Billionaire’s Regret After Losing Her (Aurelia) novel Chapter 4

Chapter 4 A Convenient Excuse

Dominic’s temper finally snapped.

He grabbed his phone and dialed. The call was answered immediately. “Sir.”

“Find out where Chloe Taylor and my wife are. Now.”

His assistant Jason Miller paused. “Yes, sir.”

“Now!”

Dominic’s voice was a low growl.

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What the hell was she doing out in this storm? Burning everything that connected them–she’d thrown fits before, but never anything like this.

For the first time, Dominic felt something twist in his chest. Something that felt dangerously close to panic.

Jason worked fast. Ten minutes later, his phone rang. “Mrs. Hawthorne is at The Evergreen Residences in the Aurora

District.”

Dominic’s eyes narrowed. “What’s she doing there?”

Angora District. He couldn’t think of any friends they had ing 42

that area

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“Miss Chloe Taylor is there too,” Jason added.

At the mention of Chloe’s name, Dominic’s expression darkened completely.

In his opinion, women shouldn’t have best friends. Best friends just meant trouble—someone always there to fuel the fire and give bad advice. Every time Aurelia got together with Chloe, chaos followed.

By the time Dominic arrived at The Evergreen Residences, Aurelia had already fallen asleep after an exhausting day.

Chloe had left–Aurelia refused to go home with her, so Chloe went to arrange for someone to come take care of her.

Aurelia had just drifted off when the doorbell’s urgent chiming jolted her awake.

Thinking it was Chloe who’d forgotten something, she stumbled to the door, still groggy. “What did you forget this —”

The word “time” died on her lips when she saw Dominic standing there. Her expression went ice–cold.

“How did you find this place?”

Dominic’s face was stern, raindrops still clinging to his black

suit. “What do you think?”

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Seeing Aurelia in her pajamas only fueled his anger. He glanced past her into the apartment–no one else there. His posture relaxed slightly.

“Chloe said you had a miscarriage. How could I not be here?”

Without waiting for an answer, he reached out with practiced ease to pull her into his arms, the same way he always did.

But this time, Aurelia didn’t let herself be drawn in like before.

She stood perfectly still, her gaze noticeably sharper as she looked at him.

Meeting the coldness in her eyes made something flutter anxiously in Dominic’s chest.

But the next moment, he smiled mockingly. “Alright, alright. You really did have a miscarriage. And I’m here to take care of you, okay?”

His tone was so dismissive he might as well have written “she’s faking the miscarriage” across his face.

Aurelia, who Chloe had just managed to calm down, felt her rage reignite. She lifted her foot and kicked straight at Dominic.

Caught off guard, Dominic took the kick right to his stomach 3/8

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and hissed in pain, immediately releasing her arm.

Watching Aurelia gear up for a fight, he felt a headache forming.

“You’ve thrown your fit for the day, set the house on fire—what more do you want?”

Aurelia stared at him, silent.

Her eyes grew even colder.

What more did she want? This time, her anger wouldn’t be satisfied until someone paid the price.

Aurelia let out a cold laugh, saying nothing.

But the mockery in that laugh grated against Dominic’s nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

The man felt his head pounding. “Fine, it’s my fault. All my fault, okay? Come home with me.”

He reached for Aurelia again.

This time, she stepped back to avoid his touch.

Her icy detachment made Dominic’s face go dark. The air between them felt suddenly heavy.

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“Is that really my home?” Aurelia’s lips curved in a mocking smile. “My home, but Lydia Hawthorne’s name is on the deed?”

Lydia Hawthorne–Dominic’s sister, who was particularly close

to Lauren.

The house where Aurelia and Dominic lived had been a wedding gift, but the Hawthornes had put it in Lydia’s name.

The family had never accepted her. An orphan with no family, no connections—she wasn’t good enough for their son. They’d only agreed to the marriage on one condition: keep it quiet.

Every time Dominic tried to give her any property, his mother would sneak it over to his sisters.

Their house? Already in Lydia’s name.

The Hawthornes would rather die than let her touch a cent of the family money.

“The house is in Lydia’s name, but you call it my home. Don’t you find that ridiculous?”

Dominic’s gaze flickered. “I’ll transfer it back to your name tomorrow. Happy now?”

Hearing his patience wearing thin, Aurelia didn’t want to waste 5/8 another word on Dominic. She moved to close the door.

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But Dominic caught the door frame. “Aurelia, there’s a limit to how much you can act out.”

His coaxing tone had turned hard and commanding.

“What kind of limit do you want?” Aurelia raised an eyebrow.

She should have been falling apart, but instead she felt eerily calm. Even saying his name and Lauren’s in the same sentence didn’t shake her. “You’re sneaking around with Lauren, and you expect me to keep it together?”

Dominic’s chest instantly tightened with fury. “Stop lumping me together with her. Lauren and I have nothing going on.”

“All of New York thinks now that Adrian is dead, you’re stepping in to take his place as his wife’s husband,” Aurelia said flatly.

“Not a single person knows you’re married. No one knows your wife’s name is Aurelia. And you’re telling me this has nothing to do with you?”

Six months.

For the past six months–ever since Adrian died–Dominic had been showing up everywhere with Lauren,

People started talking. Some whispered the baby might 6/8

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actually be Dominic’s.

Others went further: maybe Adrian’s death wasn’t an accident at all.

Hearing her bring up those rumors about him and Lauren, Dominic’s body went rigid. “You believe those rumors?”

Rumors? Aurelia looked at Dominic in silence.

Feeling her push harder against the door, Dominic’s voice grew more strained. “She’s sick. Depression. You know that, don’t you?”

The word “depression” immediately frosted over the coldness in Aurelia’s eyes.

“Right, depression. So your face is her best medicine—her personal tranquilizer.”

Depression. What a convenient excuse.

Whenever Lauren had an episode, the Hawthornes‘ first move was always to send Dominic to calm her down.

Aurelia closed her eyes briefly. “Sign the divorce papers I’m having delivered tomorrow, and you can take care of her for the rest of your life.”

Take care of her forever, for all she cared.

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She was sick to death of this twisted arrangement.

Faced with her cold indifference, Dominic’s patience finally reached its limit. “Aurelia!”

She added, “Oh, and Lauren can expect to hear from my lawyer.”

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