27

Later at night, I rolled out of the bed provided for me—a far cry from the one I had at home. Naked, uncomfortable, and suffocating from the heat, I stumbled through the dim room, searching for anything to cover myself. It was undoubtedly Dominic’s room—his musky scent clung to everything: the bedspread, the walls, even the shirt tossed over a wooden chair near the bed.  

With a reluctant sigh, I grabbed the shirt and slipped it on, his scent enveloping me like a memory I didn’t want to revisit. I shuddered involuntarily.  

Too familiar.  

I slipped out of the room, the door creaking softly behind me. The house was quiet, the living room dim and empty save for the faint melody of a song playing in the background. Moonlight filtered in through the window, casting a faint glow over Dane, who was sprawled on the couch, his soft snores filling the room.  

Crouching down beside him, I brushed damp strands of hair from his sweat-slicked face. A small smile broke through my exhaustion as he mumbled incoherently at my touch. I kissed his forehead gently before standing, my stomach twisting in protest.  

Food. I needed something—anything.  

I shuffled to the kitchen, opening the freezer with more hope than expectation. It was as barren as I feared, save for a half-empty bottle of juice. Sighing, I grabbed it, but the creak of a floorboard behind me made me spin around with a sharp squeal.  

Dominic stood there, shirtless under the dim kitchen light, his arms crossed, watching me with an unreadable expression.  

“Jesus Christ!” I gasped, clutching the bottle like a weapon. “What the hell is wrong with you?”  

His smirk was infuriatingly calm. "I could ask you the same thing. Raiding my kitchen now, Ellie?”

I uncapped the bottle, my face twisting into a scowl. “Don’t call me that.”  

Dominic’s brows shot up, his expression mocking as he leaned against the doorframe. “Don’t call me that? Don’t call me this?” His voice shifted into a teasing, exaggerated version of mine. “So what do you answer to, huh? Not Eleanor? Not Ellie?”  

Ignoring him, I lifted the bottle to my lips and took a slow sip, my eyes locked on his the entire time. “Don’t push me, Dominic,” I warned, my tone calm but laced with irritation.  

He took a deliberate step forward, his arms crossing over his broad chest, the movement making his shoulders flex. Instinctively, I edged back, my spine brushing against the counter. I didn’t like how close he was, how his presence seemed to fill the small space between us.  

He wasn’t the boy I remembered. He was bigger now, his frame carved with muscle and strength that hadn’t been there before. His skin gleamed faintly under the dim light, the sheen of sweat accentuating the sharp lines of his pecs, the veins snaking up his forearms. His jaw, cut like stone, clenched slightly as he smirked, his piercing green eyes holding mine hostage.  

My breath hitched when my gaze betrayed me, flickering downward. His shorts hung low, dangerously low on his hips, and no matter how desperately I wanted to look away, I couldn’t stop my mind from spiraling.  

I swallowed hard as he closed the distance between us, his body towering over mine. The air felt heavier, thicker, charged with something I couldn’t define. His smirk deepened, but I couldn’t even muster the strength to glare back.  

Slowly, painfully slowly, his eyes dipped. From my face to my lips, trailing lower, over the curves of my body in his oversized shirt. I felt like I was being burned alive under the intensity of his gaze.  

“Sexy,” he murmured, his voice low and gravelly, the word sliding over my skin like smoke.  

My heart stuttered, and I barely managed to choke out a weak, “W-what?”  

His smirk turned wolfish, and he leaned in just enough that I could feel his breath fan across my cheek. “You’re sexy in my shirt.”  

My pulse thundered in my ears as his words hung between us, heavy and intoxicating. I opened my mouth to respond, but no sound came out. The tension in the air was unbearable, suffocating, and all I could do was stare into his smoldering eyes and pray I didn’t break.

He pulled away just enough to let his smirk deepen, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Cat got your tongue now?” he teased, his voice a low, smooth drawl that made my stomach twist.  

I hiccuped. Oh no. Not now. A telltale sign of my nervousness, one I couldn’t control no matter how hard I tried. His smirk grew wider, clearly noticing.  

“No,” I stammered, my voice a shaky protest that only made him seem more entertained. My throat tightened, and another hiccup betrayed me, making his chuckle rumble softly in the air between us.  

He knew me that well. 

I took a step back, forcing some distance between us even though his gaze followed me, sharp and predatory. I tried to summon some bite to my words, but they came out weak and trembling. “Go away, Dominic.”  

He didn’t move. Instead, his arms dropped to his sides, and he tilted his head, his gaze still fixed on me like I was the most fascinating thing in the room. “Go away?” he echoed, his tone mockingly thoughtful. “Not sure I can do that, Ellie. You’re kind of... captivating like this.”  

My skin burned under his words, every nerve in my body screaming at me to hold my ground, even as my feet itched to bolt. Another hiccup broke free, and I clenched my fists, refusing to give him the satisfaction of backing down. “I mean it,” I managed, my voice firmer this time.  

But the smirk he gave me said he wasn’t taking me seriously—not even a little bit. “Your hiccup gives you away. It’s... cute.”  

That was it. I lifted the bottle to my lips, tipping it back and gulping down the entire contents in one go, my eyes widening with each swallow as if the liquid would somehow drown the storm inside me. When I slammed it down on the counter, breathless, I strained my voice into a stern command. “GO. AWAY.”  

The words were sharp, unrelenting, and for the first time, they landed. He sighed, backing off, his eyes scanning my face as if searching for something. Good. Let him see the fire he had stoked in me—the rage that had been simmering beneath my skin for ten years.  

Ten years.  

Ten years of thinking he was dead, burned to nothing but ash and bone, while I mourned every second of my twenties in misery and loneliness. No right. He had no right. No right to disappear, no right to fake his death, and absolutely no right to stand here now, acting like we could just pick up where we left off.  

We weren’t fine. We weren’t anything.

The anger bubbled in my chest, hot and relentless, an uncalmable storm that raged every time I thought of the burnt wreckage of his car. The police said there was nothing left—no body to bury, no closure to find. Just an empty grave where my life crumbled into pieces.  

Now here he was, flesh and blood, as if none of it mattered. Acting like we could be “cool.” Like the years of abandonment and unanswered questions weren’t clawing at me with every word he spoke.  

“Elean—”  

I didn’t let him finish. My voice sliced through the air, trembling with restrained fury. “Don’t even start.”  

Dominic froze, his mouth parting slightly before he clenched his jaw. “You don’t even know what I’m about to say.”  

“I don’t care what you’re about to say!” I spat, my voice breaking mid-sentence. My hands trembled at my sides, and the sting of unshed tears burned behind my eyes. “You have no idea, Dominic! You left me to pick up the pieces of a life I didn’t even want to live anymore! You don’t get to come back and act like everything’s okay. You don’t get to act like I’m okay!”  

His smirk disappeared, replaced by a hardness I hadn’t seen in years. He crossed his arms, his voice low and edged with irritation. “You think I wanted to leave you?”  

I scoffed, the sound hollow and bitter. “You did leave me, Dominic! I don’t care if you wanted to or not. You made that choice. You left me alone, mourning you—mourning us—and you didn’t even think to—”  

“Ellie!” His voice thundered, cutting me off. “Do you think I didn’t have a choice? That I just decided to vanish on a whim? I had to leave. Vaughn’s men caught on that I was alive. If I came back that night—if I came back to you—they would have found you!”  

The air around us seemed to still, his words hanging heavy between us.  

I blinked, stunned. “What?” My voice was barely a whisper, but the tremble in it betrayed the storm raging inside me.  

Dominic’s shoulders sagged as if the weight of his confession was dragging him down. “They were hunting me, Ellie. That’s why I couldn’t come back. If I had, they would’ve tracked me straight to you, and you would’ve been their target. I couldn’t let that happen.”  

“Who do you think you are?” I whispered, my voice raw. The tears I’d been holding back began to spill over, hot and relentless.  

“Ellie—”  

“No!” I stepped forward, shoving him hard with both palms. He didn’t stumble, but I saw the way his eyes widened, saw the faint flicker of guilt cross his face. “Who the hell do you think you are, deciding what’s best for me? Who are you to make that decision for me, Dominic?”  

He didn’t answer.  

I shoved him again, harder this time, my tears falling freely now. “You don’t get to choose, Dominic! You don’t get to leave me alone, again, for something you thought was ‘for my own good.’” My voice cracked, and I felt myself spiraling.  

“It was lonely,” I choked out, my voice barely audible as I took a step back, wrapping my arms around myself as if I could shield myself from the memories flooding my mind. “It was so lonely, Dominic.”  

His lips parted, but no words came.  

I shook my head, my voice trembling as the words spilled from me like a broken record. “It was lonely. Every single day. Every night, wondering what I did wrong to deserve losing you. Wondering why I wasn’t enough for you to come back.” My chest heaved, the weight of my grief and anger crushing me.  

Dominic took a step closer, his face pained, but I backed away, holding up a hand to stop him.  

“It was lonely,” I repeated, the words coming out in sobs now. “So damn lonely, Dominic. And you left me to carry it all by myself.”