“What the hell, Aaliyah?” Bryce murmured before he wiped the juice off himself, but Aaliyah was too shocked to mind her manners.
Seeing Aaliyah coughing, Dominic immediately rushed to her side before patting her back soothingly, and the concern and love in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed by Laura.
Dominic’s confession didn’t shock Aaliyah only. Laura was no better.
Laura looked at Aaliyah before looking at Dominic.
“What is your answer, Mrs. Laura?” Dominic asked before he looked at Aaliyah with his rare smile when he cupped her neck and massaged her chin with his thumb.
This was an expression of a man who doesn’t care about anything around himself but the person he is looking at.
‘He loves her,’ Laura thought to herself when she noticed how he looked at her daughter, and she felt her heart squeezing.
Aaliyah was the naughtiest of her three kids. Though Laura always scolded Aaliyah but to think she would leave her, Laura felt stuffed.
Aaliyah was only eighteen, turning nineteen soon. How can she let go of her daughter so soon? Yes, it was true that parents should let their children explore the world and spread their wings, but to think Aaliyah would go away was more painful for her than she had thought.
“I think we should discuss this at an appropriate time,” Laura tried to look away from Dominic’s peering gaze.
Though Aaliyah was in a moment of shock, the look Laura threw at Dominic, as if he was some kind of kidnapper trying to take away her daughter, didn’t go unnoticed by Aaliyah. And if the situation was any different, she would’ve laughed out loud.
Laura didn’t say much further before looking at Bryce.
“Take care of Katherine, and no funny business,” Laura warned before she gazed at Dominic one last time and left.
“What was that?” Aaliyah asked, shocked, and Dominic pressed his lips into a thin line.
“It didn’t go as I had planned. Looks like I will have to work hard to pacify her. She loves you a lot. She won’t let go of you easily,” Dominic said, and Aaliyah grabbed his collar before pulling him to her eye level.
“I am not asking about that,” Aaliyah grumbled before she gazed at Bryce, who immediately understood and walked out of the house.
“What was this marriage thing? Are you serious?” Aaliyah asked.
“There hasn’t been a moment of joke when it comes to you, Aaliyah. When I say I want you, I am not saying this for a short time. I am sure of what I want, and you are someone I need in my life to maintain my sanity. I don’t think I would be able to live without you anymore. Is this reason not enough to ask her for your hand?” Dominic asked.
Though Aaliyah was angry at him, his words won her over, and she huffed before pushing him.
“Are you mad?” Dominic asked before pulling her close.
“Of course, I am mad. A warning would’ve been appreciated,” Aaliyah said, and Dominic pressed his lips onto hers.
“I am sorry. Don’t be mad. Next time I will tell you everything. When I am going to talk to someone, kill someone, cut someone’s -”
“That’s enough. Shut up. Didn’t you have somewhere to go? Why are you still here?” Aaliyah asked, and Dominic grinned.
“Can I have a little love from you before I go? I feel drained out. My heart is empty after being rejected, and only your love can fill me up with -”
“I think it’s about time you leave,” Aaliyah smiled shyly as she tried her best to stop her body from reacting to his words.
“Fine. I am leaving, but I will come later tonight, okay?” Dominic kissed her lips before leaving, not before glaring at Bryce, who raised his brows, not knowing what he did wrong.
***************************
The next day ~
“Look at her. She is probably going mad,” Momo nudged Aaliyah toward Maria.
“Don’t look at her too much. We don’t need to bother with her anymore. She was a scum, to begin with. Cheating and doing nasty things to get to the top. The school has only found out about the Olympiad and is so proactive because this has risked its reputation. If they hear what she has done behind the scenes, she will be expelled with a black spot for the rest of her life,” Aaliyah said casually as she stuffed her mouth.
Maria, having lunch not too far from her, stood to get some bacon, but when she heard Aaliyah’s words and felt the threat behind them, she gritted her teeth.
If it wouldn’t have been for Aaliyah, she hadn’t stooped so low in the first place.
“What did this b*tch say?” Maria asked before she stormed towards Aaliyah, and the latter, who noticed her approaching from the corner of her eyes, sat there, unfazed and unbothered.
Meanwhile, Dominic sat in his office at the python gang’s main base, looking at his subordinate, who came inside with a report.
“Boss,” The subordinate said to catch Dominic’s attention, and Dominic hummed without looking up as he looked at the deal with the Graceful Misery Gang.
“This is the report that Mr. Bryce had asked me for. He told me to show this to you personally. It’s about the person stalking Miss Aaliyah recently,” the subordinate bowed before keeping the file on his desk respectfully.
“Your suspicion was right. Someone had been following Miss Aaliyah for some days. The stalking has stopped for now, and I think it’s because they got the information they were looking for,” The subordinate said, and Dominic’s pen on the paper, as he was about to sign, froze before he finally looked towards the file.
“What else?” Dominic asked.
“It’s none of our rivals. The person was probably living with a fake name, ‘Guy’ in the southern suburbs of the city. We went there but found nothing. It’s like he never lived there. The information about what organization he worked for is still a mystery, and we are trying to solve it. This is as far as we have come. We were able to get a few images of him through the restaurant’s CCTVs,” The subordinate added, and Dominic nodded.
“Keep looking into it. Circulate the picture of this man in all our branches and see if they see him in their areas. There is a high chance this person or gang is not after us, but my girl. And I will gouge out every eye that will look at her,” Dominic looked at his subordinate, who shuddered at the evil look in his boss’s eyes before nodding.
“You may leave. Send Bryce and Dimitri inside,” Dominic ordered, before he opened the file.
Dominic has had the feeling of being followed whenever he was with Aaliyah for some days. At first, he thought someone was following him, but then he realized he only had this feeling when he was with Aaliyah.
It began when Aaliyah came over to his house that day, and then he started feeling it everywhere.
When his dad made a scene at her cafe, near the coastal rings, and even when they had dinner.
Being in the gang, it didn’t take him long to understand what was going on. He asked Bryce to look into it on the first day itself. Dominic was a leader, and Aaliyah’s safety with him was his priority.
When they were at the cafe that day, and he was talking to his father, he felt someone’s stare and looked towards the restaurant where a man was indeed looking at them. It strengthened his suspicion even more, and he asked Bryce to ask someone to follow Aaliyah everywhere she went from some distance.
Taking a deep breath, Dominic looked at the face of the person covered from various angles, and though he was wearing a mask in some photos, it wasn’t that hard to recognize.
“You asked for us, Volkov?” Dimitri’s words made Volkov close the file before he nodded at the seat, and both of them sat.
“Someone has indeed been following Aaliyah. I want you guys to prepare a team who would just look into this. We need to find the gang or person behind it. This is not good for either her or our gang,” Dominic looked at his friends for suggestions.
“What are the chances that this is the same person who had been following Aaliyah in their previous hometown? I heard from Katherine that it was the major reason why they left that place and moved here,” Bryce said, and Dimitri looked at the file thoughtfully.
“Right. Aaliyah was stalked by a man last time too. Remember the time when you got a man arrested in that forest? You even said something about someone following her and Aaliyah becoming scared at Katherine’s model show,” Dimitri said.
“Does Katherine know what this man looks like?” Dimitri asked Bryce, and Dominic immediately understood where this was going.
“We can prepare a file of the leaders and their main members’ faces and ask Katherine if she can recognize any of them,” Dimitri said, and Dominic shook his head.
“You guys can try, but I hardly believe this would work. The local gangs are increasing each day. Even a school or college dropout is becoming a gangster these days,” Dominic leaned back in his chair.
“It’s hard to find out the leader of a gang, hidden for so long. If he is the same person and has come from their previous town to here just for Aaliyah, he is risking a lot, and to have that kind of courage and determination, he can’t be taken easily. You guys can try. The possibility isn’t exactly zero,” Dominic sighed.
“I want you to find out more about this man in the photo too. He was the one stalking her these days,” Dominic placed the file in front of Dimitri.
“I have asked Dave to circulate the images, but you are the leader of the spy gang. Apart from that, set a meeting with this Graceful misery gang. This project has great potential. Though this is a small gang, I like their way of thinking in the long term. It will be beneficial for the gang,” Dominic ordered.
“I will immediately arrange for it,” Bryce nodded, and Dominic dismissed them.
“Dominic,” Bryce paused before going out, and Dominic raised his head to look at Bryce.
“Can you come today from my side to talk to Mrs. Laura? She originally wanted to talk to my family, but since I only have you-”
“Who said you don’t have a family? Dad, Samantha, and Sandra are already there talking on your behalf to Mrs. Laura. You didn’t hear from your girlfriend?” Dominic asked, and Bryce looked at him, getting emotional.
Bryce didn’t know about any such arrangement. He had been racking his mind thinking about how to ask Dominic, and to say his family and everyone stepped ahead without asking was a lot for him.
“Thank you so much. You have no idea how much -” Bryce rushed to hug him.
“Don’t dirty my coat. I have to pick Aaliyah,” Dominic said, and Bryce chuckled at his words.
Everyone knows how much Dominic is a sucker for tears, and though he pretends to be all strong and emotionless, he is the best person for the people he cares about.
“Don’t be such a jerk,” Bryce wiped his eyes before hugging him and leaving the room.
Once Bryce left, Dominic looked up from his file before smiling and shaking his head.
“Stupid guy,” he murmured before looking at the time.
‘Damn! He is almost late for picking up Aaliyah,’ He better hurry up with her favorite ice cream, or she won’t come with him once she gets busy with her work. He thought before walking out of his cabin in long strides, and the subordinates looked at him, alert.
“Is something wrong? Did something happen? Why is the boss rushing out like this?” One of the subordinates asked.
“Don’t worry, guys. He is just going to pick up his girl. He is probably late,” Dimitri looked at the back of the man with a smile.
Aaliyah has really changed him a lot more than he would realize.