The Devil Who Claimed Me

The moment they reached home, Dominic barely made it through the door before his body almost collapsed.

Lucas held him in time. "Be careful."

"What’s wrong with him?" Mila hurried over. Her eyes immediately fell on his hand. The moment she noticed the blood, she froze.

His fingers and palm were smeared with blood. More blood had soaked through the makeshift cloth Lucas had wrapped around the wound, dripping steadily onto the floor.

"Dominic..." Fear flashed across Mila’s face. "What happened to your hand? How did you get hurt?"

"It’s nothing." He tried to smile.

"Nothing?" Her voice trembled. She carefully took his wrist and examined the injury.

When she removed the blood-soaked cloth, her face went pale.

The wound was deep, and the bleeding had been heavy. His skin around the injury was swollen, already beginning to darken from the trauma.

Mila’s heart hammered. "Oh, God..."

She immediately pressed a clean piece of gauze against the wound.

Dominic’s jaw tightened. "It’s okay."

He still tried to pretend to be strong.

"No, it isn’t," she protested. Her fingers were shaking now. "You’ve lost a lot of blood."

She examined the wound more carefully, her expression becoming increasingly worried.

She swallowed. "It seems a blood vessel is damaged. That’s why the bleeding is profuse."

Tears started gathering in her eyes as she looked at the wound again.

"There could also be an infection if the wound isn’t properly cleaned and treated. You could end up with permanent damage to your hand."

Mila looked up at him. "You need to go to the hospital."

"No."

"Dominic?"

"I’m not going," he said with exhaustion, but his voice was firm.

"Only a hospital can properly examine a wound this deep. You may need imaging, proper cleaning, and professional treatment. We don’t even know whether the knife damaged a tendon or a nerve."

"I trust you. You can fix it."

"That isn’t the point," Mila sighed helplessly. "You’ve lost a frightening amount of blood. What if there is internal damage? What if you lose movement in your fingers?"

Dominic reached out with his uninjured hand and gently touched her cheek. "I’ll be fine. Trust me. I can move my fingers. Take a look."

He extended his injured hand and tried to close his fingers, but the pain made him wince.

Mila looked at him with disbelief. "Stop. You will worsen your injury."

Lucas stepped forward. "I already told him the same thing. I wanted to take him straight to the hospital, but he refused."

Mila gave Dominic a deeply worried look. "Why?"

Dominic remained silent.

Mila shook her head. "You could have damaged your hand permanently."

"You are worrying too much."

She stared at him. "A deep injury like this can damage tendons, nerves, or blood vessels. If the tendons are injured, you could lose the ability to move your fingers properly. If the nerves are damaged, you could have numbness or weakness. And worse..."

Her voice cracked. "You could lose the function of your hand."

Dominic’s expression remained calm. "Mila..."

"No." Tears dripped down her cheeks. "You are acting as though you are invincible."

"I have survived worse."

"That doesn’t mean you should keep risking your life."

Dominic’s gaze softened when he saw the fear in her eyes. "Come here."

She moved in closer.

He wrapped an arm around her. "If I go to the hospital, the doctors will report the injury," he explained slowly. "They will involve the police. And I don’t want that."

Mila squinted at him. She couldn’t understand what he had on his mind.

"I can’t alert Luke yet," Dominic continued. He looked into her eyes. "The time isn’t right."

He clasped her shoulder. "I trust you. You are the only person I want treating me."

Mila stared at him for several seconds. She knew him well enough to understand that he had already made up his mind. No amount of arguing would change it.

"You are impossible." She let out a slow breath. "Fine. I’m treating you here."

She immediately turned toward the medical cabinet.

"Lucas, bring me the emergency medical kit."

Lucas nodded and brought it over.

Mila washed her hands thoroughly before putting on gloves. Then she carefully cleaned the wound.

The moment the antiseptic touched the injured flesh, Dominic’s entire body tensed. His jaw clenched. His fingers curled against the edge of the chair.

Mila noticed. She looked at him pointedly. "It will hurt. Just bear it."

Dominic said nothing. His mouth twisted in pain, but he didn’t make a sound.

She continued cleaning the wound, removing the dried blood and carefully examining the depth of the injury. The knife had gone deep enough to require stitches.

Mila’s heart sank. But she maintained her composure. "This needs to be closed properly."

Dominic said through his clenched teeth, "Do it."

She prepared the sterile instruments. Then she began stitching the wound.

The first needle pierced his skin. Dominic’s muscles tightened. A sharp wave of pain traveled through his hand and up his arm.

His breathing became slower.

Mila watched his face carefully. "Tell me if it’s too much."

He shook his head. "Keep going."

Another stitch, then another.

Each time the needle passed through his injured flesh, pain flashed across his features. But he refused to cry out. His knuckles whitened as he gripped the edge of the chair with his other hand.

Sweat appeared along his forehead.

Mila could see how much it hurt him. Yet he endured every stitch in silence. She finally finished closing the wound.

Carefully, she applied antibiotic ointment and placed sterile gauze over it before wrapping his hand securely in a thick bandage. When she was finished, she stepped back.

"Don’t move your hand unnecessarily."

Dominic glanced at the bandage.

"Tonight, I’m not forcing you to go to the hospital." Mila’s voice remained serious. "But you need to watch for swelling, numbness, weakness, or increasing pain. If any of those happen, you are going to a hospital whether you like it or not."

Dominic gave her a faint smile. "We’ll see."

Mila frowned. "You will listen to me. No more stubbornness."

"Alright." He held up his hands in surrender. "I’ll listen to you."

Mila turned toward Lucas. "Bring some pain medication and whatever else he needs."

Lucas nodded immediately. "I’m on it."

He left the room.

The moment the door closed behind him, silence settled between them.

Mila turned back to Dominic and folded her arms across her chest. A deeply disappointed look crossed her face.

"Why did you refuse to go to the hospital?" Her voice was quieter now, but the worry in it was unmistakable. "Do you have any idea how scared I was when I saw your hand?"

Dominic looked at her silently.

Mila stepped closer. "You have no idea how severe your injury is." Her eyes glistened with tears. "And you still refused to get proper medical treatment."

Dominic reached for her hand with his uninjured one. "I told you the reason. I am this close to winning this game."

"Is this what you care about more than your health?" Mila’s voice sharpened. "Dominic, why do you keep risking yourself again and again? What will happen to me and our son if something happens to you?"

Dominic’s expression softened. He pulled her into his arms. "I am doing this to secure your future and our son’s."

He held her tightly. "Trust me, Mila. Once this is over, there will be no more dangerous games. We’ll live a peaceful life."

Mila stared at him through her tear-filled eyes. She wanted to believe him. More than anything, she wanted to.

But she had watched him put himself in danger too many times. She had seen him walk straight into situations where one wrong move could have cost him his life.

It was difficult to trust a promise from a man who seemed incapable of staying away from danger.

"Are you telling me the truth?" Her voice came out rasping with emotion.

"Yes, sweetheart." Dominic gently wiped the tears from the corner of her eye. "I am leaving the underworld. I’ll focus on business from now on. I’ll build a life with you and our son."

He paused. "But before that, I have something I must finish."

His expression turned serious. "I need to punish the people who hurt us, those who destroyed my gang and killed my brothers and my godfather."

He looked into her eyes. "Everyone is looking at me now, expecting me to deliver justice. They expect me to avenge the men who died because of those bastards. I can’t disappoint them."

Mila remained silent.

"Once it’s over, I swear I’ll hand everything over to Lucas." A faint smile touched his lips. "He’ll handle the gang. And I..."

He gently touched her cheek. His smile grew warmer. "I’ll spend the rest of my life with you and Cassian."

Mila let out a soft sigh. Some of the tension finally left her shoulders. She wanted to believe him. And perhaps, somewhere inside her heart, she did.

"Sometimes," she murmured, "I think your stubbornness is going to kill you before your enemies do."

Dominic laughed softly. "I am not as stubborn as you."

Mila immediately gave him a pointed look. "Are you teasing me?"

He shook his head quickly. "No. I don’t dare."

"Good." She narrowed her eyes playfully. "Don’t mess with me."

"I’ll never." Dominic wrapped an arm around her again. "You are my everything. I’ll cherish you forever."

Mila leaned against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. "Then obey me. Come with me to the hospital tomorrow."

He chuckled. "How can I say no to you?" He pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead. "Let me finish some work first. Then I’ll go with you. I’ll get the checkups. I’ll take whatever treatment is necessary."

Only then did the worry in her eyes finally ease. A small smile appeared on her lips.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!