Chapter 3 - The Doctor's Verdict
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The clinic did not look like a medical facility from the outside, but inside, it was a state-of-the-art trauma center hidden behind heavy steel doors. Dr. Marchetti, a silver-haired man with kind eyes and a blood-stained apron, ushered us into an examination room without asking a single question.
Luca carried me inside and set me gently onto the examination table.
“Severe sprain, bordering on a hairline fracture,” Dr. Marchetti muttered ten minutes later, gently probing my swollen, purple ankle. “You’ve been walking on this for over a week? Miss, it’s a miracle you haven't caused permanent ligament damage.”
“I didn't have a choice,” I said defensively, wincing as he wrapped it tightly in a specialized medical brace. “I couldn't afford to take a day off. Waitresses don't get paid time off, Doctor.”
Luca stood in the corner of the room, his arms crossed over his broad chest. His tailored suit looked entirely out of place in the sterile room, but his presence dominated the space. He watched the exchange with a dark, brooding intensity that made my skin prickle.
“You will be off your feet for at least three days,” Marchetti instructed, handing me a pair of custom crutches. “Keep it elevated. I’m prescribing a heavy anti-inflammatory.”
“I can't pay for this,” I said, looking down at my hands. “I have sixty-three dollars in my purse. That’s it.”
“The bill has been handled,” Luca interrupted, stepping forward.
“I told you in the car, I don't take charity,” I snapped, the stress and humiliation finally boiling over. “I don't belong to you, Mr. Castellano. I’m just a waitress who got dragged into your mafia drama because of my deadbeat ex-boyfriend.”
Dr. Marchetti wisely stepped out of the room, leaving the two of us alone in the heavy silence.
Luca walked slowly toward the examination table. He didn't look angry. He looked at me with a strange, heavy admiration that I didn't know how to process.
“It is not charity, Ava. It is an investment,” Luca repeated his words from the SUV.
“An investment in what?” I demanded.
May you like
He stopped inches away from my knees, his dark eyes locking onto mine, stripping away every defense I had left.
“An investment in your survival,” Luca whispered, his voice incredibly soft. “Because you are the bravest woman I have ever met, and I refuse to watch the world crush you just because you are too proud to let someone hold you up.”
