Chapter 52 Secret
Chapter 52 Secret
“Arrange rehabilitation treatment for me as soon as possible,” Dominic said calmly.
“No one can know about it.”
His voice was low but firm, carrying the quiet authority that always surfaced when he spoke about serious matters.
Dr. Rachel stood across from him in the study, arms loosely folded, her expression attentive but relaxed. The study doors were closed, sealing them away from the rest of the house. The heavy curtains muted the afternoon light, casting the room in a dim, controlled stillness.
“And someone will definitely keep an eye on whatever medicine you prescribe,” he continued. “So be careful.”
There was no hesitation in his tone and this was not a request but a directive. Rachel held his gaze for a moment, then smiled faintly. “Of course.”
She understood perfectly, after all, she knew something no one else in this house did.
Just like Dominic, she was fully aware that he had already recovered long ago.
The so called illness, the years in a wheelchair, the fragile image the world believe, it was all a carefully constructed illusion and she had been part of maintaining it.
From doctor to accomplice.
From accomplice to something more complicated. “I just didn’t expect you to get married and settle down,” she added lightly.
Her tone was teasing, but beneath it lay something unspoken. She had been helping him hide the truth for years through secrecy and shared risk, their relationship had naturally evolved into something uniquely close not romantic at least not openly but layered with familiarity that no one else could replicate.
They were bound by secrets and secrets always created intimacy.
Dominic didn’t respond immediately.but when Liora’s name surfaced in his mind, something subtle shifted in his expression. The corner of his lips lifted almost imperceptibly.
“Liora is my lawfully wedded wife,” he said.
The words were simple, yet deliberate.
“Where else would she be, if not by my side?”
Rachel froze for the briefest second, she had only meant to tease him. She hadn’t expected that answer not from a man who once treated relationships like strategic alliances.
For a fleeting moment, the smile on her face stiffened but she quickly recovered.
“Well then,” she said smoothly, regaining her composure. “I have three rehabilitation approaches that could work for your legs.”
She spoke in a professional tone now, as if slipping back into the safety of her role as a doctor.
Dominic leaned back slightly in his wheelchair, his expression unreadable. “The faster, the better,” he replied flatly.
There was impatience beneath the calm.
Rachel tilted her head, studying him carefully. “Why the urgency?” she asked quietly. “Has your plan already been finalized?”
She knew why he had returned.
Originally, Dominic Blackwood had come back for one reason only to uncover who had framed him in the car accident years ago and to expose them then reclaim what was his and when the time was right, to stand up from the wheelchair and shock the entire Blackwood family.
That had always been the plan and calculate but now there was a variable that hadn’t existed before. Liora Hale.
Dominic’s eyes darkened slightly and he didn’t answer her directly. Instead, his voice turned colder. “Don’t forget,” he said evenly, “your responsibility is to treat my illness.”
Rachel stared at him for a second longer, then chuckled softly, as if amused by his refusal to elaborate. “I know that,” she said. “Just don’t forget what you promised me, either.”
There was a quiet weight in her words.
Something unfinished lingered between them, but neither of them spoke it aloud.
Dominic didn’t hesitate, “I wouldn’t have asked you to come back if I thought I couldn’t help you.”
His tone was absolute and whatever promise existed between them, he had every intention of fulfilling it.
With that, he turned his wheelchair toward the door and pushed it open, the conversation was over.
Rachel followed him out of the study, heels tapping softly against the polished floor as they moved down the corridor.
When they reached the staircase landing, Dominic maneuvered the wheelchair toward the lift platform installed beside the stairs. He handled it with practiced ease, his movements smooth despite the façade he maintained.
Rachel watched him in silence even after all these years, it still amazed her how convincingly he played the role of a cripple. If she didn’t know the truth, she might have believed it herself.
When they reached the ground floor, Dominic didn’t head toward the living room.
Instead, he turned toward the kitchen.
Rachel frowned slightly and quickened her pace, stepping closer to him.
“The kitchen is full of grease and smoke,” she said instinctively. “You shouldn’t go in there.”
It wasn’t entirely about hygiene, It was about status.
In her eyes, Dominic Blackwood had always been untouchable an aristocratic figure placed high above ordinary life. The idea of him lingering in a kitchen felt jarringly out of place but Dominic didn’t even slow down.
“I’ve been preparing meals with my wife all this while,” he replied casually. Rachel stopped walking for a fraction of a second and shock flashed across her face before she could stop it.
This man, this untouchable, calculating, almost regal man was helping someone wash vegetables? Standing beside a stove? Sharing something as mundane as cooking?
It was almost absurd and yet, the calm certainty in his voice left no room for doubt.
Her lips curved slowly that Liora Hale is more capable than she looks, she thought.
Anyone who could pull Dominic down from his ivory tower and into something as ordinary as domestic life was far from simple.
By the time Rachel composed herself, Dominic had already reached the kitchen doorway.
Through the open space, she caught sight of Liora inside.
The sunlight filtering through the window illuminated her figure. She stood near the counter, sleeves slightly rolled, hair loosely tied back, completely absorbed in what she was doing. There was a quiet warmth to the scene something soft and grounded that didn’t belong in the cold grandeur of the Blackwood estate.
For a brief moment, Rachel simply watched.
Then she stepped forward, a polite smile settling back onto her lips like a mask being carefully reapplied.
“Well then,” she said gently as she entered, her tone friendly and composed.
“Let me help too, Mrs Blackwood.”
Her voice was warm but deep in her eyes, something unreadable flickered gone as quickly as it appeared.