Bound To The Wrong Mafia Boss Loved By The Right Golden Boy Chapter 05
The Arena
I grabbed the railing and used every bit of self-defense Dominic ever taught me to flip myself back up.
Barely steady. But alive.
Then Mira started crying. “I’m sorry, Val! I’m so sorry! Please don’t hurt me! I’m so scared of dogs!”
The next second, a figure rushed over. “Mira!”
Before I could react, I was shoved hard.
Dominic pulled Mira into his arms, shielding her, staring at me like I was the threat.
His force sent me crashing through the railing. I hit the arena floor hard.
The hounds saw me as an opponent. They charged from all directions.
“Someone fell in! A spectator’s in the ring!”
Chaos erupted above.
My arm was torn open, a chunk of flesh ripped clean off.
I couldn’t even scream before my vision blurred and went black.
…
When I woke up, I was bandaged and lying on the yacht heading home.
Dominic was sitting by my bed. Red-veined eyes. He clearly hadn’t slept.
His throat bobbed. “I’ll marry you.”
I stared at him in disbelief. Then laughed. “You think you’re worthy?”
He paused, his tone unchanged. “Not now. But on the wedding day, I will be. This was my fault. I’ll take responsibility.”
I closed my eyes. “Out. Now.”
He obeyed. Left my medication on the nightstand.
When I finally gathered enough strength to sit up, I heard his voice from the hallway. On the phone.
“Yes. Transfer a hundred million to Mira Sinclair. I can’t protect her for a lifetime, but at least I can make sure she never worries about money.”
He saw me and hung up immediately.
His eyes went guarded. “Miss Sinclair, I said I’d marry you. If there’s a problem, take it out on me.”
I walked past him and smiled. “What if I just gave you to Mira instead?”
Something flickered in his eyes. Excitement.
But it was gone just as fast, replaced by something dull and flat. “What I said won’t change. If I’m taking responsibility, I’m seeing it through.”
His words were firm. His voice was dead.
I brushed past his shoulder and kept walking.
He followed.
“You don’t need to follow me anymore,” I said, not turning around. “You’re not my bodyguard.”
“Miss Sinclair loves to joke. You’ve been clinging to me since you were a child…”
The yacht docked. I pushed the door open.
The Ashford motorcade was waiting at the port.
“Not anymore. I won’t be clinging to you ever again.”
A tall man leaned against the hood of a black Rolls-Royce. His smile could stop your heart. “Hello there, my sweetest darling. My fiancée.”
I froze. Took a step forward without thinking.
Then a hand clamped around my wrist.
Dominic frowned at me. “That man. What did he just call you?”
I looked at him. Said nothing. Just pried his fingers off, turned, and walked toward the Ashford cars.
“Don Ashford?” I extended my hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Kieran’s lips curved. “If you insist on being that formal with me, I suppose I’ll allow it.”
Our hands met.
But the moment they did, my barely-healed body swayed. My knees buckled and I fell straight into Kieran’s arms. He caught me, steady and firm.
Almost at the same instant, another force yanked me back. Dominic pulled me against his chest, eyes locked on Kieran. “Mr. Ashford. Stay away from her.”
SLAP.
My palm hit his chest and I shoved him back. “Go.”
“Valentina?”
He forgot to call me Miss Sinclair.
I leaned into Kieran. “You have nothing to do with the Sinclairs anymore. Leave.”
“What are you talking about?” Dominic’s brows furrowed. “You’re supposed to marry me.”
I looked him dead in the eyes. “That Binding Contract I gave you. Did you ever open it?”