CHAPTER 02 “An Unexpected Encounter”

Elena.

I'm looking at my phone as I walk hurriedly. I need to get home quickly. Since my car was at the repair shop, I'll have to call an Uber, damn it. I don't like riding Uber alone, I don't feel safe enough. I always feel the drivers staring at me through the rearview mirror, undressing me with their eyes. Disgusting perverts.

I've never had true love. Well, I've dated a few guys, but it never went beyond kisses. I didn't feel ready for more. I didn't feel like they were worthy of taking advantage of me, you know? Maybe I was too demanding, but that's just how I am.

I was at the peak of my twenty-three years and already a doctor. I worked in general practice, but I preferred cardiology. I had always been a diligent student, and when it came to my goals, nothing made me give up until I achieved them. I was an orphan and grew up in a foster home. I lost my parents, or never knew them, it doesn't really matter. I was raised by my adoptive aunt, who rescued me from there when I was already old enough to understand things.

The orphanage was a terrible place... they treated us like trash. One of my goals was to have a lot of money and establish or refurbish an orphanage so that some children could have a better quality of life and feel truly loved and cared for, not just like commodities waiting for someone to take pity on them and adopt them. That's how I felt. And if you weren't adopted by the time you turned eighteen, it was the end for you. They kicked you out without looking back, without resources, without support. Most of the girls who left at eighteen ended up in prostitution, and I don't blame them, it was all they had. Fortunately, I had privileges.

I had privileges, I always did. For some reason, after I left that damn orphanage, I was raised in good conditions. I even had my own clinic. All thanks to my effort and a bit of financial help, let's be honest.

I receive a call from my colleague Marcos. He unexpectedly entered my life out of nowhere. He wants to know what I'm doing tonight, I say I'm not doing anything and hang up.

Marcos is a nice person, but sometimes I feel like he overdoes it, as if he wants something more than friendship. But I only see him as a friend.

I'm distracted when I see a car parked on a dead-end street. From a distance, I can see a man lying inside the car. It seems like no one has noticed him. The car is unlocked; it looks like he didn't have much time and just stopped there. I check his pulse and his condition.

He's alive but severely injured. I decide to get in the car and take him to my clinic. I need to help him, I can't let him die here. He has been shot, but none of the bullets seem to have hit vital organs from my quick assessment. I urgently need to remove these bullets.

Elena, your kindness will cost you, I think aloud.

I need to hide. I'm with a wounded man, I don't know where he came from or who he is. I look around the car to find something, and I discover his cellphone with some messages on the home screen, but I can't unlock it. I only find out that his name is Damon... such a beautiful and unique name.

Even unconscious, he is very handsome. His black hair, slightly messy and straight, and his black clothes. I don't know who he is, but somehow my heart beats faster.

His dark, straight

hair is stuck to his face. His arms are strong and muscular; I have to roll up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal the wound on his arm. His large hands make me uncomfortable just looking at them.

I place him in the seat and quickly drive to the clinic.

It's raining heavily. I arrive and go straight to my office, locking the door. I lay him down on the examination table and prepare the necessary steps to remove the bullets. I administer sedatives since he's unconscious, but I have to follow protocol. There are approximately two bullets in him, one in his right arm and another in his left forearm. It must have hurt a lot. I'm helping him out of kindness, but I wonder who he is, if he's a dangerous criminal or something. But my instinct to help was stronger. That's just who I am.

He doesn't seem like an ordinary person, judging by his luxury car and clothes. It's a Ferrari F40. This man must be a millionaire or at least appears to be.

I finish doing what I need to do; he's stabilizing. I stay a bit longer, checking on him. And then he wakes up. His blue eyes are piercing, completely disarming. He is incredibly handsome, even more than I imagined. I've never seen such an attractive man.

"Who are you? Where am I?" he asks, looking into my eyes. His voice is even more captivating than his gaze.

"My name is Elena. You were in your car with the door open in the middle of the road. I went out and rescued you. You were severely injured, and I saved you. I've already removed the bullets. You should at least thank me," I state.