Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 80: Chapter 80

Lena’s POV

Dominic’s face darkened fast. Lena took a small sip of beer, then looked straight at him, steady and stubborn. "I want to find my lover a real home, Dominic."

He got it. He knew exactly what she was doing. She was trying to push his buttons, trying to make him snap.

And yeah, it worked.

"Good luck with that." He let out a cold little laugh.

Lena frowned. She understood what that meant.

He wasn’t letting go.

She finished the last skewer, drained the rest of her beer, and got to her feet. "Pay the bill."

Dominic didn’t move.

"If you won’t cancel the agreement, then you’re my partner. And partners pay." She stepped around the bench, pointed right at Dominic, and called to the owner, "He’s paying."

The shop owner came over with a grin. "Twenty-three fifty in total."

Lena walked off quickly without even looking back. Dominic had no choice but to pay before standing up and following her.

His legs were longer, so he caught up in seconds. But right then, Lena’s body suddenly lurched to one side without warning.

Dominic’s hand shot out and grabbed her arm, steadying her at once.

"Ow—" she hissed through clenched teeth, lifting her right foot. She’d stepped on something, maybe a peach pit, maybe a walnut shell, and her ankle twisted hard.

Seriously, what awful luck.

She tried to keep walking, but the pain in her ankle was brutal. She could only limp forward on tiptoe, and the sharp sting made tears rush to her eyes almost instantly.

Dominic looked at the wetness caught on her lashes and said in a low voice, "You brought this on yourself."

That one sentence completely broke her.

A tear slipped down her cheek.

Dominic stepped in front of her, bent his knees, and said in a flat, emotionless voice, "Get on."

Lena bit her lip and didn’t move.

He turned back, clearly running out of patience, and shot her a look. "Are you getting on or not?"

I braced a hand on his shoulder and pushed myself up. He caught my weight right away, his arms hooking under my thighs before he straightened with me on his back.

The way home wasn’t exactly far, but it wasn’t close either. We could’ve easily grabbed a cab. But clearly, that thought never even crossed his mind. He just carried me, step by step, steady and silent.

I didn’t say anything.

Neither did he.

Walking down the street like this wasn’t unusual. Couples did it all the time, especially the young ones, the all-lovey-dovey, head-over-heels kind.

We weren’t that kind of couple.

There was no love between us.

“How much was the ring?” His deep voice cut through the silence without warning.

I wiped at my eyes with the back of my hand, my voice still thick and shaky. “Why?”

He sounded annoyed. “Looks cheap.”

I seriously wanted to strangle him. Like, who says that? Was he so out of things to pick at that he had to come for my ring?

My ankle was throbbing too badly for me to waste energy arguing. I rested my chin on his shoulder and kept my mouth shut.

When we reached the elevator, he finally set me down. I leaned against the wall, and the second the doors opened, I limped inside. Dominic hit the close button, his face blank and unreadable.

Neither of us looked at the other, like we were total strangers.

When the elevator stopped on our floor, the doors slid open. I grabbed the frame and hopped out.

Dominic frowned, reached out, and caught my arm. I shook him off.

“You twisted your own ankle. Why are you mad at me?” He sounded seriously impatient.

“Exactly. So stop bothering me.”

“You didn’t complain when I was carrying you.”

I stopped at the door, took a deep breath, then turned to face him. “I never asked you to carry me.”

He looked so irritated he almost laughed.

I hopped into the apartment. Dominic came in behind me and watched as I made my awkward way to the couch, dropped down, and rolled up my pant leg to check my ankle. It was swollen, red, and hurt like crazy.

I gritted my teeth and pulled out my phone, googling what to do for a sprained ankle.

Dominic walked to the fridge, wrapped some ice in a towel, then came back and crouched in front of me. He pressed the cold pack gently against my ankle.

The chill cut straight through the burning ache, and the pain eased almost instantly.

My thumb stopped moving on the screen. I lowered my eyes and looked at him. His lashes were stupidly long, the kind most women would kill for. His nose was sharp and straight, and his lips were thin but perfectly shaped.

Even the hand holding the ice pack looked unfairly elegant, long fingers, clean joints, every line sharp and neat.

Seriously, the guy was insanely handsome.

"Dominic."

He didn’t look up. His fingers shifted slightly over the towel.

"Am I allowed to like you?"

His hand tightened around the ice for a second, and his lashes gave a tiny tremble. "Hold it yourself."

I bent forward and reached for the ice pack. My fingers brushed his, cold against cold.

He stood up. I tipped my head back to look at him. "You still didn’t answer me."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Yes or no?"

"That’s your business."

"But the person I like is you. So obviously this involves you." She held his gaze without blinking. "If you think I shouldn’t, I’ll stop."

He looked down at her and said nothing. Then he turned and walked out the front door.

The door clicked shut.

Lena pressed her lips together. "So boring."

Fifteen minutes later, the door opened again. Dominic walked in carrying a small bag.

He took out a bottle of ointment, twisted the cap open, poured some into his palm, then crouched down and said, "Move the ice."

I lifted the towel.

Dominic set his hand on my swollen ankle and started rubbing it gently, slow and steady, just the right amount of pressure.

It didn’t hurt at all. If anything, it felt... pretty nice. The warmth of his palm seeped through the ointment and eased the throbbing little by little.

I bit my lip and watched him.

He really wasn’t scary.

If Eliza didn’t exist, then living like this with him... honestly, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

"Dominic."

He frowned without looking up. "What now?"

"I think... sometimes, I like you."

Silence.

"Ow—" I sucked in a breath and bared my teeth. "That hurts."

"Then shut up." His voice was blunt, almost harsh, but his hands stayed careful and ridiculously gentle.

I waved a fist over his head like I was going to smack him, but didn’t. He kept working, patient and focused, spreading the ointment over my ankle with maddening care. The sharp medicinal smell drifted through the whole room.

"Dominic."

He straight-up ignored me.

"Right now, I kind of like you."

I meant it.

Watching him kneel on my floor like that, fully locked in on treating my swollen ankle, careful as if he were defusing a bomb, made something in my chest turn soft and warm.

For the first time, Lena finally got why women could be so easily moved by small things like this.

He looked up.

Their eyes met.

She watched him swallow, the movement in his throat small but obvious.

"And then?" he asked, voice low. "What do you want?"

"I’m telling you how I feel." I leaned closer, my pulse going a little wild. "What do you think I want?"

She bent down and kissed him.

Her heartbeat instantly went off the charts. She pulled back a second later, cheeks burning so hard they felt on fire.

Then she saw it—his ears were slowly turning red.

She swallowed with difficulty, bit down on her lower lip, and braced herself for his anger.

His lips pressed into a thin line, jaw tight, eyes fixed on Lena’s ankle slick with ointment.

He didn’t say a word. Neither did she.

Dominic kept rubbing it in, way longer than necessary, working the medicine over her skin with slow, steady movements until it was spread evenly. Then he finally stood. "Done."

Lena cleared her throat, pulled her foot back, and kept her eyes off him. "Thanks."

He headed to the bathroom.

She let out a long breath and covered her burning face with both hands. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire.

He hadn’t yelled at her. Hadn’t shoved her away. Hadn’t called her shameless. Hadn’t told her to stop.

That was honestly a first. And yeah, kind of terrifying.

When Dominic came back out, he didn’t even glance at her. He went straight to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, and drank half of it in one go.

"I want some too," she said softly.

He looked at her, then poured her a glass of warm water.

"I want cold."

Without arguing, he turned back, took out a cold bottle, and handed it to her. Lena drank a few sips, and only then did her heartbeat finally chill out.

Silence dropped over them again.

Heavy. Stuffy. The kind that made the whole room feel smaller.

Then his phone rang, slicing right through it.

Lena pressed her lips together and fidgeted uneasily with the bottle in her hand.

Dominic glanced at the screen and answered.

"Dominic, someone’s making trouble in my shop—" Eliza’s voice came through, panicked.

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