Chapter 6

Lila's POV

Excruciating pain shot through my right wrist. That was my most vulnerable, most painful spot.

The pain made me gasp, forcing my head back to meet Gavin's fury-filled eyes.

Three years. He was always like this.

As long as Serena shed a single tear, he'd pin all the blame on me.

I looked at this face I once loved deeply, now finding it only unfamiliar and repulsive.

"Apologize?"

I forced myself to endure the spasms in my right hand, laughing coldly, my gaze unflinchingly meeting his.

"Gavin, impossible! I, Lila Sterling, will never apologize to a thief who only steals other people's designs!"

Gavin's expression instantly darkened to the extreme. He tightened his grip even more, completely disregarding my trembling hand, glaring at me furiously.

"Lila, do you think that leaving me means you can survive on your own? Do you believe that with just one word from me, your father won't get a single pill in the hospital!"

He was threatening me with my father again. This was his usual tactic, his most lethal way of controlling me.

He thought that as long as he brought up my father, I'd immediately kneel on the ground and beg him like before.

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

I looked at his arrogant face and suddenly laughed.

I laughed until tears almost came out.

"Gavin, you still don't know, do you?"

I used my left hand to pry his fingers off one by one, my voice cold and emotionless.

"My father has already been transferred. From now on, his life or death has nothing to do with you."

Gavin froze. He seemed unable to process what I'd said, but his grip instinctively loosened.

"What did you say?"

His brow furrowed. I saw a flicker of panic in his eyes.

"I said, I'm no longer under your threats."

I yanked my right hand back and stepped away, creating distance between us.

"Gavin, we're completely finished. From now on, you and Serena can be together forever. Don't ever appear in front of me again."

With that, I turned to leave.

"Stop!"

Gavin reached out sharply, trying to grab me again.

Just as his hand was about to touch me, another large hand suddenly reached out from the side and firmly caught Gavin's wrist.

"Mr. Hartwell, manhandling a lady is hardly gentlemanly behavior."

A low, lazy voice sounded above my head. My whole body jolted as I looked up sharply.

Dominic had appeared behind me at some point.

He wore an impeccably tailored dark gray suit, his posture upright and bearing dignified.

Dominic released Gavin's hand and naturally pulled me into his embrace.

Gavin stumbled back a step, his face iron-dark as he stared at Dominic.

"Dominic Kane? What are you doing here?"

Gavin's gaze swept back and forth between Dominic and me, his eyes full of shock and suspicion.

"Lila, what's your relationship with him?"

Dominic ignored Gavin's interrogation.

He looked down at me, his gaze falling on my slightly trembling right hand. His brow instantly furrowed.

"What happened to your hand?"

He pulled out a pristine white handkerchief from his pocket, cradled my right hand, and carefully wiped the spots Gavin had touched, as if I'd just touched something extremely filthy.

"How can you use the hand you draw with to hit people?"

Dominic's voice was soft but carried indulgence and heartache.

"Next time you encounter such idiots, just have the bodyguards handle it. Don't dirty your hands."

Serena's face instantly turned pale. Gavin trembled with rage.

"Dominic Kane, what do you mean?" Gavin stared at the hand Dominic had around my waist, his eyes blazing with fury. "Lila is my woman. Stay away from her!"

Dominic finished wiping my hand and casually tossed the handkerchief into a nearby trash can.

He raised his head, looking at Gavin with contempt, as if he were nothing but a clown.

"Mr. Hartwell may not have grasped the situation yet."

Dominic pulled me closer, his lips curving into a cold smile.

"Lila is now my wife. I won't allow you to touch her again."

Gavin stood frozen, as if struck by lightning, staring at me in disbelief.

"Wife? Lila, you... you married him?"