Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 65

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Chapter 65

CELESTE

I did not let Julian touch me.

The moment his hands found my waist again, moved away from him, putting the length of the bed between us.

“I am exhausted,” I told him. “The only thing on my mind right now is the lab expansion. I cannot think about anything else

until that is where it needs to be.”

Julian looked at me the way he always looked at me when I was not doing what he wanted. That particular combination of confusion and displeasure that he dressed up as concern.

“You know I have never liked how that lab drains you,” he said. “And the way you have been dressing lately, Celeste. You know that is not like you.”

“When you met me,” I replied evenly, “I was dressing exactly like this. I stopped for your sake. Mostly because I was at home with nowhere to go and no reason to get dressed at all.”

He opened his mouth, but I kept going.

“You made the decision that we would wait five years before having children. Your words. You said you wanted us to enjoy our life as a couple before third parties entered the picture. I agreed. I went on the pill. I did everything you asked.” I looked at him steadily. “But my life now feels empty, Julian. Without a career I am just here. Existing. That is not enough for me.”

“I provide everything you need,” he said.

“This is not about money.” I kept my voice patient and clear, the way you speak to someone who keeps missing the point. “Your work exhausts you every single day. The contracts, the meetings, the travel. But you do not stop. Because it gives you something money cannot replace. Fulfillment. Purpose.” I tilted my head slightly. “It is the same for me. I want my career. I have always wanted it. Before, I was working on a small scale. Now, with this funding, I am ready to give everything I have to it.”

The displeasure on his face had settled into something harder

“And the dressing?” he pressed.

“I am in the spotlight now. I have cameras on me. I love looking good on camera and I love looking sexy and I am not going to apologize for that.” I held his gaze. “You have to trust me. Building this lap is the only thing on my mind.”

He was quiet for a moment. Then he shifted, the hard line of his shoulders softening slightly, moving toward me.

“Okay,” he murmured. “Enough about work.”

He leaned in to kiss me.

I stepped back. “Julian.”

He stepped forward. His hands found the fabric again, pulling it upward, his head dipping toward my chest.

I shoved him. Both hands, hard enough to make a point.

Then I walked out of the bedroom.

日

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