Chapter 5
“You won’t be.”
“And I don’t want you deciding everything for me just because you can.”
That stopped him.
Then, slowly, Dominic smiled.
There she was.
The woman in red shoes.
“Fair.”
“Fair?”
“Very.”
Sophia exhaled.
“Then I choose you.”
Dominic touched her face.
“Say it clearly.”
She almost rolled her eyes.
“You are unbelievably controlling.”
“Occupational hazard.”
For the first time in months, Sophia laughed without immediately checking whether someone disapproved.
Then she looked directly into his eyes.
“I want you, Dominic.”
His restraint finally slipped.
He kissed her.
There was nothing hesitant about it, but there was nothing careless either.
Sophia had expected hunger.
What frightened her was tenderness.
Dominic pulled away first.
“You can still change your mind.”
“I’m going to start charging you every time you say that.”
“Then I’ll stop.”
“Good.”
He kissed her forehead.
“Now we find out what Anthony gave you.”
Dominic’s personal physician, Dr. Franklin Mercer, arrived less than an hour later.
He examined the pills at the kitchen island while Sophia waited.
“These aren’t thyroid tablets.”
Sophia’s stomach dropped.
Dominic’s voice became quiet.
“What are they?”
“I need a lab confirmation, but the markings indicate a benzodiazepine combined with another sedative.”
Sophia stared.
“In English.”
Mercer hesitated.
“They would make you tired, mentally foggy, forgetful. Long-term use could affect coordination, appetite, mood and memory.”
She felt the room tilt.
“I’ve been telling everyone I couldn’t think.”
Dominic reached for her hand.
Sophia pulled away.
Not from him.
From everything.
“I thought I was lazy.”
No one spoke.
“I thought I was failing.”
Mercer’s expression softened.
“Sophia, if you’ve been taking these daily, you should not stop abruptly without medical supervision. We’ll run tests and manage this safely.”
She nodded numbly.
Dominic looked toward his security chief.
“Find out who filled the prescriptions.”
Sophia snapped her head toward him.
“No.”
Dominic frowned.
“No?”
“I’m doing it.”
“Sophia—”
“You said I get choices.”
A long pause.
Then Dominic nodded.
“Together.”
That afternoon, the truth became worse.
The pharmacy records had been manipulated.
A clinic Anthony partly financed had authorized fraudulent prescriptions.
The legitimate thyroid medication had been replaced nearly two years earlier.
Anthony hadn’t merely insulted Sophia while she struggled.
He had created the struggle.
She stood in Dominic’s private gym that evening wearing sweatpants and one of his T-shirts.
A heavy punching bag swung in front of her.
Dominic wrapped her hands.