CHAPTER 5

I sighed heavily after realising that the last guests had left. The ballroom, once glowing with laughter and golden light, now felt hollow. I was a bit relieved, though, seeing Trey and Kayla was making me insane.

Such shameless people, ugh.

I moved silently through the room, helping the last of the staff clear tables, my heels aching, and my heart a tight knot in my chest. I was cursing my boss in my head. If it weren't for him, I'd be home by now. I just wanted to go home.

“Winter.”

The way he mentioned my name made my stomach twist in a knot.

I glanced at him, and he was leaning casually against the edge of a table with his jacket slung over his shoulder.

I tried not to roll my eyes. “If you want another glass of water, I swear—”

“No.” He smiled, the kind that said he was up to something. “I want you to take off my tie.”

I blinked. “Excuse me?” My brows furrowed as I stared at him. He stepped closer, his voice low. “That’s your task. Take it off.” My throat immediately went dry. Why is this man so damn flirtatious?

I stared at him. “You’re seriously calling me over just for that? I'm not your butler, Mister.”

He tilted his head in a teasing way. “Unless you want me to leave a bad review?” Ugh, he is so annoying, I want to punch him.

His eyes held mine, unreadable. Why do I feel so tense? Snap out of it, Winter.

The head was filled with different ways. I was going to smack this annoying prick, but I just shook it off.

I walked over. He tilted his chin down, letting the black silk hang loose. I got a closer look at his face. I'd have to admit, he was gorgeous. He looked like he came right out of a movie. Slightly crooked nose, small plump lips with black eyes. Why does he have such long eyelashes?

I reached up, my fingers brushing his collar. His eyes never left mine.

“You’re good at pretending nothing gets to you,” he said quietly.

My hands froze. “I’m not pretending.” I tried continuing, but he reached up and caught my wrist, not rough, but firm. “That man earlier. The one with the cheap suit and the smug face with that basic bitch. Who was he?”

I pulled my hand back and stepped away. “It doesn’t matter.” My heart started beating at the thought of it.

“It clearly did.” His voice softened, surprisingly gentle. “You looked like you’d been punched in the gut.”

I looked away, blinking fast. Damn it. Not now. I promised myself I wouldn't waste more tears on that son of a bitch.

“Trey is my ex-husband,” I said finally, the words bitter in my mouth. “Kayla is my sister. They’re…together now.”

He didn’t speak.

I laughed under my breath, cold and hollow. “She used to call me dramatic when I told her that he might be cheating. Trey never regarded me as his wife. Throughout our marriage, I had to beg for his love, and I never received it.”

Dominic’s gaze didn’t shift. He didn’t flinch. He just listened.

“I saw him exchanging texts with a woman, but the number was unsaved. I never knew that it would be her.” I continued, voice breaking slightly. “I really loved him, and I wanted us to be a family so bad. When I gave him the divorce papers, I was hoping, praying that he would stop me.

That would've convinced me that he had some feelings for me, but he signed them and told me I wasted his time. I…it was so painful.” My voice broke in pain.

A long silence stretched between us.

“They think it’s funny,” I whispered. “Seeing me here, working. Humble little winter, polishing floors while they drink champagne. They don’t even hide it.”

“You shouldn’t hide it either,” he said finally, his voice edged with steel. “That kind of pain. That kind of betrayal. It changes people.”

I looked up at him. “Into what?”

His eyes darkened. “Into something dangerous. Something beautiful.”

I swallowed, the words thick in my throat. “I don’t want to be broken.” I was on the verge of tears at this point, and I don't even know why I'm pouring out my heart to him.

“You’re not,” he said. “You’re just unpolished.”

And then, with no warning, no smirk, no flirtation, he reached out and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

“You don’t owe them your pain,” he said. “But you owe yourself your healing.”

My breath caught.

For once, Zayn wasn’t being flirtatious. Or annoying. Or arrogant.

He was just caring.

And that scared me more than any one-night stand or fake relationship ever could.

He looked at me intently, and his eyes were filled with so many emotions I couldn't read. “Winter.”

“Yes?”

“Marry me.” The words rolled off his mouth like he had said them a million times. “What?”

“Marry me, Winter.”