Glass Hearts [BL]
Chapter 61: Three Million Reasons

Chapter 61: Three Million Reasons

"Where’s Dominic?" Alia demanded the moment I stepped onto the playground. She peered around me like she expected him to pop out from behind a bush with a bouquet of balloons.

I jesu stayed. "He’s...not coming today."

"Awww." She groaned and poured dramatically. "Nooo. I miss him too. He said my unicorn drawing was better than his," she scoffed.

I blinked, trying not to smile. "Of course he did."

"It’s true." She shrugged, as if this was a universally accepted fact.

The taxi ride was mostly silent. Alia pressed her cheek to the window, tracing shapes on the fogged glass with her fingertip, her other hand laced into mine.

But the closer we got to the hospital, the tighter my chest pulled. As if invisible fingers were clawing at my lungs.

If we don’t perform the surgery soon, the damage may become irreversible.

I forced my breathing steady and guided Alia into the inpatient facility. The fluorescent lights above us hummed. I counted each floor tick by in dread.

When we stepped into Mom’s hospital room, the scent of antiseptic wrapped around me. Machines beeped steadily.

Mom lay still as ever, pale against the sheets. Each shallow rise and fall of her chest was the only proof she was still with us.

I pulled a small towel from my bag, dipped it into the basin of warm water, and began wiping her face slowly. Her skin felt so fragile under my hand.

I kept wiping, though, like if I cleaned her enough, I could scrub away the sickness holding her hostage.... maybe she’d open her eyes.

"Ash, look!" Alia called from across the room. Her giggle broke through my fog.

I turned.

Mrs. Jennings, the kind old woman in the next bed, was smiling as she set a small plate of pudding on Alia’s rolling table. Her grandson Henry, had sprawled on the floor beside Alia, scribbling tic-tac-toe grids on tissues. Crayons rolled everywhere.

But then....

Tap, tap, tap.

A gentle knock made me jerk upright.

A nurse pushed the door open, clutching a clipboard. "Mr. Rivera?"

My heart lurched into my throat. Oh God. Please don’t be bad news again.

"Yes?" My voice cracked

"The doctor would like to speak with you in his office."

My stomach twisted. "Okay," I whispered, glancing at Alia. She was too busy licking pudding off her spoon to notice the panic tightening my shoulders

I walked down the corridor on stiff legs. Every step felt like wading through glue. The walls felt too bright. Too clean.

When I reached the office, Dr. Sean looked up, smiling. He gestured to the chair across from him.

"Mr. Rivera. Please... come in."

I lowered myself into the chair slowly, bracing for another blow. "Is something...wrong?"

Dr. Sean shook his head and actually chuckled. "Quite the opposite, actually." He folded his hands on his desk. "So...what’s the plan?"

"Plan?" I repeated, blinking. "Sir, I haven’t even made a payment yet. I’m still trying to figure out—"

He cut me off gently, turning the monitor towards me so I could see.

"Well, it says here that half the surgical fees were deposited this morning."

I felt like the floor gave out under me.

"Wh...what?"

"Three million," he said gently.

I leaned forward, trying to make sense of the numbers.. The balance.

"This...this has to be a mistake."

A nurse stepped closer. "Someone made the payment on your behalf. Anonymously."

My voice came out hoarse. "Please, can you...can you describe who it was?"

She hesitated. "Not much to tell. He wore a face cap. Kept his head down. But..." She paused. "I think remember his eyes."

"His...eyes?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Bright blue. Kind of hard to forget. And dark hair."

I went still.

Heat flooded my face. My pulse roared in my ears.

Dominic.

Of course it was him.

He didn’t even tell me. He just...did it. Quietly.

Tears burned hot in my eyes.

My hands trembled in my lap. Today was too much. Too big. It felt like my chest was splitting open.

I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve that kind of love... but I felt it burn through my chest."

I stumbled out of the office, trying to steady my hands enough to text him:

Me: OMG! Dominic

No reply.

My chest pinched tighter.

I scrolled to his contact and hit the call button.

Once. No answer.

Twice. Still no answer.

The third time, he finally picked up.

"Hey," Dominic’s voice rasped. He sounded like he’d been asleep... or crying.

"Are you mad at me? You haven’t been answering my texts." My voice cracked. "I was worried...."

He sneezed, his voice sounded muffled. "I...don’t really feel too good right now," he admitted hoarsely. "Think I’ve got a fever."

"Dominic...."

He cleared his throat, sniffing. "Diane said she’s coming home today...but I haven’t heard from her yet."

"Who’s with you?" I asked, panicking.

"No one," he said. "Ian went to pick up his sisters. Ren’s at his grandma’s. And the twins..." He gave a ragged laugh. "They’re not exactly reliable."

My heart dropped. "I’m coming over."

"You don’t have to—" he started.

"I’ll be there in ten minutes," I cut in.

Before he could argue, I hung up.

I rushed back to Alia, kneeling to look her in the eyes. "Jellybean...Dominic’s really sick. I need to go check on him, okay? You’ll be good?"

She nodded solemnly. "Okay. But I’m not promising."

I pressed a kiss to her cheek, then led her to the pediatric lounge. I watched her settle among the stuffed animals, waving until she was out of sight.

As soon as I got into the cab, my knee bounced restlessly. My chest felt like it couldn’t contain my heart.

I was halfway to Dominic’s house when my phone buzzed with a new message notification. I assumed it’d be June or Marcus...

Until I saw the preview.

A photo.

And a one-time-view video message.

My blood turned to ice.

I tapped the notification, and my whole body seized up.

The photo was of me. Sitting in the very backseat of the cab. Taken from behind me, like someone was lurking just out of sight.

Then the video played.

A hooded figure filled the screen, a black mask covering the lower half of his face. His voice was distorted but calm.

I gasped, slamming my phone into my lap. My head whipped around, scanning the cab. The driver, an elderly man with silver hair humming to the radio.

"Hi, Ash. Remember me?

Nice to finally meet you.

I’m the one who ended Liam’s story.

Keep digging... and yours ends next.

I don’t want to make you scream too, cos that would be such a waste.

Stop playing with fire, if you don’t want to get burned."

The video vanished before I could replay it.

I gasped, twisting in my seat, scanning every window, every mirror. My skin prickled like it was on fire.

How did they know where I was? How long had they been watching?

And what did they mean...

Mine would be next.

My hands wouldn’t stop shaking as I clutched the phone to my chest.

For a moment, all I could hear was my own heartbeat.