17 An emergency

A room for redemption?

Dominic had to stop himself from laughing at the funniest joke he had ever heard. Not that it deserved mockery or ridicule, but shrugging it off was better than hoping she meant those words. Heaven had no idea what those words mean, and how destructive they could be if the receiver was someone else. For example, their son.

A moment of silence descended into the room as neither of them spoke for a while. Heaven kept her eyes on her lap while Dominic was studying her meek appearance.

"Are you sure?" he pinched the bridge of his nose and sounded annoyed at the sudden request.

"Yes," Heaven asserted and then raised her head. "That's all."

"Fine," he said with a huff. His sour expression told her he disapproved of the revision but didn't reject her request. "Sign the papers. My lawyers can just revise those later."

'Wait, what?' she thought in surprise. 'I thought they would have to redo these clauses before I sign them!'

"Hmm?"

Heaven cleared her throat, snapping back to reality. "Alright then." She picked up the fountain pen from the table, slowing down her movements as she pretended to read the paper once more. This time, the papers were already on the table.

"Bla bla bla… this here… and here… where do I sign?" she murmured, playing dumb as she stalled some more time. This was probably the last time she would see this man. It was best to familiarize herself with his presence, personality, and habits in case the knowledge would come in handy in the future.

While Heaven was reading under her breath like a buzzing bee, Dominic felt his phone vibrate against his chest. He shoved his hand inside his pocket suit, partially taking his phone out just to peek at its screen. Much to his surprise, the name on the screen was someone whose call he could never ignore.

Dominic glanced at Heaven. "I'll have to take this call. Excuse me —"

"Stay here," Heaven said in an authoritative tone. She then waved dismissively just when he was about to stand, keeping her eyes on the divorce papers. "I don't mind you taking calls. If it's not that important or confidential, just stay where I can see you."

Deep lines appeared on his forehead. Heaven had never used those words or that tone on him. Even the way she talked sounded unfamiliar. However, Dominic had no time to deal with all the changes that he noticed in Heaven. He sat down once again, casually tapping the answer button before placing the phone on his ear.

"Grandma." Just as Dominic addressed the person he was expecting from the other end of the line, his expression slowly turned hard.

There was a sudden shift of mood in the room. Heaven glanced in Dominic's direction. She frowned as soon as her eyes landed on the terror that was dominating Dominic's face.

"What did you say?"

The moment the last word left his mouth, Dominic sprung up from his seat in a hurry. He didn't even look at her, almost dashing to get to the door. Much to his surprise, just before he could reach the knob, a slender hand suddenly grabbed his arm to stop him.

"You look so pale," Heaven pointed out as soon as he looked back at her. "What's going on? What happened to Grandma?"

********

Heaven insisted on coming with Dominic even when he told her to let go. He didn't have time to explain, nor did he have the spare energy to argue with her. So in the end, he let her tag along to the Zhu family's old residence.

"How was she?" Dominic asked the doctor as soon as he exited the master's bedroom.

The old doctor offered a smile to the worried Dominic and said, "Do not worry, young master. The Old Madam is alright. She probably got too worked up, so she fainted, but rest is all she needed."

"I see," Dominic said. Relief flooded his voice as he felt like a thorn was plucked out of his throat. He pressed his temple slightly as a habit whenever he was under stress.

"Young master, the Old Madam is still strong and healthy. Do not worry. She will be fine." the doctor tapped Dominic's shoulder, squeezing it mildly as if to remind the young master to relax and breathe. "I've already left a note to Butler Fu. I'll be on my way."

"Thank you, Doctor." Dominic politely lowered his head while the doctor excused himself. The doctor noticed Heaven. He, too, bowed in her direction before he went his way.

Heaven stayed on the side, keeping a good distance from Dominic. She watched everything unfold, studying what sort of man Dominic was behind the man he presented himself to her.

Dominic was like a lion at first glance, as she had observed. He was quiet most of the time, but his presence was hard to ignore. Surprisingly, despite his cold and seemingly aloof appearance, his personality was quite different from what others would expect from him.

He wasn't as cold as his face, nor was he arrogant. In fact, he was considerate and polite. He gave respect when respect was due and expressed gratitude when necessary.

'He was more human than what he appeared to be,' she thought, pressing her lips into a thin line when he suddenly glanced in her direction.

"Young master," a voice rang out. Just as the silence was about to settle in between them, an old man came from the master bedroom. Heaven and Dominic naturally shifted their attention to him.

"Butler Fu, how's grandma?" Dominic asked, his voice full of worry.

"The Old Madam is requesting to see you, young master." Butler Fu smiled at Dominic and then looked in Heaven's direction. "She's also requesting to see the young madam."

'Me?' Heaven asked in surprise, then pointed at herself, and Butler Fu nodded. 'Why?'

Heaven glanced at Dominic to see his reaction. There was a trace of displeasure in his eyes, but she was certain this unpleasant look didn't originate from the Old Madam's request. It was more like Dominic seemed to have guessed the reason the Old Madam, his grandmother, called for them.

"Please. The Old Madam is waiting." Butler Fu's gentle voice brought Dominic and Heaven back to reality. The two cast him an odd look while he maintained his kind smile.