During dinner, the atmosphere between the three of us was very harmonious, not awkward with each other at all. There were even times when I thought, if Dominic and I didn't fight, would we be such a happy family?
"Do you have more lamb chops?" Dominic cut a piece of lamb chops and put it on a plate for me.
I tried to refuse because it's been a long time since we've had such caring and romantic acts, especially when the problem between us still exists. But I noticed that Kenelm was looking at me, so I continued to pretend like Dominic and I were good friends. I took that lamb chop and ate it well.
All that night, Dominic was relaxed and chatty with Kenelm, and he would look at me from time to time and see if I needed anything more.
Honestly, I couldn't guess what he was thinking, the more friendly and cheerful he was, the more worried I became. I wouldn't be surprised if he just showed his true nature as a jealous and possessive man.
After dinner, Kenelm took the boxes of toys and went back to his room. The boy's bedroom is decorated as if it was made for him. The walls are painted dark blue and many stickers of Kenelm's favorite cartoon characters are also plastered on the walls. The bedroom is fully furnished such as a desk and bookshelf and a shelf for toys, including a separate toilet for the boy. Kenelm's room window also faces the garden and can catch the early morning sunrise.
Just by looking at what Dominic does for Kenelm, even an idiot can see how attentive and caring he is for his son. I could never have imagined myself having the opportunity to see Dominic become a father. After four years, he kept taking me through one surprise after another.
"May I ask which room is my bedroom?" I asked a maid.
"Ma'am, you should go up to his room and wait for him for a while and he will tell you. Everything concerning you is for him to decide personally. Sir Dominic has told us so." The maid respectfully replied.
Seeing the reserved and cautious attitude of the maids at Dominic's villa, I bet they were afraid of offending me. Maybe Dominic said something to them before I got here. It's been a long time since I last experienced the feeling of people bowing to me like that. This made me a bit awkward and shy.
When I went up to Dominic's bedroom, many memories rushed into my mind. We used to be intimate and happy in this room, sharing each other's warmth and enjoying the space just the two of us. At that time, I felt like I could spend my youth with Dominic, even almost we got engaged and became a family.
But then, I realized that in love, trust is more valuable than anything. Just one lie is enough to ruin a relationship.
While thinking about the past, the bathroom door suddenly opened. Dominic gently wiped his hair with a white towel, his upper body was bare, his abs were tight and muscular. Underneath he was only wrapped in a thin and short white towel, his strong steps made me worry that the towel might fall at any moment.
"Why don't you put your clothes on when you're done showering?"
I blushed and turned away.
Dominic looked at me and smiled, a very mischievous and tantalizing smile.
"You act like you've never seen my body. I thought you must be familiar with it? Last time or this time you were embarrassed and refused to look at me. Is my body not attractive enough to attract your eyes?" Dominic leaned closer to me when I didn't know it, the warm steam on his body also spread to me.
"Hey... hey, how can you say that? Even if I've looked at your body, it's been a long time since I looked back, how can I get used to it?" I stammered in response, finished speaking, and didn't even know what I had just said.
"Not familiar with my body? So do you want to get used to it again? I bet it misses you."
Hearing Dominic's teasing and naughty voice, I angrily bit my lip and glared at him. After that, Dominic didn't intentionally embarrass me anymore, he understood that if he joked too much I would leave, so he chose the right time to stop.
"Let's have some wine and then talk? In the afternoon, we still have many things we can't talk about." Dominic took two glasses and placed them on the table along with a bottle of wine.
"I'm here waiting for you to ask where my bedroom is, not to drink late at night with you." I got annoyed and shouted at him.
"Shh... Kenelm's room is right next to this one. If you speak too loudly, you'll get his attention."
"You... you did it on purpose?" I bit my lip unwillingly looking at him.
Of course Dominic is a cunning wolf, he knows how to use Kenelm to make me obediently do what he wants.
I scoffed and sat down across from him, pouring my own wine and drinking it myself. Dominic looked at my aggressive and angry look even more funny, sometimes he covered his mouth and smiled and took a sip of wine.
"Me and Vivian are just acquaintances. I consider her a friend."
"I didn't ask, what do you have to tell?"
"Um, I know. I just wanted to tell you, whether you're curious about me or not."
I pretended not to care, continued to drink a few glasses of wine. But the truth is, when I heard Dominic confess those things, I felt a sense of relief in my heart. In fact, it's been four years, and it's not surprising that Dominic has another woman by his side. But when he confirmed that he had been single for the past four years, for some reason my heart skipped a beat.
Love is really a difficult thing to understand. No matter how hard I tried to hold myself back, neither thinking nor caring for Dominic, I couldn't. I can fool others that I don't love him anymore, that I hate him so much that I don't want to see him again, but I can't fool myself.
"Why do you lie to me so much?" I was drowsy, my voice was muffled, and my thoughts were no longer sober. "What did I lie to you about?" Dominic looked at me seriously and asked softly.
"A lot. You use me to manipulate Joan's family into serving you. You sell guns to traffickers and murderers of women and children. You do many evil deeds and you are not honest with anyone."
I mumbled, raising my finger to count every bad thing Dominic had done, my other hand resting on my cheek so I wouldn't lie on the table. I didn't realize I was so drunk that I couldn't hide anything from the sly man Dominic Arnold.
"Seems like Frederick did a good job of investigating me." Dominic shook the glass of red wine in his hand, his voice a bit jealous now.
"You know, Dominic is the devil. He's scary." I mumbled. "By the way, handsome guy, will you drink more wine or I won't pour it for you?"
Dominic raised his eyebrows slightly at me, he realized that I was so drunk that I couldn't tell Dominic anymore.
"Dominic is the devil? So you must really hate him?" Dominic moved closer to me, helping to lean me against his body so I wouldn't tip over.
"Let me tell you a secret." I bit my lip and leaned close to him, craning my neck slightly and whispering softly. "Don't tell Dominic I still love him. It would be humiliating if he knew. I've kept it a secret all this time."
Dominic stiffened, his eyes looking at me with a tenderness I didn't recognize.
"You love me?"
"It's not you, it's Dominic." I corrected his words.
"Even though Dominic is the devil?"
"Um, I won't forgive him. But I can't help but love him. Damn it."
"...The devil loves you too, Esther. Only you."
Dominic holds the back of my neck and then he leans down and sucks hard on my lips. His kiss was so possessive and lustful, it seemed that just kissing wasn't enough for him. His tongue encircles mine, his breath envelops everything around me, his warm body embraces me. Everything was so familiar that I thought I was in a dream.
"Compared to drinking wine from the glass, I'd rather taste it from your mouth." Dominic bit my earlobe and whispered hoarsely.
Then he brought the glass of wine to my lips. Drops of sparkling and enchanting red wine flowed into my mouth, a few drops that I couldn't swallow falling down my chin, down my neck, and soaking my shirt.
"Your clothes are too entangled, let me help you take them off."
Dominic's words seemed to have charmed me, I just let him do whatever he wanted. It's my dream anyway, I'm sneaking around with Dominic for a night and no one will know.
Thanks to that thought, I became bolder, I put my arm around Dominic's neck and pulled him close to me, then I took the initiative to kiss him passionately.
Dominic seemed surprised too, but he didn't return my kiss and just sat there. That made me sullen and looked at him with displeasure.
"Do you know who I am?" Dominic wanted to confirm if I was sane enough to know if the person in front of me was Dominic or some other man. You don't want me to misunderstand.
"Of course I do. I'm Dominic Arnold." I asserted firmly, even reaching out to touch his face as if sketching.
"Then I hope that when you wake up tomorrow, you won't regret staying in my room tonight." Dominic stripped me of my clothes completely and left only my panties and bra on. He looked at me passionately and seductively.
When he looked at me like that, how could I resist.
"I will not."
"Okay, then do as you please."