CHAPTER 72
Dominic’s POV
Ethan sat beside him, tense but quiet while Aunt Marjorie was beaming at Tyler as though he were the perfect gentleman, attentive, generous, everything a family friend should be. Everything she wanted me to be.
“Good morning, Dominic,” Aunt Marjorie said brightly, completely oblivious to the way my hands had curled into fists at my sides. “Tyler stopped by early with some fresh eggs from his aunt’s farm. Isn’t that thoughtful?”
“Thoughtful, it sure is” I repeated, my voice flat.
Tyler glanced up, his smile smug and infuriating. “Good morning, Dom. Hope you slept well, you seemed stressed hope all is well?”
The way he said Dom like we were close, like he had any right to shorten my name made me want to put my fist through the table.
“No,” I said bluntly. “I didn’t.”
Ethan shot me a warning glance, subtle but sharp. Please don’t start, his eyes seemed to say. But it was too late. I’d been swallowing this poison since yesterday, and I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
I stepped closer, planting my hands on the edge of the table. “Why are you here, Tyler? You’re always here, dont you have a house?”
Tyler blinked innocently. “Like I said, I brought some eggs for Marjorie. Just being neighborly.”
“You’re not a neighbor,” I snapped. “You’re a nuisance, can we get a break from you for once!.”
“Dominic!” Aunt Marjorie gasped, scandalized. “That’s uncalled for.”
“No, it’s the truth,” I growled. “He’s been circling this house like a vulture ever since we arrived. Always here when I’m not around. Always hanging on Ethan like…..”
“Like what?” Tyler cut in smoothly, his voice soft but deadly. “Like someone who cares?”
That was all it took for my control to snap.
“Someone who cares?” I thundered, slamming my hand down on the table so hard the coffee cups rattled. “You don’t care about Ethan. You care about winning, About taking what doesn’t belong to you.”
The room went deathly silent. Aunt Marjorie’s mouth was hanging open while Ethan looked pale and stricken.
Tyler just sat there, calm as ever, like he’d been waiting for this.
“Dominic,” he said gently, almost pityingly. “I think you’re misunderstanding me. I would never try to come between you two.”
My laugh was sharp and humorless. “You already have.”
He tilted his head, studying me like I was some unstable animal. “You’re very… defensive. It’s understandable, given the circumstances. maybe you should consider why you feel so threatened.”
I took a menacing step toward him. “Because you keep touching what’s mine.”
“Dominic!” Ethan shouted, jumping to his feet. His face was flushed with anger, his voice shaking. “You can’t just….”
“Mine?” Tyler repeated, his tone soft and wounded, but his eyes glittered with triumph. “Did you hear that, Marjorie? He said Ethan is his as if he is a possession.”
Aunt Marjorie’s hand flew to her chest, her face paling. “Dominic…”
“He’s twisting my words,” I snapped, glaring at her, at all of them. “You don’t understand…..”
“No,” Tyler interrupted smoothly, standing as well. “I think we understand perfectly. I’ve been worried about Ethan for a while now. The way he… withdraws when Dominic’s around. The way he’s always on edge, like he’s walking on eggshells.”
“That’s a lie!” I roared.
Tyler flinched theatrically, like I’d struck him. “See?” he said softly, turning to Marjorie. “This is what I mean. Look at him. He’s… volatile.”
Marjorie’s face crumpled in confusion and hurt. “Dominic, please tell me he’s wrong.”
I looked at her, at Ethan and noticed how he wouldn’t even meet my eyes and felt the ground shifting beneath my feet. No matter what I said now, Tyler had already set the stage. I was the villain, the dangerous outsider threatening the peace of this cozy home.
“Ethan,” I said, my voice breaking despite myself. “Tell her the truth.”
Ethan opened his mouth and closed it without speaking.
Tyler sighed, playing the martyr to perfection. “I don’t want to fight with you, Dominic. I just… want Ethan to be safe. I want him to be happy.”
“You don’t get to define Ethan’s happiness,” I snarled.
“No,” Tyler said softly. “But maybe you don’t, either.”
The implication hung in the air like a guillotine blade.
Aunt Marjorie sank into a chair, looking utterly shaken. “I… I don’t know what to think.”
“You don’t have to think anything yet,” Tyler said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Just… keep an open eye”
I wanted to rip his hand away, to throw him out of this house and lock every door behind him but if I laid a finger on him now, I’d prove every poisonous word he’d just spewed.
So instead, I stood there trembling, my rage eating me alive, while Tyler painted me as a monster. When he finally left, Marjorie turned to me with tears in her eyes.
“Dominic,” she whispered, “do you… do you ever get angry with Ethan like that?”
“No,” I said immediately, fiercely. “Never. I would never hurt him.”
A part of me the dark, ruthless part wanted to hurt Tyler. Badly. And maybe Marjorie could see that. Maybe Ethan could, too.
Ethan finally lifted his gaze to mine. His face was pale and unreadable. “Dom,” he said quietly, “I think we need some space.”
The world tilted. “What?”
“Just for a little while,” he said, his voice trembling. “Until things calm down.”
“Ethan, no…..”
“It’s not forever,” he cut in, his tone pleading. “I just… I need to think. And right now, you’re scaring them.”
the unspoken truth was there, sharp and jagged, I was scaring him too.
I staggered back a step, my chest tight. “You can’t mean this.”
Ethan’s eyes glistened. “I do.”
Behind him, Marjorie reached out like she could soothe me, like she could undo the damage. “Dominic, please..”
I didn’t bother to wait to hear the rest, I turned and walked out the door before I could shatter completely, before they could see just how broken I really was.