I was with Dominic Stone, the underworld kingpin, for ten years. But on the day he finally went legit, his men called someone else "Sister-in-law." Those hands, once stained with blood and gunpowder, now tied the laces of another girl's Converse. "Chloe, she's different from you." "You can follow me into hell without a title. She can't." That day, I didn't look back. Dominic didn't know that my family knew all about my rebellion. They had been keeping a good man for me, just waiting for me to give him a title. 1 The day Dominic decided to wash his hands clean of the business, he dragged me into bed for a marathon session that felt like the end of the world. I looked at my lingerie, torn into shreds on the floor. For a moment, I was speechless. "Dom, is the apocalypse coming?" His insatiable hunger made me think there was no tomorrow. Dominic was smoking a post-coital cigarette. His thin eyelids drooped, his expression hazy. "Chloe, if I cut ties with you." "You won't make a scene, right?" He held the cigarette in his teeth, his tone sounding like a joke, but a chill ran down my spine. After ten years with Dominic, I knew his temper. He liked obedience, but he was stubborn and rebellious to the core. Just like now. I took the half-smoked cigarette from his hand. Suppressing the turmoil inside, I raised an eyebrow lazily. "Dom, do you still think I'm eighteen?" If I were still the eighteen-year-old girl in Converse sneakers... If Dominic tried to dump me, I would storm his headquarters, not caring about my life. But now I'm twenty-eight... I choked on the words, leaving the rest unsaid. Dominic ruffled my hair and stubbed out the cigarette that was burning his fingers. "Chloe, let's end it here." "Stop smoking. Don't treat your body like trash every day." "We're not kids anymore. We can't keep messing around." In that instant, I froze. A breakup at twenty-eight. The first one to cry loses everything. My makeup was ruined, pathetic. I feigned nonchalance, grabbing my jacket from the floor to leave. Dominic's long arm hooked me back into his embrace. Outside, dark clouds rolled like spilled ink. The rain was about to fall. Dominic's kisses landed on my bare back as he deftly adjusted my dress straps. He bit my earlobe like he used to. Whispering softly, "Did you hear me?" I didn't answer, and he didn't get angry. His tone carried the absolute control of a predator over its prey. "It's going to rain. Stay a bit longer, hmm?" Ten years can grind all conflicts into a superficial calm. Dominic probably forgot that my temper... Wasn't just an act. If we break, we break clean. I straightened my back and pushed away his sculpted face. I smiled gently. "How long can this rain last?" If there's someone else in his heart, how long can he keep me? For a second, Dominic's brow twitched. But he recovered quickly. His introduction of the girl was simple. "Chloe, you're smart." "Her name is Bella. She's different from you. You can follow me into hell without a title." "She can't. She's too pure." I choked. Looking down at the mess on the floor, I suddenly didn't know what to say. What does it mean that I can follow him into hell without a title? Black stockings, high heels, slip dresses. Dominic dressed me according to his desires for so many years. Now that I'm used to being his femme fatale, he thinks I'm too vulgar? I wanted to question him in that moment. But he put a finger to my lips, signaling silence. It was the girl named Bella calling. "Dominic, you said you'd pick me up..." "I'm alone, and I'm scared..." 2 Dominic left me there. As his engine roared in the underground garage, I received a text. [I won't be around for a while. Pack up your things at the house.] [I'll send someone to change the locks in two weeks.] I didn't reply. I silently cleared my traces from the villa I had lived in for five years. After a long time, my phone screen lit up. Dominic must have met the terrified Bella. He was tying up the loose ends of our ten-year relationship with "dignity." "Call me if you need anything." "Except for a title, we're still friends." I loved Dominic for ten years. In exchange for a casual "friends." ... The torrential rain lasted for two whole days. The city was soaked, the dampness seeping into my bones. I couldn't sleep, waking up in the middle of the night to flick my lighter. The year I got with Dominic, he was just a thug living in a basement, unable to pay rent. In the humid air, only the flame of the lighter flickered. Click. Click. Ignition, extinction. Dominic, with his buzz cut, stared at me in my school uniform. "Think clearly, Chloe." "Guys like me have no future." "I can't give you the life you want." I was so innocent back then. I kicked off my wet Converse. I shoved my freezing feet into his embrace. Through his thin tank top. Dominic's body heat was like a torch, gradually igniting me. There was only the flicker of a lighter. But I nodded stubbornly. "Dom, I don't want a future." "I just want you." I held guns with Dominic, held knives with him. In nights filled with the smell of bandages and antiseptic. Choking each other, making love until we passed out and woke up again. Dominic said the first thing he'd do when he went legit was marry me. Now he's going legit. And the first thing he's doing is drawing a line between us. I am twenty-eight. I'm not a kid anymore. I can't keep messing around. My family kept a man for me, waiting for me to give him a title. 3 Deciding to leave the city. I took the villa key back to Dominic's headquarters. No makeup, jeans, and Converse. When I walked in, many didn't recognize me. When I took off my cap, the group that used to love calling me "Sister-in-law" fell silent. Everyone probably knew about Dominic's new love. A guy I was close with tried to lighten the mood. "Sis, us guys still think you and Dom are the best match." "A schoolgirl? It looks bad taking her out." "Why don't you go talk to the boss? He listens to you..." I smiled self-deprecatingly. Ten years with Dominic. I looked innocent naturally, but with thin brows and red lips, I looked fierce. Plenty of people watched me from the shadows, but Dominic protected me. Anyone who dared touch a hair on my head was sent by him to haul sandbags in the desert. If I shed a single tear, Dominic would drop everything to comfort me. That was a privilege that used to belong only to me. But this time, they didn't get to finish their sentences. A porcelain cup smashed against a brow bone, shattering into pieces. Dominic's face was dark as thunder. "People might think this is Chloe's turf." "Is this how you watch the business when I'm gone?!" The huge hall fell instantly silent. This was Dominic's influence. Only now, that influence... Was being used against me. I wanted to help explain. But the girl behind him peeked out cautiously, speaking as if unintentionally. "Dominic, is this the Chloe you told me about?" "She dresses just like me!" Dominic frowned slightly, assessing my outfit. Jeans and Converse. Exactly like Bella's style. He looked at me suspiciously. "Chloe, did you investigate Bella?" Looking closely, Bella looked fifty percent like eighteen-year-old me. Especially in jeans and Converse. I understood the girl's little game. But I didn't want to speak. Compared to me investigating Bella, wasn't it someone investigating Dominic's taste? Ten years together, and Dominic didn't even trust me on this... I pursed my lips stubbornly. Dominic scoffed, mocking me. "Dressing like that doesn't make you eighteen again." "Chloe, why are you being stubborn with me?" I blinked, unable to believe what Dominic just said. "How about this," Dominic licked his lips, ruthless. "Ten years. Name your price." I froze. I had been with Dominic for ten years. Blocked bullets for him, took knives for him. But no moment hurt more than this one. Digging my nails into my palms, my vocal cords trembled. "Dominic, what did you say?!" "I said, I wasted ten years of your youth." "Name your price." Dominic kept his hands in his pockets. Even though emotions churned in his eyes, he gritted his teeth and finished the sentence. I could barely stand. Bella pulled at Dominic's sleeve, whispering persuasion. "Dominic, don't be so mean." "Chloe didn't do anything wrong." Dominic lowered his head, gently nuzzling her nose. "Good girl, listen to me." He pulled her behind him. "I can't let anyone bully you." Dominic used to protect me like that. I couldn't watch. Acid churned in my stomach. I looked down and saw the silver bangle on my wrist. It was tight when I first got it. But the deeper I loved Dominic... The looser it became. 4 I still remember the second year with Dominic. A severe flu hit the city. 3% mortality rate. My constitution was weak; I couldn't fight it and was put in mandatory isolation. Burning up in a fever, I saw Dominic's face hovering before me. I thought it was a dream. I held his hand, voice raspy, calling him. "Dom, I miss you so much." "Am I never going to see you again?" I was probably lucid for only a few minutes a day. Dominic had never cried in front of me. That day, he howled like a dog. A thug like him, somehow found a way to volunteer at the hospital. He rotated from Ward A to C until he saw my name on the isolation list. I called him an idiot, risking his life to care for a critical patient like me. But Dominic wouldn't listen. He slipped the silver bangle onto my wrist. He said, "Chloe, happy birthday." We were so poor back then. We would stare at a silver ring in a trinket shop for ages. I didn't think I'd see the next spring. But the day Dominic wished me happy birthday... Cherry blossoms drifted past the isolation ward window. Later, I learned. That silver bangle was melted down from Dominic's childhood safety amulet. Dominic said, "Chloe, my life is tough. I can handle anything." "You just be responsible for living a peaceful, happy life." The silver bangle rattled on my wrist for nine years. It was the mark young Dominic put on me. I truly thought back then... That Dominic and I, because of this silver, had our fates melted together. Peace and joy. Dominic to me. Was like this ill-fitting silver bangle. I gritted my teeth, pulling and tugging until my wrist was red. Dominic panic-stubbed his cigarette. He looked at me with bloodshot eyes, roaring. "Chloe, what do you mean by this?!" I frowned, eyes brimming with tears I refused to shed. Didn't Dominic ask me to name a price for ten years of youth? I named it, but he couldn't bear it. "Dominic, let's just pretend we..." "Don't say it!" He rushed forward to cover my mouth, but Bella tripped him. Her smile was faint, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Never entangled..." The sentence fell. The thoroughly deformed silver bangle was thrown into the fish pond outside the door. Red ripples disturbed the green water. Dominic rushed to the pond, ignoring the heavy rain, kneeling on the ground, but couldn't find that glimmer of silver. Seeing him so frantic, I fought the urge to jump in and find it, my chest aching more and more. What is this? Does he still have me in his heart? The ten years with Dominic flashed before my eyes like a lantern show. Heartache turned to numbness; even breathing was a chore. Just to repay that "Happy Birthday" from years ago. Barely worth it. But Dominic and I, no matter how hard the past is to cut... Will have no future. The rain drifted sparsely. When I walked into the rain, it felt like I lost half my soul. When Dominic chased after me, he held an umbrella. He smelled strongly of smoke, but the hand gripping my shoulder allowed no refusal. "Chloe, I'll drive you." I didn't turn back, but Bella stepped into a puddle. Her bangs were wet, sticking to her pale, fragile face. Pitiful. "Dominic, are you going to leave me here alone?"
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "389573", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel