AS LONG AS I'M BREATHING

The day Dominic Hayes decided to go straight, he took me to bed with such intensity that the world seemed to spin. I stared at the shredded lingerie on the floor, momentarily speechless.

"Dominic, is the world ending?" I asked.

His insatiable demeanor made me believe there might not be a tomorrow. Dominic was smoking, his heavy-lidded eyes giving him a distant, dreamy look.

"Violet, if I were to break things off with you, you wouldn't get all dramatic about it, would you?"

Though he spoke with the cigarette between his lips, making it sound like a casual joke, his words sent an icy chill down my spine.

After ten years with Dominic, I knew his temperament well. He liked obedience, yet appreciated defiance and rebellion.

Just like now, I took the half-smoked cigarette from his hand as I suppressed my churning emotions, and raised an eyebrow languidly.

"Dominic, do you think I'm still 18 years old?"

If Dominic had abandoned me when I was 18, I would have stormed into his club without any regard for my own life.

However, I was 28 years old now.

I felt somewhat choked up, unable to finish my sentence. Dominic ruffled my hair and stubbed out the cigarette that nearly burned my fingers.

"Violet, this is where it ends," he said. "Stop smoking. Stop treating your body like it doesn't matter. We're not kids anymore. You can't keep living like this."

In that moment, I was completely stunned. There were unspoken rules for breakups at 28 years old. The first to shed tears would lose it all, and smeared makeup would only broadcast my defeat for the world to see.

I pretended to be casual as I reached for my jacket on the floor, ready to leave. Nonetheless, Dominic's arm hooked around me, pulling me back into his embrace.

Storm clouds gathered like spilled ink across the sky outside the window. Rain hung in the air, ready to fall at any moment.

Dominic's kisses fell on my back as he skillfully adjusted the straps of my dress. He bit my earlobe just like he always used to do.

"Hear that?" he whispered.

I didn't answer, but he wasn't bothered. His tone carried the easy authority of someone used to having his commands obeyed without question.

"It's going to rain. Stay a bit longer, hmm?"

After ten years together, we'd learned to smooth all our conflicts into a veneer of calm. Dominic had probably forgotten that my temperament wasn't just for show.

It should be a clean break with no loose ends if he wanted to end it. I straightened my back and pushed away his sculpture-like, handsome face, giving a slight laugh.

"How long do you think this rain will last?" I asked.

How much longer could he keep me around anyway when his heart belonged to someone else?

Dominic's brow twitched at that moment, but he quickly composed himself. His introduction of that woman was rather simple.

"Violet, you're a smart woman," he said. "Her name is Lily Morgan. She's different from you.

"You can be with me without needing a title, and you don't mind the mess we create together. She can't do that. She's too innocent."

I felt choked up again, looking down at the disarray around us, suddenly unsure what to say. What did he mean I could be with him without needing commitment?

I thought about the black stockings, high heels, and slip dresses. Dominic had dressed me according to his preferences for so many years. Now that I'd grown accustomed to this seductive style, he suddenly found it vulgar?

In that moment, I wanted to confront Dominic. Yet he placed a finger to his lips, signaling me to be quiet.

He got a call from that woman named Lily.

"Dominic, didn't you say you'd come pick me up?" her voice came through the phone. "I'm alone and really scared..."