Chapter 13 (Slight R19)
It was near midnight by the time Elaine crept quietly back into the estate.
She had nearly fallen asleep in that old inn. Dominic’s arms had been so solid beneath her, his embrace so gentle, that leaving him had felt like waking from a beautiful dream.
Though her journey into Dominic’s world had been brief—just one night—it didn’t feel fleeting. Elaine knew, with unshakable certainty, that this was not a passing whim. Dominic Cheshire had left something lasting in her, and she wanted to be part of his world again.
Come to think of it… he still hasn’t said “I love you,” she pouted inwardly, lips pressing forward in mild frustration. Next time, she vowed, she’d hear those words. She was already imagining how she’d make him say it when—
“Elaine.”
The voice was cold, sharp, and dropped from above like a stone.
“Brother… Fernando?”
Elaine’s eyes widened as she looked up in shock. She hadn’t expected anyone to be awake at this hour. In the next moment, every candle in the foyer flared to life, illuminating Fernando’s stern, furious face.
And she, of all people, was standing there wearing a borrowed dress—one Dominic had given her, since her own had been damaged.
“You’ve completely lost your mind!” Fernando’s voice thundered. “Bringing a man into the estate while Vanessa and I were gone? And returning at this hour? Have you no shame?”
Elaine stood frozen for a moment, stunned by the anger in her brother’s voice—so unlike the calm, gentle man she’d grown up with. Then, fire rising in her own chest, she snapped back.
“You and Vanessa left me behind to go off on a secret getaway! I’m an adult now—I can make my own decisions. I don’t need to be locked away like a child anymore!”
“Adult?” Fernando barked. “You’re a child still! You may call yourself grown, but you’re an unmarried girl—not even wed! You still need protection!”
“And who decides that? You?”
“I do! I’ve been your guardian since you were six years old, since our parents passed. That gives me—”
“Enough, Fernando!”
Vanessa’s voice rang out from the upper landing, cutting through their argument.
“Vanessa, say something to her. Elaine is clearly on the wrong path—”
“Fernando,” Vanessa said calmly, “When we hid behind Mother’s conservatory for our first time… I was younger than Elaine is now.”
Fernando’s face flushed deep red. He opened his mouth to retort but couldn’t find the words. Finally, he stammered out, “That… that was different. I wasn’t just anyone! But Elaine—she went off in some stranger’s carriage—”
“He’s not a stranger!” Elaine yelled, storming up the stairs. “He’s the man I chose! The man I love!”
“Love?!”
“Yes! Love! Dominic Cheshire isn’t some nameless nobody—he’s someone I care for deeply. I chose him, and I stand by it!”
Fernando stood frozen as Elaine stormed past, her footsteps thundering so loudly up the staircase that they stirred even the sleeping servants.
In her room, she slammed the door shut and collapsed face-first into her bed.
Moments later, Anna crept in timidly, only to be met with Elaine’s sharp voice.
“Was it you, Anna? Did you tell him? That I brought a man here while they were gone—that I left with him?”
“What? N-no, my lady!”
Anna raised her hands in defense, eyes wide.
“I swear! Yes, I might’ve said I’d tell the master, but that was just my mouth running wild. I would never actually do that.”
Elaine stared hard at her maid, but then her shoulders dropped, and she buried her face into her pillow again. Of course, Anna hadn’t. She might be cheeky and sharp-tongued, but Anna was always on her side.
“This is my fault,” she muttered. “I was reckless and got caught.”
She sighed and yanked the blanket over her head.
Smack!
A sharp slap echoed through the room. Vanessa stood, livid, glaring at her handmaid Bella—whose cheek now bore the red mark of her mistress’s fury.
“You dare stir things up between Fernando and Elaine?”
“Lady Vanessa, I swear—I didn’t mean to cause trouble—!”
“Quiet, Bella.”
Vanessa’s voice was cold and final.
“One more word and I might just kill you. Now go downstairs and bring me jasmine tea.”
“…Yes, my lady.”
Bella bowed her head low and left the room in silence. But the moment her feet touched the lower steps of the servant’s staircase, her expression twisted into one of quiet venom.
“That wicked witch of Hermanda…”
Elaine Aiola, beloved and sheltered, raised to see only the beautiful sides of life, believed wholeheartedly that Vanessa was a good person.
But the truth was—Vanessa had never truly been a good woman.
As the only princess of the Queen, Vanessa had been raised with luxury and entitlement, and her haughty, imperious temperament often spilled over into cruelty. She struck her servants when things displeased her—without hesitation or guilt. And worse still, it had been Vanessa who had manipulated Dominic’s loyalty and crushed his innocent affection, dragging him into the depths of despair.
Dominic… Poor, poor Dominic.
He now had to pretend to love another woman of the Aiola family, as part of a carefully planned revenge.
That was why Bella had acted. Out of pity for him. Out of hatred for naive Elaine, who knew nothing. And out of loathing for the two people who had caused so much misery—Fernando and Vanessa.
That was why she’d told Fernando about Elaine’s secret escape.
The slap she received from Vanessa still stung, but the fury on Vanessa’s face had been worth it.
You deserve ruin, you arrogant witch. Bella seethed silently as she prepared Vanessa’s jasmine tea.
And then, with a cautious glance around the empty kitchen, she let a small smile slip onto her lips.
A few grains of white powder dissolved soundlessly into the fragrant tea.
Late that night, Dominic Cheshire stood by the window, deep in thought.
It was strange. Everything—the first kiss, the night they spent together—had happened outside of his meticulous plans.
And yet… he didn’t hate it.
He had intended to get close to Elaine slowly, to manipulate her trust, to use her. But the way she had clung to him, so trusting, so radiant—her soft smiles, her innocent affection—it stirred something he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Perhaps I’ve gone mad, he thought, laughing bitterly.
But then his eyes sharpened.
No… I’ve been mad for a long time. Ever since the monsters of Hermanda ruined everything. Fernando. Vanessa. And—
“Edmund.”
The name alone made Dominic’s jaw tighten.
He stepped away from the window and threw it open. But the heavy, humid night air did nothing to cool his fury.
Edmund. That cursed, unforgettable name.
Even after killing him with his own hands, Edmund haunted him still.
Dominic could feel the hatred creeping back in, swallowing his thoughts. He tried—futilely—to reach for better memories. But there was nothing left. After Vanessa’s betrayal and losing Liliana, all things precious to him had disappeared from the world.
It was easier to sink into revenge than to search for light that didn’t exist.
I love you, Domi—
“…Ah.”
The faint echo of Elaine’s trembling voice interrupted him. He gripped the windowsill tightly.
Yes—there was one good thing left in his life.
Elaine Aiola.
That foolish, trusting girl who believed in first love at twenty and gave him her devotion so freely. The girl who would unknowingly become the perfect wing of his revenge—who would help him bring down the Aiolas, and Vanessa, all in the name of love.
“My sweet, stupid Aiola.”
Dominic exhaled a dry laugh and ran a hand down his face.
Oddly, the bitterness in his chest seemed to fade, softened by the strange comfort that lingered after thinking of her.
The atmosphere in the Aiola estate grew colder, despite the stifling summer heat.
Fernando and Elaine had been locked in silence for a week—neither willing to bend.
And because of it, not just the siblings, but everyone in the household had spent the days under a gray cloud.
At breakfast, only the soft clink of silverware filled the grand dining hall.
Seated at the head of the table, Fernando cast occasional glances at Elaine, but refused to speak first. Elaine, meanwhile, kept her eyes averted, her posture stiff with pride. She loved her brother dearly, more than she’d ever admitted aloud. But his refusal to treat her as anything more than a child infuriated her.
Finally, she set down her spoon and quietly rose.
Vanessa, seated nearby, nudged Fernando sharply with her elbow.
He jumped to his feet, impulsively grabbing Elaine’s wrist.
“Elaine!”
She turned back, cold and wordless. Fernando’s face shifted with a thousand unsaid things—but before he could speak, she shook his hand off and strode away, leaving the tense silence behind.
Upstairs, she stared at the wall for a long time. Then, frustrated beyond reason, she bolted from the room and out of the house entirely.
The air inside had grown too suffocating to bear.
But once outside, seated in her carriage, Elaine realized something: she had no destination. No place to go. She longed to see Dominic, to run to him, but she didn’t even know where he lived.
Anna, seated across from her, cast a cautious glance her way.
“My lady… shall we head to the palace? His Highness the Crown Prince Turner would surely welcome you.”
Elaine thought of Turner for a moment—her only true friend—and then shook her head.
“No… Take me to the arboretum. The one outside Siena.”
“The arboretum…? All the way out there?”
“Yes.”
Anna glanced at her with quiet concern, but Elaine’s firm tone left no room for argument. With a sigh, Anna climbed to the driver’s seat. The carriage set off—guided by one of Aiola’s knights, no doubt dispatched by Fernando to ensure her safety.
