Chapter 63 The Black Mark

Chapter 63 The Black Mark
A professor who had just finished teaching his class was gathering the materials from his desk when the commotion outside caught his attention and he paused with a book still in his hand and looked toward the disturbance, his expression tightening with concern.

It wasn't unusual for students to argue from time to time, but the intensity of this particular confrontation made it impossible for him to simply ignore what was happening.

Sophie noticed him almost immediately and the moment she realized that a professor was approaching, something shifted in her eyes.

She knew that having a member of the faculty intervene could work in her favor, especially if she could convince him that she was the victim rather than one of the people responsible for the confrontation.

Her posture changed, and she quickly put on an aggrieved expression, making herself appear far more helpless than she actually was. “Help me, Professor!” she wailed.

Her voice was filled with exaggerated distress as she looked toward him as if she had been desperately waiting for someone to rescue her.

“They’re bullying me!”

The professor looked toward her, clearly taken aback by the situation and his attention moved between the students involved, trying to make sense of the confrontation and understand what had happened before he arrived.

At the same time, Dominic was in the middle of a meeting in his study when Mr. Lawrence entered.

Mr. Lawrence rarely interrupted him during a meeting unless something required his immediate attention, so the moment Dominic saw the seriousness written across his face, his attention sharpened.

Whatever the news was, it was urgent. Dominic didn't waste time asking Mr. Lawrence to wait. “That’s all for now.”

The people seated around the table immediately understood that the meeting was over and no one questioned the abrupt dismissal.

They gathered their documents and belongings before filing out of the room, and within moments, the study had fallen completely silent.

The heavy door closed behind the last person, leaving only Dominic and Mr. Lawrence inside.

Dominic turned his full attention toward him.

“What happened?” he demanded.

There was a cold edge to his voice, but Mr. Lawrence could tell that Dominic was not a man who reacted impulsively to most things.

Mr. Lawrence hesitated for only a second before delivering the news. “The young mistress got into a fight at school.”

Dominic froze but his first concern wasn't the fight itself, It was Liora. “Is she hurt?”

Mr. Lawrence quickly shook his head. “No.”

Mr. Lawrence swallowed before continuing. “She… she started it, I think.”

Dominic's eyes narrowed. “A professor stopped them and brought them to his office,” Mr. Lawrence explained carefully.

Dominic remained silent. Mr. Lawrence paused before giving him the part that mattered most.

“It’ll be a black mark on her student record, and they might refuse to award her a scholarship.”

Dominic's expression darkened because he knew the scholarship mattered to Liora.

Liora had always taken her education seriously and she worked hard for everything she had, and unlike people who had grown up surrounded by wealth and privilege, she didn't have the luxury of assuming that opportunities would simply be handed to her.

She valued what she earned because she knew exactly how easily those opportunities could disappear.

Dominic understood that and that was why the possibility of a school fight damaging her student record irritated him so much.

His jaw tightened and he didn't like the idea of Liora suffering consequences for something that might have been completely avoidable.

More than that, he hated knowing that she might be worried about losing her scholarship when she was already carrying enough concerns on her shoulders.

His patience disappeared and without saying another word, Dominic turned and stormed out of the study.

Mr. Lawrence was caught off guard for a moment before immediately hurrying after him. “Your wheelchair, Young Master!”

Mr. Lawrence quickly followed, knowing exactly what was happening but also knowing there was one very important problem that Dominic seemed to have forgotten in his concern.

“Your wheelchair, Young Master!” he called again.

Dominic finally slowed and Mr. Lawrence hurried after him then reminded him of the reality they couldn't afford to overlook.

“I know you’re worried about the young mistress, but don’t forget you’re still pretending to be disabled.”

That finally made Dominic pause and for more than a decade, he had lived behind the identity of a cripple.

It wasn't a temporary disguise he had adopted on a whim. It had become an elaborate part of his life, one he had maintained for years with discipline.

He had perfected the act to the point where it had become almost second nature.

The wheelchair was simply another part of that carefully constructed identity.

Normally, Dominic hardly thought about it but now, with Liora possibly facing trouble at school, the wheelchair felt completely different.

At this moment, it was nothing more than an obstacle standing between him and his wife.

Dominic's eyes darkened as his thoughts returned to Liora and all he could picture was her.

He didn't know exactly what had happened yet or she had gotten into the fight and what had pushed her far enough to become involved in one.

For the first time in a long while, Dominic hated it, the limitations the wheelchair forced him to maintain.

He hated having to remember that he was supposed to be weak when every instinct inside him was demanding that he move faster.

Most of all, he hated the fact that when it came to Liora, he had to keep pretending and the moment Mr. Lawrence reminded him of the role he had spent more than a decade perfecting, Dominic knew he had no choice.

He had to put the mask back on because he had to remain the man everyone believed him to be but none of that changed what was happening inside him.

Liora was in trouble, and he had never been good at standing back when the woman he loved was the one being affected.