Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 375

Chapter 375

CELESTE

I kept watching the old woman’s face while keeping my own expression carefully blank

She had laid out her condition like a queen handing down a decree. Dominic must take Imelda as his sworn sister, find her a husband as good as or better than him, and only then could he marry me..

At first I thought it was not a big deal. Dominic loved me with every breath in his body, what was there to worry about him calling another woman sister? But the longer the silence stretched, the more the second half of her condition grated on me. She was dictating when I would marry the man I loved, and that did not sit well with me at all.

“Excuse me?” Dominic finally said, and the way he said it, light and almost amused, made his grandmother’s jaw tighten.

“You heard me, Dominic.” She folded her hands in her lap, calm as a judge. “Imelda was promised to you. You broke that promise. The least you can do is take her as your sworn sister and find her a husband worthy of her before you marry anyone else.”

“Imelda is not my responsibility.” His voice stayed even.

“But she came here because of you.”

He nodded. “Fine. I am willing to help fix it. But taking Imelda as my sworn sister, bringing her close to me, keeping her in my life so that my wife has to watch another woman hover around her husband? Absolutely not. I do not want other women close to me. I do not want my wife to ever have a reason to be hurt.”

His grandmother stared at him, genuinely shocked, as though the idea that he would put me first had never crossed her mind. Dominic was not finished.

“Besides, the word good is subjective.” He tilted his head. “A man can be a good businessman, upright and straightforward in his dealings, and still be a terrible husband. I cannot guarantee what kind of partner a man will turn out to be. So I will not be the one to marry Imelda off to anyone. If that marriage goes badly, you and her family will find a reason to blame me for it, and I refuse to carry that weight.”

“Remember to check your blood pressure,” he called back without turning. “I do not want any bad news.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

Outside, the morning light was golden and warm, and Dominic led me to the car with his hand firm around mine. He opened the back door for me, and I stood there instead of getting in, just looking at him. He raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you staring at me like that?

I smiled and slid into the seat. Reclosed the door, walked around, and got in beside me as he asked again, “Why were you staring at me?”