Crushed Affections

Dominic suddenly stood up and said, "You can ask Carla to help massage your back. I still have something I need to do, so I'll return to my room first." With that said, he immediately headed up the stairs.

Bella keenly caught a faint spark in his eyes. The spark was subtle and hard to detect but it was distinctly different from what he looked like when he was angry. Hence, she knew that she had achieved her goal. The next morning, Bella got up early and helped Carla prepare breakfast before Dominic came downstairs.

She greeted him naturally when he appeared. "Come and eat your breakfast before it gets cold."

Dominic looked sleepy, and even though he hadn't answered her, he sat beside her.

Bella had paid attention to the details. All the other chairs at the table had been pushed in, leaving only the chair beside her pulled out. It would increase the chances of him sitting next to her.

She had also intentionally prepared just one glass of milk, filled to the brim. She pushed it toward him, saying, "It's too much for me, and I can't finish the entire glass. Could you finish half of it?" Dominic hesitated for a moment as if considering whether to get another cup, but Bella didn't give him the chance. She picked up the glass and brought it to his lips. "Hurry."

He took the glass, drank a few sips, and slightly frowned, seemingly not liking the taste of milk. Bella naturally finished the rest, feeling his gaze on her as she did.

Sharing a glass of milk was a small act of intimacy that could help their relationship progress.

After breakfast, Dominic prepared to leave for work as he usually did.

As he changed his shoes at the entryway, Bella reminded him, "There's going to be a thunderstorm today, so be careful when you're out. It'll be fine if you're staying at the office all day. "By the way, will you be coming back for dinner tonight?"

He stopped whatever he was doing to turn to briefly look at her. The coldness in his eyes made her heart sink. She wondered if she had been too impatient and obvious.

Dominic wasn't the type to let himself be led by others. Instead, he was someone who would draw a clear line. "No. I don't have time tonight."

Bella felt deflated, like a punctured balloon, as she watched him leave. His actions had meant that all of her efforts from before had been for nothing.

However, she refused to give up.

She was sure that even if he didn't love her, her presence for the past

20 years in his life had left her as a thor he couldn't completely remove.

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That evening, Bella waited until ten, but as expected, Dominic didn't show up. She smiled bitterly to herself, turned off the lights, and went to bed.

The thunderstorm forecasted finally arrived late at night, accompanied by lightning and deafening thunder. The heavy rain gradually swallowed the world outside the house.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Feeling

Qu

too lazy to move at first, Bella let it ring for a while before picking it up Seeing Dominic's name on the screen made her heart skip a beat. Almost instinctively, she answered.

Bella was puzzled when she heard the faint noise from his end of the line. Just as she was about to ask where he was, his cold voice came through. "Are you still awake?"

Bella pretended to sound groggy as if she had been woken up. "I was asleep before you woke me up. What's wrong? Are you still working?"

Before she could say more, the call ended abruptly. Bella was left confused. She wondered if Dominic had just called her to check if she was asleep.

Just as she was about to put her phone down, he sent her a message. "I'm on a business trip, and the signal is terrible here. Go back to sleep."

Looking at his message, Bella suddenly realized that her previous efforts might not have been in vain.

He hadn't returned home t,hat night not because he didn't want to, but because he had been busy with his business trip.

Relieved, she had a peaceful night's

sleep. The next morning, she sent him a message. "You mentioned you were on a business trip last night When will you be back? Can you have someone bring Pudding over?" Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.