Chapter 105

Chapter 105
Chapter 105

The Secret Within

The moment I stepped back into the mansion after my meeting with Alex, Dominique’s voice greeted me before I even had a chance to take off my jacket.

“Where did you go, Aurora?”

I had a feeling he would notice my absence but never for once did I think he would wait till I'm back.

His tone wasn’t sharp, but it carried that edge that always made my pulse quicken. He was leaning against the wooden railing of the grand staircase, his arms folded across his chest. Those blue penetrating eyes didn’t miss a single detail in reading my facial expression.

I froze. For a heartbeat, I considered lying. I hated how easily he could strip me bare with just a look.

“I just went out for some air.”

He didn’t buy it. His jaw clenched, the muscle twitching. “Don’t play games with me, Rory. You were gone for hours. Where exactly did you go to?”

I chewed the inside of my cheek, trying to hold my ground, but the weight of his stare pressed harderas the seconds passed. My silence stretched, betraying me more than any words could ever do.

“Tell me.” His voice dropped lower, quieter, but infinitely more dangerous.

My resolve cracked. “I went to see Alex.”

The change in him was immediate. His body went rigid, eyes flashing with a storm I hadn’t seen in weeks. “You what?”

“I…i…knew why…” I tried to explain, but he cut me off immediately.

“Do you even realize the risk you took?” He pushed off the railing, advancing toward me. “What if it was a trap? What if Tiffany used him to lure you out? What if, just what if?.”

“Dominique!” I raised my voice, meeting his fury head-on. “I’m not some helpless girl anymore, besides I can handle myself very well.”

That only made him angrier. His hands raked through his hair, and he gave a hollow laugh. “Handle yourself? Do you hear yourself, Aurora? Tiffany doesn’t play fair. You could train a hundred lifetimes and still not anticipate every angle she would come after you with.”

“I’m almost as good as you now.” The words slipped out, half pride, half challenge.

He froze, then turned slowly to face me. For a second, I thought I saw the corner of his lips twitch. But instead, he shook his head. “No, Rory. You’re good, very good . But not me-good. Not Tiffany-good. You are not close to that level, so don’t you ever confuse the two, because they are different.”

The sting of his words cut deeper than I expected. But before I could argue again, I caught the way his chest rose and fell, his anger beginning to cool as he looked at me longer.

“Why?” he asked finally, softer this time. “Why risk yourself like that? Why see Alex after all what he did?”

I swallowed hard. “ He reached out to me, and something inside of me just heeded to know why he reached out, besides Alex might hold answers we don’t. Because sometimes you have to risk trust when the world tells you not to. Because I can’t just sit and do nothing while you carry all the weight in your own.”

Dominique exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck. His shoulders loosened, though the storm in his eyes never fully faded. “Damn it, Aurora.” His voice broke on the edges of frustration and… something else. Something warmer. “One day you’ll be the death of me.”

The tension broke. After a silence heavy with everything unsaid, he finally nodded. “Fine. But next time, no secrets. Don't hide anything from me. If you step into danger, we step together.”

A small smile tugged at my lips. “Deal.”

His response wasn’t words. Instead, he grabbed two practice swords from the rack and tossed one to me. “Let’s see if you’re really ‘almost as good as me.’”

I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t hide the excitement sparking in my chest. The clang of steel filled the training ground as we moved, fast and sharp. His strikes came hard, testing my defenses, but I surprised even myself with how much ground I held. Sweat slicked my palms, my muscles burning, but I refused to back down from his relentless attack.

Then it hit.

A wave of nausea rolled through me so sudden and violent I nearly dropped my sword. My chest tightened, my stomach turning.

“Rory?” Dominique frowned, lowering his blade.

I couldn’t answer. I bolted past him, sprinting down the hallway until I stumbled into the bathroom. My knees hit the tiled floor as I gripped the sink, gagging, then retching until bile burned my throat.

Terror clawed at my insides. Not from the vomiting, but from the truth I’d been trying to ignore.

The missed menstrual cycles. The changes in my body. The heaviness I’d brushed off as exhaustion.

No. It couldn’t be. Not now.

I rinsed my mouth, staring at my pale reflection. My hand brushed instinctively across my stomach, trembling. What if…?

Just What if…?

When I returned to Dominique, I forced a weary smile. “I’m fine. Just tired.”

He didn’t look convinced. His eyes scanned me, searching for cracks in my lie. But I shook my head, downplaying it. “Really. Let’s stop for today.”

He relented, reluctantly, but his suspicion lingered as his gaze was on me till I walked away.

Later, I found myself in Mama Coco’s warm kitchen, the only place that ever felt like a sanctuary. The old woman’s sharp eyes caught my unease immediately.

“You’ve been hiding something, child,” she murmured.

The dam broke. My voice was barely a whisper. “I think… I might be pregnant.”

Mama Coco’s face softened. Without a word, she dug into her cupboard and pressed a small packet into my hand, a pregnancy test strip. “No more thinking. No more guessing. Find out.”

With trembling fingers, I followed the instructions. Seconds stretched into hours until finally, the result appeared.

Positive.

The word blurred as tears stung my eyes. My heart thundered, fear and joy tangled into a knot so tight I could barely breathe. Pregnant. With Dominique’s child.

A part of me wanted to dance, to laugh, to shout it from the rooftops. But reality weighed heavy. We were standing on the edge of war. Tiffany was still out there, venomous and relentless. How could I bring a child into this chaos?

For a week, I kept the secret locked inside me. Every time Dominique’s hand brushed mine, every time he looked at me too long, I bit my tongue.

It was Mama Coco who finally nudged me. “Secrets grow heavier when carried alone. He deserves to know.”

So one evening, I told him. My voice shook as I said the words out loud for the first time.

“Dominique… I’m pregnant for you.”

For a moment, silence. Then his face transformed, the hardness melting into something I had never seen in him, pure, unfiltered joy.

“You’re serious?” His voice cracked, his hands gripping my shoulders as though afraid I might vanish.

I nodded, tears slipping free.

He laughed, loud, wild, unrestrained. Then he swept me into his arms, spinning me until my world blurred. “We’re going to be parents! I'm gonna be a dad!”

The mansion roared to life that night. Music, food, laughter, Dominique threw a celebration so grand it nearly startled me. For the first time in years, I saw him soften, his walls crumbling. He didn’t just accept me; he accepted us. Me. Him. And the life growing inside me.

It was the happiest night of my life.

But happiness is a fragile thing.

Which could go away in a flash, as it came.

\---

Tiffany’s POV

The phone buzzed. Her spy’s voice was low, hurried, hushed.

“I have a new update”. The spy said.

“Spill”.

“She’s pregnant. Aurora. Positive test.”

Tiffany froze. Then the glass in her hand shattered against the floor, shards scattering like her fury.

Pregnant. That wretch was carrying Dominique’s child. Never!!!! I wouldn't allow that to happen.

I must do something.

Rage burned hot and cold in her veins, but beneath it pulsed something else, opportunity. A cruel smile curved her lips.

“Killing her just became twice as sweet,” she whispered, under her breathe.

Two birds. One stone.

And she would make sure both were buried thereby ending the war and getting the revenge she try desires in double dose.