Chapter 8
The assistant tried to dissuade him: “Sir, your grandfather will be furious…”
“Do it,” was his only response.
The electric needle buzzed to life, each prick seeming to pierce Ariana’s heart rather than his skin.
Two hours later, Dominic emerged covering his bleeding chest, pale but determined as he got into the car.
“To Crescent Cliff,” he instructed the driver.
“Impossible! That place is too dangerous, and you’ve just been tattooed-”
“Now.” His tone brooked no argument.
Sitting in her car, Ariana suddenly remembered Mia’s list of criteria for her ideal man.
“He has to love me enough to tattoo my name on his chest.”
“There’s a flower on Crescent Cliff… he’d have to get it for me.”
She laughed, and as she laughed, tears finally spilled down her cheeks.
“Let’s go,” she told her driver. “We’re done here.”
That night, she saw Mia’s Instagram post.
A photograph of a thorny rose in full bloom on a cliff edge, captioned:
“Someone climbed mountains just to bring me a flower.”
At three in the morning, Dominic returned.
Covered in blood, right arm fractured, yet his lips curled into a faint smile.
The next day, as Ariana was about to leave, Dominic emerged from his room.
He was pale, his right arm wrapped in bandages, his shirt collar slightly open.
“Miss Reeves,” his voice was somewhat hoarse, “I had a minor car accident last night. I need a few more days to recover, so I won’t be able to protect you for now.”
Car accident?
Clearly a cliff–climbing injury.
But she didn’t expose his lie, merely responding with a “Hmm” before walking out.
Chapter 8
Today she was saying goodbye to her girlfriends.
At an upscale club in a VIP room:
“Come on, let’s drink till we drop!” Her friend Lila threw an arm around Ariana’s shoulders. “Our darling Ari is about to get married and become Mrs. Sinclair. We’ve got to celebrate properly!”
The room was packed with people who had been her closest friends over the years.
The champagne tower glittered under the lights, music pounded through the speakers, yet Ariana felt strangely detached from it all.
“If you ask me, a comatose husband is perfect!” Lila said drunkenly, swaying her glass. “Rich, handsome, and you don’t have to cater to his needs. The ideal marriage!”
“Exactly!” another friend chimed in. “And the entire Sinclair fortune will eventually be yours!”
Ariana smiled faintly, running her finger along the rim of her glass. “Once I’m married, I’ll have to behave myself. Got to maintain the Sinclair family’s reputation.”
Everyone paused, then scrambled to backtrack:
“I’m sure the Sinclair heir will wake
“You’re so gorgeous–how
up soon!”
hould he stand to stay asleep?”
“Absolutely! Our Ari is North Shore’s premier beauty–no way you’ll end up a caretaker forever!”
Ariana smiled as they rambled, drinking one glass after another.
When it was time to say goodbye, Lila suddenly embraced her, voice choked with emotion: “Your dad is such a piece of work… and that Mia! Want us to teach her a lesson?”
“No need,” Ariana patted her back. “Once I’m gone, none of this will matter to me anymore.”
She hugged each friend in turn until everyone’s eyes were red–rimmed.
After settling the bill, Ariana was passing by another VIP room when she heard a familiar voice.
“Was the flower really that difficult to get?”
“Absolutely! Crescent Cliff is so dangerous even professional climbing teams avoid it.”
Through the partially open door, Ariana saw Mia toying with the thorny rose while her friend leaned in conspiratorially: “And I think I saw him with your name tattooed on his chest when he delivered the flower! He’s seriously pursuing you, isn’t he?”
“A mere bodyguard? Does he deserve me?” Mia scoffed.
“I’m being courted by the North Shore heir now,” she stroked the damaged rose petals. “Though Dom is certainly
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handsome enough to keep as a plaything on the side,”
Chapter 9
