Love the Second Time Around

Chapter 25

Chapter 25 Caught In The Act

“I’ve only thought to ask after five years have passed, but why did you leave?” Dominic sneered at me.

Maybe because I was rather thick-skinned or maybe because I was feeling nostalgic that night, but I just leaned back in my seat and sighed softly. This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

“It doesn’t matter where I go. Your memory follows me everywhere.”

I was lost for a long time after the break-up. Thus, I could not think of anything else besides him.

It had happened around graduation season. At that time, everyone in the dorm was busy with their final thesis or job applications. I was the only one who had been wallowing in grief over a heartbreak, so it had been painful trying to get through each day.

Tears pricked my eyes as I recalled that time from five years ago. I lowered my head and let my hair hang over my face to hide my sorrow from Dominic.

Dominic looked away and said nothing. I could not tell if he was mad at me or if he, like me, was just lost in his memories.

Finally, the car pulled to a stop in front of the mansion, and Calvin was the first to get out. He immediately readied a wheelchair for Dominic. Calvin was a true gentleman, and like a comic book superhero, he was always there whenever he was needed.

I reluctantly got out of the car after Dominic and limped after him. Pain shot through my legs the moment I put my weight on it. I instinctively hopped a few steps, and my legs nearly gave out again.

Fortunately, Calvin was close enough for me to grab onto. Otherwise, I would have toppled to the ground.

Dominic seemed upset by this and said with a sour expression, “Are you an idiot? Why are you prancing around in high heels? Are you doing that on purpose just so you could fall into Calvin’s arms?”

Before I had the chance to retort, Calvin had jumped ten feet away from me as if I had the plague.

Ugh! I wish I could hit Dominic with the pointy end of my heels! I thought to myself angrily.

When we were all safely inside the house, Calvin politely bade Dominic farewell. I looked up at him, wanting to thank him for his help, but he merely threw me a quick glance and turned tail.

Do I scare him so much?

“Don’t even think about it. Calvin is still a virgin. He’s not for you.”

I glared at Dominic and slammed my hand on the coffee table. “Yes, I’m not a virgin, and because of that, I can’t go home, and my marriage is in shambles! Are you happy now?”

Even so, Dominic refused to be provoked. “Yes, I’m happy indeed. The worst your luck, the happier I am.”

“This is all your fault, and yet, nothing has happened to you! Why must I be punished for this?” I blurted out angrily. My temper flared, and I did not think twice about the words spilling from my mouth.

Upon that, Dominic’s lips twitched. He rolled his wheelchair over to the couch and hoisted himself over. Then, he reached up and roughly tugged me down to sit next to him.

“Well, I can be punished for it too. Would you want that?”

How did he manage to turn this conversation around? What does he even mean by he can be punished too? He’s about to be happily married! Hmph, this man’s just rubbing salt into my wound.

I did not want to speak to him anymore and tried to shove him away, but it was as if his chest muscles were made of iron. That man did not budge even an inch, but instead, my fingers ended up hurting.

“What are you doing? Let me go, or I’ll report you for molesting me!”

“Huh! The police would be more likely to believe it if I were the one reporting you!” Dominic retorted.

Ugh! Forget it. I can’t beat him with words. I turned my head away from him in a huff.

His breath felt warm on my cheek. It made my skin tingle, and my face flushed red. Luckily, all he did was give me a quick squeeze. Then, he hopped back onto his wheelchair and wheeled himself into the bathroom.

After a moment, the sound of running water could be heard coming from inside. A memory from long ago suddenly surfaced, and I recalled that he had been a clean freak. He could never go to bed without taking a shower.

At that time, I thought that his habits were ridiculous. He was an art major, for crying out loud! How could an art major focus on his work if he was so preoccupied with cleanliness?

It was because of his clean-freak habits that I had forced him to join a Wilderness Survival Club with me. The club had required us to run around a jungle every day. Although it was not as intense as the Bear Grylls television show, it was still quite the experience.

In the daytime, me, Dominic, and the other members of the club would forage in the forest, and when night fell, the two of us would squeeze into a tent to talk and sing. It had been an especially happy time.

At that time, Dominic had felt very uncomfortable going all day without a shower, and he tossed and turned each night, trying hard to fall asleep. Meanwhile, I would cuddle up to him and gently coaxed him to sleep every night.

After a week in the Wilderness Survival Club, Dominic had learned to fall asleep even with the smell of sweat sticking to his skin.

Back then, he was so innocent and sweet. The head of our dorm used to call him my “devoted puppy.” He had really adored and spoiled me in those days.

But who could have guessed that five years would change Dominic so much. Now, he no longer went a day without poking fun at me or insulting me in one way or another.

How does he even manage to take a shower while in a wheelchair?

“Ah!”

The sound pulled me away from my thoughts. Following that, Dominic rolled out of the bathroom in his wheelchair. He was wearing a white bathrobe and had a towel wrapped around his head.

His face looked much softer at night. He had a slender neck and beneath them, his collarbones stood out prominently. All that together with the strong lines of his chest and abs under his bathrobe made for a delicious sight.

I squinted, trying to get a closer look at what was beneath his bathrobe, but Dominic tossed a towel at my head.

“Go take a shower,” he commanded casually.

I suddenly realized that I had not yet removed my makeup, and it was true that I needed a hot bath and a comforting foot soak. Glancing at Dominic, I was worried if he would take this opportunity to ravish me.

Maybe I’m worrying about nothing… A typical man may make decisions with his other “head,” but Dominic doesn’t even have a functioning lower half! Satisfied with my own reasoning, I quickly went into the bathroom.

After splashing about in the shower for a while, I came out of the bathroom to find the living room empty of Dominic. Did he go upstairs?

I searched around and found a room at the back of the first floor. I should’ve known! How could he go upstairs with a wheelchair? Meanwhile, Dominic was already asleep when I opened the door and peeked into the room. He looked so peaceful laying in bed.

For some reason, I felt emboldened and tip-toed closer to his sleeping figure. Standing silently by his bedside, I gazed down at the familiar face that I had buried away deep in my heart.

I really don’t understand how God could be so unfair to treat such a handsome man so kindly. His nose is still as perfectly structured as I remembered it to be, and his lips are still so soft…

The years had not left a single trace on Dominic’s face at all. Instead, it had given him an appearance of maturity. Looking at him now, he seemed wiser than his years.

His eyelashes were especially bewitching; they were long enough to start a storm if he blinked his eyes too hard. My heart stirred as I looked at him.

I recalled that he slept like the dead, so I reached out my hand and gently caressed his cheek. Following the lines of his face, I ran my fingers over his eyes and down the bridge of his nose to his chin.

As a matter of fact, I had followed this exact route down his face countless times back in university. Now that I was doing it again after so many years had passed, my heart started hammering in my chest, and my face flushed red.

As my fingers trailed over his lips, the heat of his breath made my fingers tremble. All of a sudden, Dominic’s eyes flew open.