Chapter 10
As the plane took off, Emma gazed at the city lights growing smaller through the window, momentarily glimpsing eighteen–year–old Dominic smiling at her from the clouds.
But the next second, excruciating pain exploded from her ribs, shattering the vision. She bit down hard on her lip, the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth.
“Miss? Do you need assistance?”
The man in the adjacent seat lowered his magazine, keenly noticing the cold sweat on her temple.
Emma shook her head, burying her face deeper into her scarf. It still carried the musty basement smell of the cheap accessory she’d hastily purchased in the airport bathroom.
‘I’m fine,” she replied, her voice faint. “Just a bit of airsickness.”
shane observed this young woman radiating incongruity: she wore an oversized camel coat, her left ring finger bore the mark of long–term ring–wearing, yet her right hand was twisted unnaturally.
Most disturbing was her constant shivering despite the cabin’s comfortable 78–degree temperature.
‘I’m a doctor,” Shane offered a tissue. “Your color is concerning.”
As Emma accepted it, he noticed the bruising around her wrist–marks typically left by professional restraints.
Shane realized this wasn’t an ordinary domestic violence victim.
“Thank you,” Emma clutched the tissue but didn’t use it.
Because she couldn’t leave any trace, especially now. Once the plane landed, even turning the world upside down,
Dominic still wouldn’t find her.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot up from her abdomen. Emma’s vision darkened as warm liquid flowed from her nose. she instinctively touched it, feeling the sticky crimson on her fingertips.
Shane immediately unbuckled his seatbelt. “Flight attendant! We need emergency medical assistance here!”
Through blurred vision, Emma watched the man’s long fingers quickly opening her collar.
How strange that in this moment, she thought of Dominic’s hands, how last night they had unfastened Stella’s buttons the same way.
Emma felt herself lifted by countless hands, like a fallen leaf drifting on storm–tossed waters. She recalled the sensation of being pushed into the pool, the stabbing pain of icy water flooding her lungs, and the burning friction of burlap fibers against her cheeks.
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Just a Stand In21 My Billionaire Hubby’s OTHER Wife
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Chapter 10
Most painful was Dominic’s cold statement: “Anyone who dares hurt what’s mine will pay the price,” each word like a dull knife slicing through her heart.
In her final moment of consciousness, Emma heard her own raspy laughter.
How ironic that the broken rib Dominic had fractured was now puncturing her lung. He always promised to protect her from the slightest harm, yet became the one who wounded her most deeply.
The cabin lights swayed overhead as Shane’s shirt became soaked with sweat. This stranger was losing her life in his hands, and some inexplicable instinct wouldn’t allow him to stand by passively.
A flight attendant whispered: “Doctor, should we make an emergency landing?”
The unconscious Emma suddenly convulsed violently.
Shane stabilized her, turning to the attendant: “Contact the airport to prepare an ambulance. The patient has multiple fractures and internal bleeding, she needs…”
Before he could finish, his wrist was suddenly grabbed. Those unfocused eyes miraculously cleared for an instant, and Shane saw them filled with alarming determination.
“No… hospital…” Every word Emma spoke produced blood–tinged foam at the corner of her mouth. “Please…”
Shane was stunned, then inexplicably nodded: “I have a private clinic in the countryside.”
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