"You let him!" she snapped, standing now, shaking with the rage she'd buried all evening. "You both used me. You and Landon. One played the game, the other played God."
"I didn't play anything," Dominic said through clenched teeth. He stood too. "You think I wanted to feel anything for you?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry to be such a burden on your cold little heart."
His mouth twitched like he might yell. "I honestly don't care about anything. You're a grown woman, not my burden." Dominic admitted suddenly, his eyes burning into hers.
Celeste's heart dropped. "I'm getting married to Landon in two months time," the words left her lips carelessly, and she hoped he cared.
Dominic stepped closer. "Like I said, you're a grown woman," he took in another drag, and left the puff on her face.
She stood frozen.
His smoke hung between them, curling in the air like a boundary she couldn't cross. Her eyes burned, but she didn't blink. She didn't have the luxury to blink as she was too shocked to even breath
"You really don't care?" she whispered. Seems like she really got carried away by soem random emotions. Was she that unloved?
Dominic didn't answer at first. He looked away, and exhaled slowly. His jaw flexed as if he was biting back words he didn't want to say.
His gaze returned to her, and when they rested on her again, they were hard and unreadable. "I don't have time to care."
Her throat tightened. "No. You just have time to touch me. Kiss me. Tell me I meant something—and then vanish like none of it happened." She hated how accessible she felt.
"Don't rewrite it, Celeste," he said coldly. "We both knew what it was."
She took a step forward. Her voice was shaky, but her spine stayed straight. "You kissed me like you meant it."
"You kissed me back."
"And you pushed me away like I was disposable," she snapped.
"I was doing you a favor." His voice rose now. "You don't belong in my world."
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
She stared at him. She searched his face for anything. Perhaps something to show her that he was trying to fake his current emotions.
"Then stop following me with your eyes like I still do," she said, her chest heaving. "Stop being everywhere I turn."
Dominic's hand tightened around the cigarette before he flicked it away altogether.
"You're marrying Landon," he said like it was a curse. "Play that role. Wear the ring. Smile for the cameras. You're good at pretending."
A beat of silence passed. And before either of them could see it coming, she slapped him. The slap was raw, sharp and loud.
Celeste's hand flew to her mouth immediately, and her eyes widened in shock. She just slapped Dominic Cross. People talk back at him once and watch their lives crumble. She just slapped him, and still stood.
"Oh no," she murmured, half glad she was alive. She tried to run but her feet refused to move. The slap was an accident.
Dominic didn't flinch. He stood there, his cheek reddening, and his eyes locked on hers.
"You done?" he said softly.
Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "No," she whispered. "I'm just getting started."
Dominic stared at her.
And for the first time that night, something flickered in his expression. Something that looked dangerously close to hurt.
But it passed. There was no good reason to make her believe he could be someone she wanted.
He stepped back, slowly, like she was fire and he was already burned. "You've made your choice."
Celeste's lips parted, but she didn't know what to say. Was this what it came down to? One mistake, one slap, and now she was suddenly the villain?
No. He was still the one who started this. He was the one who kissed her and didn't pull away. Who looked at her like she mattered and then vanished into smoke.
She felt like dying. She was merely surviving, and then he showed and acted like there was danger in the heat of her touch. And now, he showed up tonight, calm and collected just to ruin things.
"I never had a choice," she whispered. "You both just kept making decisions for me. You played your game, and now I'm the prize everyone wants to throw away."
"I never wanted to win you," Dominic said with a sharpness that cut straight through her chest. "I'm too busy to play games with anyone."
"Am I interrupting something?" a naturally annoying voice interrupted them.
Their heads snapped toward the voice.
Landon stood by the archway with one hand in his pocket, and the other holding a half-filled glass. He looked amused.
As though he was a man who had walked into the middle of a mess he had expected. Celeste stepped away from Dominic instinctively, wiping the corner of her eye.
Dominic turned his head, expression blank and bored. "Perfect timing."
"I usually am." Landon smiled. The smile didn't reach his eyes as he tried to pretend seeing them together was fine
Celeste swallowed hard. "I didn't know anyone was out here."
Landon shrugged lazily, then walked closer, his gaze flitting between her and Dominic. "Didn't mean to eavesdrop. But when you hear the slap echo from the hallway, it's hard not to check if someone's being murdered."
Celeste's face flushed. "It was an accident."
Landon chuckled. "Looked like it hurt, Uncle Dom."
Dominic didn't reply but Landon smiled due to the sweet pleasure he got from adding the 'uncle' title to Dominic's name right before Celeste.
Celeste hated how they both looked so composed. One of them was cold, and the other smirked. She was the only one who felt like her lungs were filling with water.
Landon stopped beside her and offered her the glass. "Drink?"
She shook her head. She stepped away, and Landon stepped back with her. He hated her peace, and it showed.
"You okay?" he questioned.
She nodded.
"You sure?" he said again, his hand brushing lightly against her arm.
Dominic's jaw flexed.
Celeste noticed. She noticed everything, and she currently hated herself for having that ability.
She noticed how Landon watched her like she was something he finally wanted to win for real. She also noticed how Dominic refused to look her way again.