Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 258

Chapter 258

DOMINIC

I stared at Celeste, waiting for her reply. My heart was pounding so hard I was certain she could hear it, could see the pulse jumping at my throat, could sense the way every nerve in my body had drawn taut with anticipation.

Earlier, when I went back home, my grandmother had tried to blackmail me emotionally. She cried, clutched at my sleeves and told me not to abandon her, that she only wanted the best for me.

I listened to every word she said, let her pour out all her tears and pleas, and then I gave het two options. One, she left with Imelda and moved into another mansion. I would find a way to forgive her for what she did to me in time. Two, she refused to leave and I never had anything to do with her again.

I had thought she would go with the first option. It was the reasonable choice. But she refused to leave. She insisted in tears that she wanted to be close to me, that she could not bear to be separated from her grandson.

She had made her choice. I packed my bags and walked out the door. My grandmother stood rooted to the spot, shock frozen across her features, her mouth hanging open as though she had not believed I would actually go. Even Imelda tried to stop me, stepping into my path with her hand outstretched, but one glare sent her retreating backward like a dog that had been kicked one too many times.

Too bad. I had prepared that place as my home. I had imagined Celeste moving in with me, imagined her laughter echoing through the hallways, imagined her bare feet on the floors and her scent lingering in every room. But I had no other choice. I could not give my grandmother a chance to ruin what I had just built with Celeste. I had to protect it.

After getting the new house ready and taking care of the online gossip about us, I realized life would only grow harder without Celeste by my side. If I had my way, she would be with me every second of every day. But I knew it was not possible.

I could not propose to her now, not until she was divorced from Julián. The only option was to ask her to move in with me. And yet, the fear that she would turn me down had taken up residence in my chest, a cold weight that refused to dissipate. Celeste had her own will, her own trajectory, and living with me might not fit whatever plan she was quietly running in her head.

“Of course.” I pressed my forehead to hers. “How can I be the chairman of a conglomerate if I do not seize opportunities as they arise?”

She smiled at me then, and that smile made everything worth it. Every battle I had fought, every bridge I had burned, every sleepless night I had spent wondering if she would ever look at me the way I looked at her. I called my driver and assured her that her car would be collected and brought to the house.

+15 Bonus