Chapter 69: Chapter 69
Silence poured on them again.
"I didn’t think she deserved an answer," he said, his tone a little harder now. "And you didn’t deserve to be spoken to like that."
Celeste studied him. "But that wasn’t the reason you didn’t answer. Was it?" She repeated herself.
He didn’t respond. His eyes flicked to her, briefly, before returning to the road. His eyes spoke to her like he knew she was right. Like something unspoken still lingered between himself and Theresa, tense and waiting.
When they got home, Dominic turned off the engine but he didn’t move.
Celeste reached for the handle.
Dominic spoke. "She was the first person I ever wanted a future with."
Celeste didn’t flinch. She knew that part of the story. He already told her that. The question was: Now that she’s back, would he jump into that if Theresa asks?
He wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were on the windshield. But she could feel how deeply the memory pulled him back.
"Theresa loves being chased," he continued. "And when I didn’t chase her, everything fell apart... badly, and she’s bitter."
Celeste’s voice came out quietly. "She still hates you."
Dominic finally looked at her.
"She can hate me. I don’t care. But she doesn’t get to treat you like that."
Celeste didn’t say anything. She got out of the car and headed toward the house. He followed closely behind, silent still. When they stepped into the warm light of the hallway, she finally turned to him.
"I’m not upset," she clarified. She could feel him being on edge with her. He was holding back.
His brows twitched. "You’re not?"
"I’m not hurt," she clarified. "But I noticed how still you went when you saw her."
Dominic looked away.
"And I think," she continued, stepping closer, "you haven’t completely let go of the way she made you feel."
He looked at her again, his expression unreadable. "You think I’m still in love with her?"
"No," Celeste shrugged. "I think you’re still haunted by her."
That hit something.
Dominic stepped closer. His voice lowered.
"I never planned to see her again. I didn’t want to. I still don’t."
Celeste nodded, quiet. "I know." She smiled up at him. "Most times, we push haunting memories aside, and that way, we’re never ready to face them."
He went on. "And I can’t lie... it brought things back. Not feelings. Not love. But regret. And anger. I just didn’t want her to take anything from tonight. Not you."
Celeste held his gaze. Her heart had steadied now, even if it had faltered before.
She didn’t speak again. She just reached up, curled her fingers into the collar of his shirt, and pulled him down for a kiss.
Dominic didn’t pull away from the kiss. Instead, he deepened it. The kiss was filled with truth, apology, and the weight of more.
When he finally drew back, he rested his forehead against hers. His hands were on her waist, gentle but firm.
"There are things about me I haven’t told you," he said, voice low. "Not because I don’t want you to know, but because I hate who I had to become to survive them."
Celeste didn’t speak. She simply let her hands trail down his chest, waiting.
Dominic took a breath and stepped back. He motioned toward the couch. "Sit with me?"
She nodded, and they both sank onto the plush cream cushions. The night outside the windows was quiet, the world stilled in a way that made confessions easier to spill.
Dominic allowed Celeste to lay her head on his lap, and look up at him as she wanted.
"My father... wasn’t a clean man. You might know that part. But what you don’t know is how far into the dark he went. He got in bed with people who had no conscience. Blood money, weapons, trafficking. Things even I didn’t know about until it was too late." He started, staring down into her calm eyes, with his hand softly rubbing her hair.
Celeste’s breath hitched, but she stayed still, listening. She played with her finger, as she softened further into his warmth.
"When I was nineteen," he continued, "I was already working under him. Not because I wanted to, but because I had no choice. If I didn’t, someone else would have. And I wanted to protect my mother. I wanted to protect my younger cousin." He let out an exhale. "Roman was my father’s favorite, so he protected him from his world, and dragged me in. I thought I could manage it from inside. But I was too naive. Too proud."
Celeste reached for his hand.
He let her hold it.
"Grigor," Dominic said his name like a curse and a benediction. "He wasn’t my friend. He wasn’t even my enemy. He was... a shadow. The kind that waits until the lights are out."
Celeste frowned slightly, and Dominic nodded.
"He ran the Inanov syndicate at the time. A branch of the Russian mafia that worked with my father for years. The only difference was the Inanovs didn’t believe in loyalty. Only leverage. When the feds closed in on my father, Grigor’s father offered him a deal—cut ties, sell out his own men, and the family stays untouched."
He chuckled bitterly.
"My father refused. Said he’d die before betraying his name. So Grigor’s father put a bullet in his heart and offered me the same choice."
Celeste’s eyes widened. "He... killed your father?"
"In front of me."
The room went quiet.
"And I made a deal with Grigor," Dominic said, jaw tight. "A deal I’ve been trying to untangle for years. In exchange for keeping the rest of my family safe, I took my father’s place in certain... operations. Silent ones. Clean, from the outside. But dirty underneath."
Celeste blinked, but her hand didn’t leave his.
"You think I don’t judge you?" she asked, voice soft.
Dominic looked at her. His whole expression was fragile.
"I don’t want your forgiveness," he said. "I want your understanding. There are things Grigor still controls. Things I’ve tried to pull away from without triggering a war. He’s not a man you walk away from. Not without blood."
Celeste shook her head. "You’re not that boy anymore. And even then, you were trying to protect the people you loved. That matters. That means something to me."
She wasn’t naive about men like Grigor, but she believed he’d understand.
Dominic exhaled shakily. "There’s one more thing," he said, like every word scraped up his throat.
Celeste’s hand stilled in his.
"If I want my family safe..." He paused. "I have to marry Viktoria. Grigor’s daughter. She’s 28."