Submitting to my Ex Uncle-Chapter 198

Music Recommendation: Scared Of Loving You by Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco.

.......

The sound of running water and clinking dishes filled the air, strangely domestic for a man like Dominic Cross.

Celeste leaned against the doorframe, with her arms folded across her chest. She wasn’t even aware of how long she’d been standing there, just watching him. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

There was something so unshakably steady about the way he moved. His sleeves was rolled up, and his hands dipped in suds. Her chest swelled with something she couldn’t name.

God, how was she supposed to get used to this? To him doing the little things—the ordinary, human things—for her?

The staff were supposed to do it. The penthouse had an entire floor of employees who lived to make their lives easier. But here he was, rinsing plates, drying them, and carefully setting them aside.

Her fingers drifted to the ring on her hand, brushing over the smooth surface mindlessly. A sigh slipped from her lips before she could stop it.

She didn’t feel scared of a future with him. That should be a good sign, right?

Her thoughts tangled themselves into questions she wasn’t ready to answer. Still, the sight before her grounded her in a way nothing else could.

Finally, Dominic turned, drying his hands with a cloth. His eyes swept to her, dark and soft in a way only she had ever seen. "You’re staring," he murmured.

"You’re doing dishes." She tilted her head, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "That’s not something I thought I’d live to see."

The corner of his mouth curved, faint amusement flashing through the curves. "Don’t tell anyone. I’ve got a reputation to uphold."

She laughed softly, shaking her head. "Your secret’s safe with me."

He folded the towel neatly on the counter, then crossed the space toward her in slow, deliberate strides. Before she could move, or guess his intention, his arms slipped beneath her, and he lifted her effortlessly in a bridal style.

"Dominic!" she gasped, as her arms looped instinctively around his neck.

"What are you doing?"

"I want to show you something," he said simply, like it explained everything.

Her heart stuttered. His tone was gentle, and his grip was secure, but the words carried a weight she couldn’t quite decipher.

She stayed quiet as he carried her down the hall.

When they reached the study, he nudged the door open with his shoulder. The air inside was different, and darker.

He set her down carefully on the couch, his hands lingering just a little longer at her waist than necessary.

She looked up at him. "What is this about?"

"Wait," he said softly.

He crossed to the far wall, where several safes were set discreetly into the wood paneling. He keyed in a code, his movements precise, practiced. The lock clicked.

Celeste’s pulse quickened. She half-expected weapons, stacks of cash, and documents that could topple empires.

However, when he pulled the safe open, what he retrieved made her breath catch. Dominic really loved doing the unexpected.

He brought out a photo album. The album was leather-bound, and its edges were slightly worn from use.

Dominic carried it back to her with a carefulness. From the way he held it, she could tell it worth more than any other property in this pent house.

He sat beside her, with the weight of the album resting across his knees.

Celeste stared at it, then at him. "You... keep pictures?"

His lips curved faintly. It was almost a self-conscious smile. "Not many. Just these."

He opened the first page.

Her heart clenched.

A boy stared back at her from the glossy print. A little boy with dark eyes that were already too serious for his age, with his hair falling into his face.

But beside him, in every picture, was her.

Nana.

Her smile was warm, and her arms wete always wrapped tightly around him. She held his hand in some, carried him on her hip in others, and pressed her cheek against his in a way that spoke of a love so fierce it bled through the paper.

Celeste’s throat tightened. She looked at him, but his eyes were fixed on the photographs.

"She was the only person who made me feel like... this world wasn’t all teeth and blood," he said quietly. His thumb brushed over one of the images, tracing the curve of Nana’s smile. "Parents are our biggest bullies. We’re lucky if we have one good one among both."

Celeste’s chest ached. She didn’t interrupt. She let him speak.

"Growing up, I promised myself I’d never let anyone get as close as she ever was, if she died." His voice was steady, but his jaw tightened. "I just knew it’d hurt too much."

Celeste’s hand moved before her mind caught up. She laid it gently over his, the warmth of her palm resting against the back of his knuckles.

He looked at her then, and the air between them shifted.

"You’re the only one I’ve ever broken that promise for," he murmured.

Her breath caught.

"Dominic..." she trailed off, overwhelmed. There was nothing she could say right now to soothe him.

He turned the page slowly, showing her another photograph. It was a photograph of him as a child, sitting in the grass with a book, with Nana laughing beside him. Another one was of her hugging him tight, and pressing a kiss to his temple.

Each image was a piece of him he had never given to anyone.

Her vision blurred with unshed tears.

"Thank you for showing me this," she whispered, her voice trembling.

He leaned back, closing the album carefully. His eyes softened, though the edges of his smile carried a hint of melancholy.

"I wanted you to see... that I wasn’t always the man you saw in the warehouse tonight. That once, I belonged to someone’s world entirely, and now, you’re my whole world. You are my world."

Celeste shook her head gently. Her lashes trembled, catching the faintest glimmer of tears. "No, Dominic," she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. "I’m not your whole world. You still carry her inside you. She’s here, in you, in everything you do and even when you try so hard to hide it. She never left you."

For a moment, his expression stilled. The darkness in his gaze softened, rippled by something that almost looked like pain.

He reached out, brushing a thumb across her cheek as if to quiet her trembling. "You’re wrong."

Her brows knitted faintly. "Am I?"

"Yes." His tone was quiet, but it cut through her like steel. He leaned closer, his hand sliding from her cheek to cradle her jaw. "She gave me love. She gave me life. But you... you give me reason, and showed me how deep love, feelings, and emotions could run."

Her chest tightened. A shiver ran through her at the way he said it. Each word was deliberate.

He lowered his forehead to hers. Their breaths mingled. "You’re the reason I wake up in the morning without wanting to burn this world to the ground. You’re the reason I laugh again. Do you understand what that means?"

Tears finally spilled down her cheeks, unbidden. She nodded against him, though her throat was too tight to speak.

He kissed her then. His lips lingered on hers as though memorizing the shape of her, and the warmth. When he pulled back, his eyes were raw, and stripped of every mask he wore for the world outside these walls.

"I don’t want to scare you with how much I feel," he admitted. "But Celeste... if anything ever happened to you, I wouldn’t survive it. I wouldn’t even try."

Her breath broke on a sob, and before she could stop herself, she threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. His arms closed around her instantly, like he’d been waiting his whole life for her to cling to him like this.

"You’re not going to lose me," she whispered against his skin, her words muffled by the strength of her emotions. "Not now. Not ever."

He held her tighter, with his hand sliding up her spine. His warm breath rested in her hair. "Don’t promise me that," he murmured, almost brokenly. "Just... stay. Stay with me, and let me keep choosing you. Every day."

Celeste pulled back just enough to meet his gaze. His eyes, usually so sharp and unyielding, were rimmed softness.

She placed her hand over his heart, feeling the steady thud beneath her palm. "Until you give me a solid reason to leave, then I will. Not because I can’t live without you, I can. But because I don’t want to. You’re the only man I’ll ever keep choosing."

Dominic cupped her face again, tilting it toward him. "You’re incredible, Celeste. In this world of fangs and blood... you are the only softness I’ll ever bow to."