“Here, drink this juice,” Laura placed the juice in front of Katherine and Aaliyah, and the latter scowled.
“Mom, if I drank or ate something anymore, I don’t think I would be able to fit in this dress. My stomach is nearly at its limit,” Aaliyah scrunched her brows, and Laura glared at her younger daughter.
“I bet if this was some shake or ice cream, you wouldn’t have thought twice before gulping it. It’s just water. I don’t care. Finish this before you go down. Katherine, you haven’t eaten anything either. Drink this juice. I won’t hear any ifs or buts. I know you want to look good in photos, but I don’t want my daughter to go there with sunken cheeks either,” Laura left shortly, and Aaliyah sighed before bringing the glass close to her lips.
“Has Bryce already arrived?” Aaliyah asked, and Katherine looked at her phone before humming.
Aaliyah looked down at her feet immediately when Katherine looked at her to hide her emotions.
“They arrived a few minutes ago. They will call us soon,” Katherine rubbed her palms as she felt nervous.
“Why are you so nervous? It’s not your wedding day. And it’s not like you don’t know him,” Aaliyah rolled her eyes, and Katherine sighed.
“You don’t understand. This is a big decision for a model like me. I am keeping this a secret, but the news will spread in the market sooner or later,” Kathrine sighed.
“Well, not my problem,” Aaliyah shrugged before she walked towards her room.
They had booked a hotel for this engagement, and Dominic ensured no outsiders would be allowed in the hall during the party.
Katherine had expressed her worries to Bryce, and Dominic immediately stepped forward to help the couple. This hotel was one of the subsidiary branches under the hotel Dominic owns, and booking it wasn’t hard for him.
“Aaliyah, why are you not ready yet? I told you the function starts in half an hour, haven’t I?” Lily looked at her, confused.
“I was helping Katherine. I am going to get ready now. It’s not my function, and it wouldn’t really matter if I went there in casual clothes. The heroine of the event looks marvelous,” Aaliyah went inside her room, and Lily looked at the girl’s back before sighing.
Lily knows Aaliyah is angry at her. Aaliyah wanted to learn about the gang and to roam around with her. Aaliyah was getting bored and wanted something to take her mind off things, but Lily didn’t want anything to come between Aaliyah’s recuperating time, and thus, she denied her.
Aaliyah has been scowling and huffing since then.
After half an hour, the party started, and Katherine finally went down for the engagement. She was looking really beautiful in a baby-pink gown, and Bryce smiled at her beauty. There was a matching crown on her head. Though the idea was childish, she looked like a princess ready to choose her prince.
Dominic, who entered the hotel, looked at his best friend’s girl and nodded at her in greeting.
His eyes raked around the hall, and when he didn’t see Aaliyah anywhere, his calm expression turned into a scowl.
“Has she not arrived yet?” Dominic asked, and Dimitri looked around before humming.
“Does that really matter? Isn’t it good? You didn’t want to see her, and look, she isn’t here,” Dimitri said, and Dominic looked at his friend before rolling his eyes.
“You are impossible,” Dominic shook his head.
“Yeah? Why do I feel like you are complimenting yourself?” Dimitri scoffed and went to Bryce to congratulate him.
Who should he ask? Nearly everyone here knows his decision about staying away from Aaliyah, and if he asked them, it would be like contradicting his own statement. Dominic clenched his fists as his eyes raked over the hall one more time.
Not being able to control himself, he asked the waiter about Miss Aaliyah’s room.
Once outside Aaliyah’s room, Dominic took a deep breath.
“It’s just a general worry about my best friend’s girl’s sister. I just want to know why she isn’t there in the hall with everyone else,” Dominic told himself before he raised his hand, and knocked on the door lightly.
“Coming,” Dominic heard Aaliyah’s voice, and he panicked slightly.
Was he really ready to face her? What would he tell her if she asked why he wasn’t reaching out to her? It would be far better to handle things when they would be with everyone since Aaliyah won’t bring personal talks into the crowd. Dominic turned around, ready to leave, when the door opened, and Aaliyah appeared.
She was wearing a red gown. Her hair was styled and parted to her left. There was a small tiara crown on her head. It doesn’t matter whose idea this was, but the girls really looked like princesses.
Dominic’s breath nearly hitched when he saw the beauty, looking back at him with a questioning gaze.
“Is there anything you need?” Aaliyah’s tone was void of emotions, and Dominic raised his brows.
He had prepared himself to answer many things from Aaliyah, but this wasn’t what he expected.
“I… You weren’t downstairs,” Dominic stuttered.
“Yeah, I was getting ready and would be there in a minute. If you don’t need anything else,” Aaliyah was about to close the door when Dominic stuck his foot to stop her.
This wasn’t the conversation he was expecting, and it didn’t settle well with him.
“Well, are you angry at me? I know I couldn’t call you and come to meet you, but it was because -”
“Did I ask?” Aaliyah’s words made him pause mid-sentence.
“I am getting late,” Aaliyah turned around and walked back inside the room, confusing Dominic.
What was happening? He had imagined hundreds of things he would use to coax Aaliyah about why he was busy and couldn’t come. He had thought about hundreds of ways to stay away from her, but why does it feel like it doesn’t even matter to her?
As much as this is exactly what Dominic wanted from the beginning, it still hurt him to see Aaliyah being like this. Did she suspect something already? Has she understood his motive?
“Well, I am here to escort you. We can go together. I was busy this past week, but I am on a leave today, so I have all the time -”
“That’s okay. I understand. You can enjoy the party downstairs. I have people to escort me,” Aaliyah said, looking straight into Dominic’s eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“Kyle and Mike will be here soon,” Aaliyah applied lip gloss to her lips, her eyes not leaving Dominic for a second, and the latter gulped as his eyes fell on her luscious lips that he love so much.
“I don’t understand what you are doing here. Wasn’t your purpose to avoid me till I am all better so you can ask me for a proper break-up?” Aaliyah’s eyes were cold.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to wait for that long, okay? Since a breakup is what you want, you can get it. Let’s break up and not meddle in each other’s business again, okay?” Aaliyah’s words shocked Dominic, who looked at her with uncertainty.
There were so many things that he wanted to explain to her. He wanted her to know why he thought everything that he thought, but was it of any use? Won’t explaining it make it even worse? The main question was, how did Aaliyah hear about it?
“I understand that caring for me and being by my side took a toll on you. I expected nothing more than a man who just stalked me because he was obsessed with me for my momentary beauty. Now that you got what you wanted and your guilt of losing me because I saved you is over, you can enjoy your life as you want. Aaliyah Gold won’t come in your path anymore,” Aaliyah smiled.
“Aaliyah, you and I both know that’s not the truth. I love you wholeheartedly,” Dominic raised his voice, and Aaliyah scoffed.
“Yeah? Where is that love? Where did that go in the past week? Did it vanish? You decided to stay away from me. Have you ever thought about what I wanted?” Aaliyah quirked her brows, sitting on the couch like the boss, and Dominic felt helpless in front of her.
“Tell me. Did you? I wanted my boyfriend to be by my side and spoil me, shower me with love, and tell me sweet nothings. That he is with me no matter what happens. This is your kind of love? The love that got scared with the slightest problem?”
“That slight problem landed you in a coma!”
“Which I must remind you wasn’t because of you,” Aaliyah raised her voice before standing.
“Don’t you dare raise your voice at me, Dominic Vulcan Volkov. I will become your biggest nightmare if I get angry. If I can love someone with my whole heart, I can do anything to destroy that person too. You played me, and as much as I hate to say it now, I was a fool for falling for a man like you. What I think is; you got what you wanted the night I gave up my V card to you, and now you are done pretending,” Aaliyah’s eyes brimmed with tears.
Her words were like a slap to Dominic to awaken the lover inside him who wanted nothing more than Aaliyah’s happiness and her love. Hearing her say things like this ached his heart, and he felt helpless.
The girl in front of him, who always smiled at him, was looking at him so coldly that it looked like if looks could kill, he would be 6 feet under the ground already.
“Aaliyah, that’s not the truth. I would never -” He choked back on his words as his throat felt constricted.
“Get lost,” Aaliyah seethed in anger.
“Aaliyah, you don’t understand why I am doing this -”
“I don’t repeat myself, Dominic. Get lost and never show me your face again. Isn’t this what you wanted? I am so glad I heard your conversation with Katherine last night, or like a fool, I would’ve kept waiting for a man who was waiting to prey on my emotions like a wolf,” Aaliyah pushed Dominic.
Dominic stumbled back from his place and looked at Aaliyah in horror.
Last night ~~~~~
“Dominic, you aren’t doing the right thing. Aaliyah has been waiting for you. She is even waiting to see you tomorrow. How can you even think about not showing up at the party? You are the one who says the doctor said not to stress her mind, and you are the one thinking about giving her such a shock?” Katherine was talking over the phone, and Aaliyah, who wanted to complain about her dress, always stopped right behind the door when she heard what Katherine said.
“I know what I am doing, Kathrine. This is for the better. If I appeared in front of Aaliyah, things would become difficult for both of us,” Dominic took a deep breath.
“I am going on a business tour for three months the day after tomorrow, and Aaliyah can use that time to recuperate properly without worrying about me. Since a breakup is our future, we should make it as less painful for her as we can,” Dominic said, and the dress slipped from Aaliyah’s hand as her heart broke into a million pieces.
“Dominic, rethink it. My sister really likes you. She will break down,” Katherine’s voice whimpered, and Aaliyah closed her eyes before sighing and leaving.
If Katherine found out that Aaliyah had heard their conversation, her mood for the engagement would be ruined, and that’s the last thing on Aaliyah’s mind.
“Dominic Volkov, if that’s what you want, this is what you will get,” Aaliyah said to herself in the mirror as a rogue tear fell down her eyes.
~~~~~~~~
“Got anything else to say?” Aaliyah asked, and Dominic gritted his teeth.
“I never faked my love for you, Aaliyah,” Dominic said. He doesn’t even know why he was trying to explain when he wanted a breakup in the first place.
It was as if the idea of being hated by Aaliyah was more dreadful to him, and he hated that his resolution was breaking even when Aaliyah wasn’t trying to do anything.