Crushed Affections

Chapter 19 You're Disgusting

Bella suddenly lost the courage to approach him. She knew that no matter how she tried to explain, he Wouldn't believe her.

Their ten-second stare felt as long as an eternity.

Dominic did nothing-no outburst, no questioning, nothing at all. With cold detachment, he looked away and turned to get into his car..

In that moment, a voice in Bella's head urged her to chase after him as if delaying even a second would mean she'd never reach him again.

She dashed to the car with all her strength and speed. The Jacket Felix had draped over her shoulders fell to the ground as she ran. She didn't notice it, nor did she see the fleeting look of disappointment in Felix's eyes.

"Dominic..." Her voice trembled, laced with tears, as she peered through the car window at the man inside. She was like someone drowning, desperately clutching at a life raft.

Dominic didn't look at her, nor did he start the engine. The stalemate continued, and Bella boldly assumed this meant he was allowing her to get in. No matter how he treated her, she couldn't back down

now

Once she was seated, Dominic drove back to Miller Manor. From the moment she got in, he didn't look at her again. The calm before the storm often felt like this-eerily quiet.

Bella suddenly recalled the coldness and detachment in his eyes. It was just like the look he had given her when he learned his mother had died far from home.

The only difference was that back then, there had been hatred in his eyes, and this time, there was none The calmness now frightened her even more.

She fumbled to break the suffocating silence. "It's not what you think, "

"What do you mean, 'what I think'?" he interrupted coldly, his grip tightening almost imperceptibly on the steering wheel. "Do we have any kind of relationship? There's no need to explain. You just... disgust me, that's all."

Bella clenched her fists, her nails digging into her skin, trying to use the pain to distract herself from the

ache in her heart.

He was right. They had no relationship. He didn't need to hear her explanation. He wouldn't believe that nothing had happened between her and Felix the night before. And to him, it didn't matter.

Still, she couldn't help but ask, her eyes red with unshed tears, "Then why were you at the Quinn

residence?"

Dominic didn't answer. The silence resumed.

When they arrived at Miller Manor, Dominic got out of the car and quickly headed inside. By the time Bella caught up, he was already packing his bags and throwing his clothes into a suitcase with rough, angry movements. It was as if staying there for even one more secon He had only just come back after three years, and Bella had hoped that they could coexist peacefully in

the short time before she left. Now, it seemed he wasn't planning to stay at all.

"Dominic... where are you going?" she asked cautiously her voice tinged with desperation.

He looked at her angrily. "Get out. Stop being an eyesore!"

Chapter 19 You'te Disgusting

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Bella stubbornly stayed where she was. "If you're going on a trip, let me help you pack..."

She knelt and began to fold the clothes he had haphazardly thrown into the suitcase. Her hands shook, but she tried her best to do it right.

Suddenly, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her away. "Get lost! You really disgust me! Bella, you're nothing special!"

She fell to the floor, a sharp pain radiating from her wrist. Tears streamed down her face, her eyes filled

with a hollow despair. No words came out from her dry throat.

She wanted to say, "The one who should leave... is me."