Crushed Affections (Dominic and Bella)

Chapter 40

Chapter 40 Without Reason

Bella stiffened, feeling the urge to cry. If only there had been a justifiable reason, she would've followed Dominic without a second thought, even if it meant never having a rightful place beside him. But there wasn't a reason-not a single one. Bella took a deep breath and smiled at him. "No, I won't."

was.

Dominic frowned and looked at her for a moment before leaving. At that moment, she was overwhelmed with the urge to chase after him, but she fought it down, her vision blurring with tears.

She didn't find the strength to go outside until his car was long gone, a profound sense of loss flooding her heart.

She couldn't wrap her head around why he would ask her to come with him. After all, he had clearly loathed her for so many years.

Why was he giving her false hope? She was too afraid to take another step forward, fearing she would fall back into the same endless pit of despair.

When she arrived at the hospital, her mind was elsewhere, the scene of Dominic asking her to leave with him replaying over and over in her head. The more she dwelled on it, the more unsettled she became.

of her eye, she noticed a figure

door nodded timidly but didn't enter. Bella

accompanied by an indescribable odor-a

a mask. As she did so, she noticed the man take two steps back, as if

size the man up. He appeared to be in his 20s. His clothes were so worn

hair was long and unkempt, and the skin that was visible was grimy, as if he hadn't showered in days. Yet,

out the most was the open wound on his barefoot, oozing pus and blood; it was probably too

sit down. "How'd you hurt your foot?" she asked with a frown. The man's eyes darted around

realized he was mentally impaired. Out of a sense of duty, she checked his

After cleaning it up and bandaging it, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, you're good to go. Go pay the bill and be careful with that foot. Make sure to keep it clean." The man sat there, his eyes glued to her, watching her surreptitiously. It didn't take long for Bella to realize that he had

for you. Now, get out of here and

Chapter 40 Without Reason

she went to the sink to wash her hands, using the disinfectant twice. The stench of the festering wound

the man had already left. A moment later, an elderly woman

people in her line of work often had an above-average obsession with