07

LILY

I clamped down on the little shivers running through me. My dress was soaked, my makeup ruined, and my reputation? In the mud. But I didn’t care. I would slap Theresa again, embarrass Dominic in front of his family again, even breach our contract if it meant showing up for my daughter.

I stole a glance at Dominic. He sat casually in the driver’s seat, as if nothing was wrong. As if he wasn’t driving his new contractual wife to see her secret child.

His face was unreadable, but the white knuckles on the steering wheel betrayed his anger.

I turned back to the window, letting the silence stretch. If he wanted to question me, I would deal with it later. Right now, I had no strength left to spare.

The car rolled into the hospital grounds. My heart was pounding so violently I was sure he could hear it. Before the car even came to a stop, I unbuckled my seatbelt and shoved the door open, running through the rain. I didn't have time to waste. My baby needed me.

I darted up the stairs, shoving open the doors. Nurses turned, startled by my frantic entrance, but I didn’t care.

“What room is Anna in?” My voice came out sharp, almost breaking.

The receptionist blinked at me, startled by my fierce expression.

“A… Anna who, ma’am?”

I froze for a split second before saying my real name and regretted it instantly. The familiar heady scent of Dominic’s cologne drifted up behind me. He followed me inside?!

My spine stiffened as his hands settled something warm in my shoulders. It was his jacket.

I'd forgotten my dress was wet and practically see through. Shame and embarrassment had me clutching the fabric closer like a shield.

The receptionist’s face flushed crimson as she looked past me, giving Dominic a dazed look. It wasn't everyday a humble hospital like this got to see billionaires in the flesh.

I forced my voice out, low and trembling.

“Baker,” I whispered. “Anna Baker.”

The words nearly broke me. Anna went by my real surname. The implication of what I'd just done was too harsh to process right now. If the Crofts found out, I was finished but I'd do anything for my daughter.

The receptionist directed us towards ward five in the ICU. Each step felt heavier than the last. Anxiety hollowed me out, numbing even the faint comfort of the jacket. How bad was her condition?

Would she pull through this? That was the painful question I didn't want to think about.

I risked a glance at Dominic, my heart twisting painfully. He was coming with me.

If he saw Anna, would something about her call out to him? My head swarm with questions and fears, making me lightheaded.

“I’ll wait for you here,” he said curtly.

Relief slipped out of me in a shaky breath and his green eyes flicked to mine at the sound, cool and cutting.

Before I could apologize, he was already striding toward the vending machines, leaving me with my words.

Good one, Lily, I bitterly thought, hurrying into the ward.

I spotted my mother’s small form curled in a chair, beside Anna’s unconscious but still-breathing body. I finally let out the breath I was holding. She was alive.

My mother slept on, oblivious to my presence. Her medications made her drowsy most times. I swallowed the lump of guilt in my throat. She must have taken them, not knowing Anna would collapse again.

I let her sleep, blinking back tears and moved quietly towards the nurse adjusting the drip.

“I’m Miss Baker,” I whispered. “Anna’s mother.”

The nurse guided me to the doctor, a kind-looking man in his forties. The moment his gaze softened, my body tensed. I knew that look.

“I'm very sorry to tell you this,” he began, his hand resting gently on my rigid shoulder.

My pulse hammered. Spit it out! I nearly screamed. What was it?

“As you know, Anna's left kidney failed last year and we've been doing all we can to help the other one but it seems the right kidney has also failed too."

The words felt like a blow to the stomach. I'd steeled myself for nothing.

The room tilted, the floor sliding out beneath me. My fingers gripped the wall tightly as the blood drained from my body. The doctor caught me before I could crumple.

“I..I’m fine,” I forced out, swallowing down the scream of anguish in my chest. I had to be fine. For Anna. For my mother.

He kept his voice gentle, “We’re doing all we can to keep her stable but a transplant is urgently needed," he patted my arm, " Please don’t lose hope.”

Don’t lose hope. The words meant nothing. My little girl was dying.

I left a message with the nurse for my mom so she wouldn’t wake up in panic. Then, trembling, I kissed Anna’s cool, pale cheek and left before my last thread of control snapped.

“Thank you for waiting,” I murmured, barely glancing at Dominic. My grip on my tears was admirable, my voice steadier than I felt.

He only nodded, uncrossing his long legs and rising to his feet. His solid, warm presence nearly had me breaking down.

I sat rigid in the car on the car home, bracing myself for interrogation. Surely he would ask who Anna’s father was? Why hadn’t I told him? Why had my “parents” kept the secret? I was ready to tell him the truth. But he never asked.

When he parked and walked inside without a word, leaving me sitting there stunned, his silence was worse than an outburst.

Slowly, I followed him into the kitchen.

The maid slipped a warm mug of tea with lemon into my hands before retreating. The air was thick, the silence sharp, waiting to be broken.

I tightened my grip on the mug.

“I’m sorry I embarrassed you today,” I said quietly, staring into the tea. “I know how much it meant to you. I’ll apologize to Theresa, too.”

He said nothing.

My chest constricted.

"Thank you for the ride to the hospital. I know you didn't have to but—"

“Look at me when you're talking,” he cut in, his voice hard.

The command dragged my eyes to his. His gaze was the same as on our wedding day. Flat, detached, untouched.

Confusion twisted inside me. If he was this cold, why drive me to the hospital? Why give me his jacket? Why wait? None of it made sense.

He rolled up his sleeves with calm precision. “Let me make something clear, Maddy Croft. If you read the contract properly, you would remember the clause about me carrying out my husbandly duties in public. Does that ring a bell?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Good.” He straightened, tone still flat. His eyes were green pebbles. “What happened today must never repeat itself. Understood?”

The words withered everything inside me. My throat burned, the truth dying on my tongue.

Dominic Sinclair didn’t care.

The earlier I realized that, the better.

I smiled bitterly, turning to leave.

"Understood.”