Crushed Affections

"Get an abortion!"

Bella Jones heard a familiar voice as she passed by the stairs at the hospital.

Dominic Miller?

Was he finally back after three years?Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

Bella held her breath as she stopped. She felt a little guilty for eavesdropping.

She heard the sound of a woman sobbing as she pleaded, "I don't want to abort my baby... Please..."

"You can always have another one in the future." The man spoke coldly, showing no intention of comforting her. The decision was final.

Dominic had returned. He even brought a pregnant woman with him.

Feeling uneasy, Bella couldn't stand eavesdropping any further and fled the scene.

...

Bella sat in the clinic, retrieving that familiar phone number from her phone. However, she couldn't bring herself to dial it.

Dominic didn't inform her of his return this time around. He might have done it on purpose.

"Dr. Jones, aren't you getting off work?" asked a passing nurse.

"You can go first. I still have some work to do."

Bella knew that Dominic would move back to Miller Manor once he returned. Therefore, she specifically stayed in the hospital until midnight to avoid him.

They were "strangers" who had been living under the same roof for 19 years. In their case, "strangers" meant they had no blood relations. They were neither family, friends, nor a couple.

Bella was 18 years old when Dominic discovered the portrait she had secretly drawn of him and all the diary entries she had written about him. The extreme look of disgust and hatred on his face was a sight that she could still remember vividly.

Her crush on Dominic was exposed right at that moment. He had zero regard for her feelings and threw the diaries and drawings onto the floor before stomping all over them.

Ever since Bella set foot in Miller Manor when she was five years old, Dominic had hated her. His love was something she never dared long for, which made her crush on him all the more humiliating.

Bella entered the manor and kept the lights off. Having stayed there for 19 years, she knew the detail and display of every corner by heart.

Just as she grabbed on the door handle of her bedroom, she sensed a warm presence behind her.

Dominic started kissing and hugging her in the dark. She was enveloped by the familiar scent alongside a strong smell of alcohol. Icy kisses were scattered across her lips and neck.

He had always been irresistible to her, especially since they hadn't seen each other for three years. She was on the verge of giving in when the thought of the episode from earlier that day came up. He had a woman with him, and she was pregnant. Bella shouldn't do something so cheap.

Bella mustered up her courage and pushed Dominic away from her. She quickly straightened out her clothes before saying, "You're drunk."

Right then, Dominic held Bella's chin. "I wouldn't want to sleep with you if I weren't drunk," he said derisively.

He added, "That was how we slept together last time, wasn't it? What? Three years have passed, and now you've become virtuous?"

Bella said nothing in return and bit her lip. She had gotten immune to his harsh words as he'd never forget to insult her, even in bed. Furious at Bella's silence, Dominic tightened his grip on her chin. "How dare you come home so late when you knew I was back!" Bella looked down. "You didn't tell me," she replied. Her voice was a little shaky from the pain of his grip.

At that instant, Dominic leaned in. "How could you not know when everybody else did?"

He was right. Bella had "bumped into" him and the pregnant woman at the hospital and seen him on the news. She was the last one to know of his return, while everyone else knew.

Besides, she had to find out about it from such an unexpected situation. She couldn't help but think that Dominic wouldn't want to see her.

Dominic grew impatient. Before she could reply, he forcefully carried her into the bedroom. He pinned her on the bed and went straight into action without any foreplay.

Frantic, Bella raised her hand to push against his chest.

"Dominic!"