Saying that, he pinned me down on the bed and passionately kissed me on the lips.
"You... let me go." I struggled and punched him in the body but to no avail. He was too strong, only one hand was enough for him to pin me to the bed.
I kept thinking that after kissing me, he would force me to have sex with him. Surprisingly, he didn't. He buried his face deep in my neck, inhaled my scent and kept quiet. A few drops of warm water stuck to my neck startling me.
"Dominic?" I tried calling his name but he didn't answer. "Are you... crying?"
What I didn't expect was that a man like Dominic would cry sometimes. But the reason he cried was because of me.
"Maybe I'm getting retribution, Esther. After all I've done, in the end what I want most is you, and I can't get it. Do you want to punish me?" Dominic spoke in a low voice, his voice slightly muffled. "Why are we like this after all? Tell me, Esther."
"I love you, Dominic." I confess.
"I know."
"But I will never be able to forgive you. The way you used me, deceived me and then harmed my loved ones is so cruel. How can I trust you again?"
"Damn it, Esther. Do you always think your loved ones love you? No, they're just using you. How can I allow them to treat you like that? Joan's family or Garrick Harvey's are not worthy of your protection." He raised his head and looked at me from a close distance.
"What do you mean?"
"I admit I should save your mother when I can. But the truth is she couldn't have lived much longer without surgery. In addition, I also admit that I approached you on purpose. Except for those two things, the other things I do are simply getting rid of the hateful people who are always trying to harm you."
"Joan's family hates me I can understand, but does Garrick have any reason to harm me?"
"Why don't you try asking him? That that year when his family went bankrupt, he came to me and said something about you."
Dominic stopped lying on top of me and stood up. Our conversation was adjourned there, when Dominic said he would take Kenelm with him to the pool and give me time to think.
I opened my phone and looked at the last line of text I sent Garrick Harvey.
"I'm not coming. Don't wait for me. I'm sorry."
After a while, I decided to call him, but he didn't pick up. So I texted and waited for him to reply.
"Have you been to Lenox City? There's something I want to ask you. It was about four years ago. If you read this message, give me a call."
I waited for a while and the phone went silent, so I decided to go to the pool to see how Kenelm was. Although facing Dominic right now really makes me uncomfortable, I have no choice.
…
When Dominic got to the pool, Kenelm was playing in the water. Because he was wearing a life jacket and was looked after by bodyguards, Kenelm was not in any danger.
"Dominic, come over here and have a look. This kid seems to be the younger brother or son of some of our friends. Take a look at this kid, he looks like you."
Rory is sitting drinking champagne next to hot and sexy girls. As soon as Dominic appeared, he beamed and waved at Dominic, then pointed at Kenelm as if he had just discovered something unexpected.
"Looks kike you, huh?" Rory laughed.
"My son must be like me, of course." Dominic sat down beside Rory, leaning back in his chair and putting his sunglasses over his eyes.
"Haha, you're joking. Your sense of humor has grown a bit more." Rory laughed and took a cocktail from a bartender to give to Dominic. Unexpectedly, he saw Dominic's face looking serious at him and not smiling at all. It was only then that he was startled to discover that something was not right. "Are you kidding? Are you telling the truth?"
"Have you ever seen me brag?" Dominic put his hands behind his neck and raised his head to look up at the sky.
"No way. This is crazy." Rory couldn't believe what Dominic had just said, he put his hand on his forehead and his face was full of confusion. Then, he glanced around and whispered. "Did you adopt that boy, or did your lover give birth to him?"
"He's my son, so of course my wife gave birth to him."
"How can that be, isn't your wife Esther Joan, but four years ago she was..." Halfway through, Rory stopped short, his eyes widening as if he had just realized a fact. unbelievable. "Is Esther Joan still alive?"
Rory covered his mouth and turned the man's volume down so that no one else could hear. Dominic nodded and recounted everything about Esther Joan that he had investigated over the past four years. After hearing that, Rory's expression turned full of adoration.
"Esther Joan is truly remarkable. She can be so reckless as to collude with your enemies to create her own fake death. Not every woman has the same bravery as her. " Rory nodded with exclaimation. "What's more remarkable is that you don't get mad at her. I've known you for ten years, so I know you too well."
"Do you understand me that way?" Dominic burst out laughing at Rory's pompous and humorous way of talking.
"Of course. You must love Esther Joan enough to control your own nature like that. You were a wild beast before, and yet Esther Joan was able to tame you."
"Even you realize it, but she doesn't."
Rory observantly noticed that Dominic's mood was very heavy, so he stayed with him and drank some alcoholic drinks. Occasionally, Rory would make some funny jokes or talk about Kenelm.
"Ah, damn it." Rory suddenly sat up. "Is Esther Joan on the yacht too?"
"Yes, what's wrong?"
"I invited Vivian Odette on board because I thought you two were still together. Wouldn't it be bad if Esther and Vivian met?" Rory imagined that scenario and looked at Dominic with a troubled look.
"That bad thing has already happened." Dominic sighed wearily.
"Fuck, you should have told me sooner. It's crazy for your wife to meet your lover." Rory couldn't help but curse.
"Vivian isn't my lover, I've never said that. Besides, I've already told Esther everything frankly. All that remains is to wait and see how Esther reacts."
"Wow, you've changed so much, Dominic." Rory smiled. "But it's also a pity for Vivian. Just now I saw Vivian crying and running away, I was wondering why she cried after all. So that's the reason."
Their conversation was interrupted when a third person appeared.