away. Veins popped on his forehead as he gripped the bars of the standing frame.

He tried to stand up on his own strength.

One second. Two seconds.

He shook violently, his face turning from red to pale. His paralyzed lower legs hung like boiled noodles, utterly unable to hold his broad frame.

A heavy crash shook the room.

Dominic slammed onto the cold floor, collapsed in a ridiculous, ugly pile.

"Dominic!"

A gasp came from the doorway.

Vanessa had snuck back again. She stood at the door, her mouth wide open, her eyes filled with shock and cruel pity.

That look stung worse than a gun pressed to his head.

Dead silence filled the room.

Dominic lay flat on the floor. He lifted his head in shame, meeting Vanessa's eyes—eyes full of fear and disgust.

The man she once idolized as a savior was now a helpless cripple who couldn't even crawl.

That contrast crushed Dominic's soul into dust.

"Had enough of a show?!" Dominic snapped completely, grabbing a piece of rehab equipment and throwing it hard at her feet.

Plastic and metal buckled with a sharp noise as it hit the floor.

Vanessa shrieked in terror, backing up three steps. She didn't even have the courage to reach out and help him up.

"Didn't you say you'd stay with me no matter what happened to me?!"

Dominic lay on the floor, propping his upper body with his hands. His eyes burned with thick toxicity, his teeth grinding together:

"Since you're so madly in love, then marry me!"

The words echoed wildly through the empty rehab room.

Every nurse, bodyguard, and bystander in the room stopped breathing.

Thick awkwardness and suffocating pressure covered the entire room.

Vanessa froze on the spot, her fake mask shattering to pieces. Only sheer terror and disgust remained on her face.

Being the fiancee of the mafia's second-in-command was one thing. Being a caretaker to a permanently paralyzed, incontinent cripple was a completely different story.

"I…" Vanessa's lips trembled violently, unable to get a full sentence out.

Watching this circus, pure delight filled my heart.

Watching them turn on each other was pure ecstasy. The circus was officially underway.