An Understated Dominance - Chapter 4

“Mom, please take James to the hospital. I’ll handle this,” Dahlia said firmly.

After a brief pause, Dahlia made up her mind.

“Dahlia, you need to defend your brother! Don’t let that jerk get away with it!” Florence shouted angrily.

“Don’t worry, I know what I have to do,” Dahlia replied. She signaled two guards to take Florence and James to the hospital.

“What do you think, Lyra?” Dahlia asked, rubbing her temples as a headache started to form.

“It’s clear, isn’t it? Dustin was the one who attacked them first. The security guards saw it, so it’s true,” Lyra said confidently.

“But my mom isn’t exactly honest…” Dahlia said, knowing her family well. They were quick to anger and ruthless.

“Still, it’s wrong for him to throw the first punch!” Lyra insisted. “Even if there was a misunderstanding, why couldn’t he just talk it out? Plus, he hurt James—your brother! He didn’t think about how you’d feel when he attacked your family. That shows he’s not a good person!”

Dahlia frowned, feeling more uncertain. Lyra was right. Even if her mother and brother could be difficult, there was no reason for Dustin to physically attack them, especially not James. Maybe her decision to divorce him was the right one.

“You can’t just let this slide, Ms. Nicholson. You have to teach him a lesson!” Lyra urged.

Dahlia’s anger flared up. She pulled out her phone and called Dustin. Meanwhile, Dustin sat in his silver Bentley, scowling as he saw her name on the screen. Reluctantly, he answered.

“Dustin, I need an explanation!” Dahlia demanded.

“What explanation?” he asked.

“Did you hit my brother just now?”

“I did. But…”

“Finish,” Dahlia interrupted him.

“So it was you! I didn’t expect you to act like this! Are you trying to get back at my family just because I divorced you?”

Dustin was shocked. He didn’t expect Dahlia to be so confrontational. She didn’t even give him a chance to explain. After three years of marriage, she was treating him like a complete stranger.

“Dahlia Nicholson, is that really how you see me? You knew I hit your brother, but did you ever stop to think about why?” he asked.

“No matter what he did, you shouldn’t have hit him!” Dahlia insisted.

Dustin let out a bitter laugh. He felt disappointed in her. At that moment, it didn’t matter who was right or wrong; she clearly sided with her brother over him.

“Dustin, I’ll give you another chance. Go to the hospital right now and apologize to James, and I’ll pretend nothing happened. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise what?” Dustin shot back. “Are you going to call the police, or hire someone to take me out?”

“Dustin! Are you really going to throw away my goodwill like this?” Dahlia snapped.

“Goodwill? Is that what you call it? I did hit your brother, so do whatever you want with that.”

“You…” Dahlia started to respond, but Dustin hung up.

She felt like throwing her phone in anger. Dahlia was usually good at hiding her feelings, which had helped her get ahead in life. But right now, she was struggling to keep her cool.

“How rude of him. Ms. Nicholson, do you want me to arrange for someone to teach him a lesson?” Lyra asked.

“No need. We’re done now.” Dahlia took a deep breath to calm herself.

“But…” Lyra began to protest, but Dahlia interrupted her.

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“Enough of this. I need to focus on something more important, like the charity ball with the Harmon family,” said Natasha.

“The charity ball? Is that related to our partners?” asked her colleague.

“Yes, it is. I just heard that the Harmon family has added the Quine Group to their shortlist. If we impress them at this ball, we could become their next partners!” Natasha replied.

“That’s fantastic! I’ll start making the arrangements right away!” her colleague said excitedly.

—

After ending the call, Dustin arrived at Swinton Primary Hospital. Natasha led him into a VIP ward where an elderly man lay in bed. He looked pale, his lips were dry and cracked, and his breathing was weak—he seemed very ill. Several doctors were present, but their faces showed little hope.

“Natasha! You’re finally here. These doctors are useless!” a young woman exclaimed as she rushed towards them. She was Ruth Harmon, the second daughter of the Harmon family, and the old man in bed was her grandfather, Andrew Harmon.

“Ms. Harmon, we’ve done everything we can. There’s nothing more we can do for him,” a doctor said with a sigh.

“If you can’t help him, then let someone else take over,” Natasha replied firmly.

“Mr. Rhys will take over,” she added.

“Mr. Rhys?” the doctors exchanged confused looks. They thought Dustin looked too young to be a doctor.

“Are you serious, Natasha? This is Mr. Rhys?” Ruth asked, clearly shocked. “He looks about my age. Is he really a doctor?”

“Don’t judge a book by its cover. Mr. Anderson recommended him to me, and I trust his judgment,” Natasha explained.

To be honest, she wasn’t entirely sure about Dustin either, but if Hunter had recommended him, he must have some skills.

“Have you been conned too?” Ruth still looked unsure. “Hey, are you really a doctor?”

“I know a bit about medicine,” Dustin replied.

“Just a bit?” Ruth frowned. “We only let the best doctors into this room. Everyone here is an expert, and none of them could help with this illness. Why are you so sure you can?”

“Ruth! Mind your manners!” Natasha said, scolding her.

“He doesn’t seem trustworthy, Natasha! I’m just worried he might make Grandfather worse!” Ruth said.

“Watch your words,” Natasha warned, looking serious.

“I don’t care. I won’t believe in him unless he proves himself,” Ruth said, standing tall.

“How should I prove myself?” Dustin asked casually.

“Tell me what’s wrong with me. If you’re right, I’ll believe you!”

“Really?”

“What’s wrong? Are you scared? If you can’t do it, just leave and stop wasting our time!” Ruth scoffed.

“Show me your tongue,” Dustin said.

Ruth complied.

After a quick look, Dustin said confidently, “Your hormones are imbalanced, so you might be having irregular periods and migraines. You also show signs of food poisoning, which is affecting your digestion. You’ve been having diarrhea, haven’t you? And you have hemorrhoids…”

The more he spoke, the more tense Ruth became.