Chapter 194: You just can’t help yourself, can you?

Dominic Hale didn’t go after people.

It wasn’t his style.

If someone walked away from him, he let them.

But Elena Steel?

She had never been just someone.

And that was the problem.

She had left before.

She had walked away.

And now she was back—standing in his world, forcing herself into a life he had built without her, acting like time hadn’t done anything to them.

And Dominic?

Dominic wasn’t sure if he wanted to fight her for it—or let her win.

By the time he caught up to her, she was already in her office, the door slightly ajar.

She had just taken off her blazer, rolling up the sleeves of her silk blouse, reaching for a folder—but she wasn’t surprised when he stepped inside.

She didn’t even turn.

"You just can’t help yourself, can you?" Elena murmured, flipping through the file like he wasn’t standing there, watching her.

Dominic leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "You didn’t answer me."

Elena finally looked up, her sharp gray eyes locking onto his.

"Answer what?"

Dominic exhaled, stepping further inside, his movements controlled, precise.

"You left," he said. "And now you’re back, acting like it doesn’t matter."

Elena closed the file, setting it down.

"I never said it didn’t matter," she murmured.

Dominic’s jaw ticked.

"Then say it," he muttered. "Say what you actually mean, Elena."

Elena studied him, something flickering in her expression—something caught between restraint and something deeper, something old.

Then, softly—"You wouldn’t believe me if I did."

Dominic’s chest tightened.

Because that wasn’t an answer.

That was a door she was refusing to open.

And Dominic had never been good with closed doors.

"You think they’re arguing or just staring at each other dramatically?" Liam asked, sitting on the couch in the break room, arms behind his head.

Zayn, leaning against the counter, smirked. "Both."

James, still enjoying his role as full-time spectator, chuckled. "What are the odds Dominic actually gets her to talk?"

Seraphina sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Damon, why are we surrounded by children?"

Damon smirked, sipping his coffee. "You married into it, Hale."

Seraphina rolled her eyes, but she didn’t argue.

Because, honestly?

It was true.

And, like it or not, they all wanted to know how this was going to end.

Dominic took another step forward, closing the space between them.

"Try me," he said, voice lower now.

Elena tilted her head, watching him carefully, like she was deciding something.

Then, finally—"You were never the problem, Dominic."

That made him still.

Because those words?

They didn’t match the reality he remembered.

"You left," he muttered. "And now you’re saying it wasn’t about me?"

Elena sighed, shaking her head.

"I left because I didn’t have a choice," she murmured. "Not because I wanted to."

Dominic exhaled sharply.

"Funny," he said. "Because it sure as hell felt like a choice."

Elena’s gaze flickered.

And in that moment—Dominic knew.

There was more to this.

More than she was saying.

More than she was willing to say.

And maybe—maybe that was why he hadn’t let it go.

Because, deep down, he knew she had never really wanted to leave.

And now?

Now, he wanted to know why.

Elena exhaled, her hands resting against the desk behind her.

She could feel the weight of his stare, the tension in the air, the history between them pressing in on both of them.

She had spent years training herself to move on.

Years telling herself that what had happened between them had been necessary.

But now?

Now she was standing in front of him, and none of it felt like it was in the past.

It felt like it had never really ended.

And that?

That was dangerous.

Because if there was one thing she had learned—

No one ever walks away from Dominic Hale completely.

And now that she was back?

She wasn’t sure she could do it again.