Chapter 274: I don’t want to lose your brother

Clara felt as though she had forgotten how to breathe. When Dominic finally pulled away, she barely had a moment to catch her breath before he claimed her lips once more.

She had intended to sweep her husband off his feet, but somehow, she was the one who ended up being swept away when Dominic suddenly lifted her into his arms and carried her towards the bed.

However, instead of laying her down, he settled on the edge of the bed with her comfortably seated in his lap, her legs wrapped around his waist.

"What’s with this sudden seduction, wifey?" Dominic asked, his voice hoarse after their relentless kissing had left them both breathless.

His gaze lingered on her flushed face for a moment before he reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

[She looks hot.]

Dominic swallowed, struggling to maintain his usual composure.

Clara, meanwhile, pursed her lips.

This had never been her idea in the first place. Instead of grabbing Dominic by the collar and demanding an explanation about his supposed first love, Hannah had suggested an alternative that sounded far more lethal: seduction.

Clara had initially doubted she could pull off wearing lingerie just to get her husband’s attention. Nevertheless, she had agreed to Hannah’s suggestion, intending to save it for a day when things weren’t going her way.

And apparently, that day was today.

"I just wanted to get back at you for ignoring my calls earlier," she muttered.

Dominic frowned. "Your calls?"

He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and checked the screen. A moment later, he realized it was still on silent mode.

"I didn’t ignore you deliberately, Clara. My phone was on silent, and I didn’t check it even after I got home."

He turned the screen towards her to show her the missed calls.

Clara blinked, momentarily caught off guard by his straightforward explanation.

Dominic, however, was having a very different conversation inside his head.

[If ignoring her calls gets me lingerie, perhaps I should do it more often.] His eyes gleamed with amusement. [And what would she do if I started coming home late?]

Clara’s eyes widened.

This shameless man!

She stared at him in disbelief, unable to comprehend how he could entertain such thoughts while sitting there with her in his lap.

"Why would you even think of doing that?" she demanded.

Dominic raised an eyebrow innocently. "Think of doing what?"

"Don’t play dumb with me!"

He looked at her, stunned, unable to comprehend.

[But I didn’t say anything.]

The truth was, Dominic hadn’t checked his phone because he had been fed up with Mark’s endless threats and nagging. If his troublesome assistant hadn’t made such a fuss, Mark would have been the one accompanying him to the meeting at the base.

Thankfully, that hadn’t happened. Dominic had already endured enough embarrassing moments for one day, especially after Jack had nearly lost his soul at the sight of his boss smiling.

Still, Dominic knew better than to let his men witness too much of this softer side of him.

He might be changing, but that didn’t mean he intended to become lenient with everyone. If he started showing his men too much kindness, they would undoubtedly turn into another Mark, constantly pestering him without a shred of fear.

And that was something he absolutely refused to allow.

Clara blinked, realising she had almost made a blunder that might have caught Dominic’s attention. However, she quickly pushed the thought aside and changed the subject.

"And why was your phone on silent mode? You never do that when I call," she asked, bringing his attention back to her.

[Are we in interrogation mode now? Wifey, you were trying to seduce me a moment ago. Why don’t we get back to that instead?]

Clara ignored his shameless thoughts, refusing to let them distract her from what she wanted to know.

More importantly, she wanted to find out where Dominic had been while Mark was at the mansion.

[Why does this feel like a trap? Is she trying to corner me? But why would she even want to know? Did someone tell her I’d finished my work early?]

Clara’s eyes widened.

Good heavens! How does this man connect the dots so quickly? I haven’t even mentioned Mark or anything Hannah told me!

"Dom, I asked you something," she reminded him, narrowing her eyes when he remained silent.

Dominic’s expression grew more cautious.

Although he suspected Mark might have something to do with this sudden interrogation, he couldn’t imagine his assistant running to Clara just to gossip about something as ridiculous as his supposed first crush.

Besides, Mark might be troublesome, but even he wouldn’t dare betray his boss’s confidence without a good reason.

"I was in a meeting," Dominic answered smoothly.

Clara’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

Her expression was so exaggerated that Dominic couldn’t help raising an eyebrow.

[Why does she look as though I’ve just confessed to a crime?]

"Is that so?" Clara asked, forcing a smile.

"Of course." Dominic held her gaze without the slightest hesitation.

There was no way he would tell her about his visit to the base. That was something Clara knew absolutely nothing about, and he intended to keep it that way for now.

However, as he watched his wife staring at him suspiciously, Dominic began to wonder whether his supposedly innocent answer had only made things worse.

[Does she believe me, or is she still suspicious?] Dominic wondered.

However, Clara refused to look away, despite hearing his thoughts.

She had never imagined Dominic would actually lie to her, and yet she couldn’t exactly grab him by the ears and force him to tell her the truth.

"Okay," she said at last, letting out a deep, mental sigh.

Dominic blinked in surprise.

[Is she convinced?]

He studied her face for a moment before finally breathing a sigh of relief.

[Thank goodness! Now, can we get back to what we were doing?]

A playful smile crept onto his lips as his gaze settled on his wife. After her little seduction act, he was more than ready to enjoy some quality time with her.

Just as he leaned closer to kiss her again, Clara suddenly placed a hand against his chest, stopping him in his tracks.

"Not now. I’m suddenly feeling very tired."

Dominic froze.

[...]

[What? But wasn’t this whole thing supposed to be punishment for ignoring her calls? Then why are we stopping now? Wifey, you can’t do this to me!]

He stared at her in disbelief, feeling utterly wronged.

Unfortunately for him, Clara seemed completely unmoved by his silent protest. She climbed off his lap and walked straight back into the bathroom without sparing him another glance.

Dominic remained seated on the bed, staring after her.

For the first time in his life, he genuinely had no idea what had just happened.

***

"What? My brother lied to you?"

Hannah’s voice rang so loudly through the phone that Clara had to pull it away from her ear, fearing she might go deaf.

Only when the shouting finally subsided did Clara cautiously bring the phone back to her ear.

"Yes, he did!" she confirmed. "And now I’m seriously tempted to hunt down that woman who’s trying to steal my husband. You know, Hannah, your brother has never lied to me before."

Clara didn’t mention that she had heard Dominic’s thoughts. However, the way he had denied everything despite his own thoughts betraying him only strengthened her suspicions.

"Forget you! Even I want to know who that woman is!" Hannah exclaimed, practically growling in frustration.

Clara immediately recalled the photograph Mark had sent her. The image of Dominic standing beside a beautiful young woman, both of them smiling, had been bothering her ever since.

Could that woman really be Dominic’s first love?

For a while, neither of them spoke. Clara stared into the distance, her thoughts tangled in a mess of jealousy and uncertainty.

Finally, she let out a heavy sigh.

"Hannah, I don’t want to lose your brother."

The words slipped out before she could stop them, revealing the fear she had been trying so desperately to hide.

For the first time, Clara openly admitted what she truly felt for Dominic.

She had never been one to express her feelings in words. Like Dominic, she preferred to let her actions speak for themselves. But this time, she couldn’t keep everything bottled up inside.

"Oh, Clara..."

Hannah fell silent, momentarily stunned by the unexpected confession.

Her heart softened as she considered the vulnerability behind those words.

She hadn’t always had the best impression of Clara. In the beginning, she had even questioned whether Clara deserved to be part of their family.

But over time, things had changed. After witnessing how far Clara was willing to go to protect the people she loved, Hannah had gradually come to see her in a different light.

And now, hearing Clara admit her fear so openly, Hannah couldn’t help feeling a pang of sympathy.

"Listen, Clara," she finally said gently. "You’re not going to lose him that easily. Not on my watch."

For once Clara believed in whatever Hannah said, and though she had no idea how she was going to do it, still she knew Hannah wasn’t someone she could ignore.