Chapter 62: A Kiss Between Secrets

I was still reeling from what I had overheard. Olivia Sinclair and Victor Caldwell—our parents—had once been lovers, torn apart by something darker than scandal or politics. It was more than tragic; it was dangerous. Their past hadn’t just caused pain. It had created enemies. It had shaped me and Dominic into the pawns we now were.

Dominic’s hand was tight around the steering wheel as we cruised down the winding road from the estate. The setting sun threw long shadows across his face, highlighting the tension in his clenched jaw. He hadn’t said a word since we left the Caldwell archives, but I knew he was thinking the same thing I was.

“Do you believe it?” I asked finally, unable to stand the silence anymore.

He didn’t look at me, but his voice was low. “I don’t want to. But it explains too much.”

I stared out the window, watching the blur of trees whip past. “So they were in love. And someone—our families—tore them apart.”

“Your father,” Dominic said, more bitterly than I expected. “Victor’s journal entries painted him as the villain. He threatened Olivia, blackmailed her. Said if she didn’t walk away, he’d ruin her.”

My stomach twisted. My father had always been controlling, cold, but this? This was something else.

“Why would he go that far?” I murmured. “Why would he care who my mother loved before him?”

Dominic finally pulled over, the car skidding slightly as he stopped. He turned to me, eyes blazing with something fierce—anger, sadness… and maybe, fear.

“Because if Olivia had stayed with my father,” he said, voice rough, “everything would’ve changed. Our families wouldn’t have warred. Your father wouldn’t have climbed so high. My mother wouldn’t have died.”

I blinked. “You think your mother’s death is connected?”

“I know it is,” he growled. “She didn’t just die in a car accident. That was no accident. Victor never believed it. And now I don’t either.”

My breath caught. “You think my father had her killed?”

Silence. Heavy. Suffocating.

Dominic didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.

I pressed my hand to my lips, my heart pounding. Every instinct in me screamed to fight what I was hearing. But deep down, the pieces fit. Too perfectly.

“I need to talk to my mother,” I whispered.

“You think she’ll tell you the truth?”

“She might. If I ask the right questions.”

Dominic studied me, his expression unreadable. Then he leaned closer. “Be careful, Elena. The truth has teeth.”

I swallowed, my throat dry. “So do I.”

He gave a crooked smile, something in his gaze softening. “That’s what scares me.”

And just like that, the tension between us shifted. It wasn’t just anger or grief anymore. It was longing. Familiar. Dangerous.

His hand reached for mine, fingers brushing my skin. My breath hitched, but I didn’t pull away.

“I don’t know what the hell this is between us,” I murmured.

“Neither do I,” he said, his voice low. “But I’m done pretending it doesn’t exist.”

His lips brushed mine—tentative, almost unsure. It wasn’t like the last time. This kiss was slower, searching, heavy with everything we couldn’t say. His hand cupped my cheek, grounding me in the chaos. I kissed him back, letting go—for just a moment—of the war outside and the storm inside me.

But the moment didn’t last.

A call lit up Dominic’s phone, vibrating between us.

He pulled away, jaw tightening again. “It’s Liam.”

I sat back, pulse still erratic. “Take it.”

He answered with a curt, “Yeah?”

I watched his expression change, the tension in his shoulders doubling. “What? Say that again.”

My stomach dropped.

“What is it?” I asked as soon as he hung up.

Dominic turned to me, his eyes sharper than ever. “Your father just called an emergency press conference. He’s denying every corruption charge and dragging Victor’s name into the mud. Says the Caldwells forged documents to frame him.”

My blood turned cold. “He’s trying to flip the narrative.”

“And it gets worse,” Dominic said. “He’s threatening to expose Olivia’s affair unless Victor backs down.”

I felt like I’d been punched in the gut.

“They’re using our parents’ past as a weapon,” I breathed. “This… this could destroy everything.”

Dominic nodded grimly. “And if we don’t stop them, it will.”

I met his eyes, something fierce rising in my chest. “Then we fight back. Together.”

For the first time, he didn’t resist. He just reached for my hand—and squeezed.

And for the first time, I didn’t pull away.