The Luna Queen's Rebirth (Ellie and Dominic) novel Chapter 182

Chapter 182

Ellie POV

You know, I expected this.

Even after everything Dominic had done these past few weeks, after the contract and the quiet promises and the way he had looked at me lately as if this arrangement was something fragile and real instead of something written in ink and obligation, a part of me had never fully let go of the possibility that it would

end like this.

He had almost convinced me otherwise.

Almost.

So when I turned the corner and saw Vivian standing far too close to him, her delicate fingers curled into the front of his jacket as she leaned into his space, her mouth brushing his like it belonged there.

I waited for something inside me to shatter.

It didn’t.

The flowers slipped from my hands before I realized I’d loosened my grip, pale petals scattering across the marble floor between us, but my face remained calm.

There was no dramatic ache in my chest, no sharp twist of betrayal, only a strange, dull quiet that settled beneath my ribs.

For a moment, none of us moved.

Vivian froze where she stood, her eyes widening slightly as she noticed me, though she made no move to step away from him until Dominic himself pushed her back with a sharp, instinctive motion, his hand firm against her shoulder as he turned toward me.

“Ellie,” he said, his voice low and tight, already moving toward me, already reaching as if he could undo what I had seen. “It’s not what you think.”

I bent down slowly, gathering the fallen flowers at my train, brushing invisible dust from their stems as if they still mattered.

“You should get to the altar,” I said quietly, refusing to meet his eyes as I adjusted the bouquet in my hands, smoothing the ribbon with careful fingers. “We’re going to be late. The music is starting soon.”

He stopped in front of me, close enough that I could feel the warmth of him. I knew he was searching my face for something-anger, hurt, anything-but I gave him nothing.

“Ellie,” he said again, softer now, his voice threading with something uncertain. “You’re upset.”

I let out a small, humorless breath, lifting my chin slightly as I adjusted the edge of my veil where it had slipped loose from my hair. “The contract says we’re allowed other partners,” I reminded him evenly, my voice calm in a way that felt detached even to me. “This is a contract, Dominic. I have nothing to be upset about.”

His hand closed gently around my arm before I could step past him, his fingers warm through the fabric of

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