Chapter 5 - The Private Doctor
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I tried to pull my leg away, suddenly hyper-aware of the dirt on my uniform and the overwhelming presence of the man kneeling before me.
"Please, sir," I whispered, my cheeks burning with shame. "I can just go back to the servant's quarters. I have some ice in the kitchen."
"Do not move," Luca ordered, though his tone was unexpectedly gentle.
He reached out, his large, warm hand gripping my ankle with a surprising tenderness. He examined the dark purple bruising spreading across my thigh, his jaw tightening with a suppressed rage that terrified me. He didn't say another word. He pulled his cell phone from his tailored jacket and dialed a number.
"Dr. Rossi," Luca said into the phone. "Bring your medical bag to the main estate. Now."
He hung up and looked at me. "Can you stand?"
"I think so," I lied.
I braced my hands against the marble floor and tried to push myself up. The moment my left foot bore weight, a blinding pain shot through my hip. My knee buckled. I braced for the hard impact of the floor, but it never came.
Strong arms caught me around the waist.
Before I could protest, Luca lifted me effortlessly off the ground, cradling me against his chest like I weighed absolutely nothing. The scent of expensive cologne and danger wrapped around me.
"Sir, you don't have to—"
"Quiet," he commanded softly, carrying me past the grand staircase and down the long, opulent corridor.
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He didn't take me to the servant’s wing. He carried me into a massive, sunlit guest room reserved for the elite, gently laying me down on a king-sized bed covered in silk sheets.
"The doctor will be here in ten minutes," Luca said, pulling a heavy blanket over me. "You are safe now."
