Chapter 167

Dominic’s eyes darkened as he recalled that unforgettable kiss the previous night. He thought of the soft, smooth sensation, sweeter than honey—an addictive taste impossible to forget.

He leaned in, and just as his lips were about to touch Vespera’s, he paused. His rationality warred with his desire, the urge to withdraw. Time and space seemed to freeze. He hesitated, torn between giving in and pulling away.

Some time later, Dominic sighed and pulled away. He returned to his seat, loosened his tie, and downed an entire glass of ice water.

Meanwhile, Vespera slept perfectly still, like a mannequin behind him. Even the angle of her tilted head was unnatural; it was as if someone had forcibly arranged it so.

One minute later, she faintly curled her fingers. Ten minutes later, she yanked the blanket over her head in the blink of an eye and wrapped herself up like a mummy. Her heart had been pounding wildly for the past ten minutes. Even now, the lingering sensation throbbed in her chest. It felt as though her whole body had gone weightless, the only thing anchoring her her racing heart.

Vespera was both exhausted and completely wired. She wanted to cry. Dominic had taken his sweet time agonizing over his actions, but did he ever consider that the person beneath him was real? Did it ever cross his mind that she might actually wake up? She wasn’t some princess who could only awaken with a kiss. She had almost opened her eyes just now, just to put an end to his torment. This kind of psychological torture was cruel!

After Vespera calmed down, another headache surfaced. She wondered how many days it would take for the drug to fully wear off from both his mind and body.

When the plane landed in Halewick, Vespera pretended to have just woken up. But, given how exhausted she looked, it was as if she had been through some kind of emotional tribulation. She appeared to be on the verge of losing her mind.

Dominic glanced at her. “Did you have a good sleep?”

Vespera ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m sorry, I was too sleepy. Did you try to wake me up? Once I’m asleep, it’s really hard to wake me. Even thunder wouldn’t do the trick.”

Dominic was at a loss for words. A flicker of something unreadable crossed his eyes. Then, he got up. “Now that you’re awake, let’s go.”

With that, he left his seat. Vespera slowly got up as well. Having been wrapped in the blanket for the entire flight, she was now drenched in sweat and feeling somewhat weak. The flight attendant had already taken their luggage down and handed it over to Raymond, who had come to pick them up.

As soon as they got into the car, Raymond asked Vespera with a smile, “Did everything go smoothly these past two days?”

With a slightly complicated expression, she returned the smile. “I suppose it went smoothly.” At the very least, they hadn’t lost their purity.

Raymond responded, “That’s good to hear.”

Vespera cast a quick glance at the rearview mirror. Dominic sat in the back with his arms crossed and eyes closed. His expression was unreadable. At that, she let out a sigh of relief.

Once they arrived at the community, they got out of the car and walked from the garage toward the entrance. Just as they reached the security gate, a tall figure suddenly stepped out from the side…

Vespera swore she had been startled more times in the past two days than she had been in an entire visit to a haunted house.

“You’re finally back!” Rebecca exclaimed, anxiously holding her phone. She glanced at Dominic and Raymond before greeting them.

Vespera clutched her chest, calming her racing heart. “Why are you waiting out here? You could have just waited at home.”

“I’ve been waiting for you almost the entire night. Didn’t you say you would be home by 7:00 pm at the latest?”

She grabbed Vespera’s luggage and hooked their arms together. “Come on, let’s go home. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll tell you once we’re inside.”

At a loss for words, Vespera eyed Rebecca’s slightly odd expression, and an uneasy feeling rose within her. Once the four of them passed through the security gate, they walked toward the elevator with Dominic in the lead.