Chapter 19 I'll Take Care of You Tonight

My words made Leona slightly uncomfortable, but Dominic Hawthorne didn't spare me a glance. He kept his arm around the woman's waist and leaned in to kiss her. "Good girl, I'll take good care of you tonight." Their intimate moment left me standing beside them, feeling like an outsider. My earlier attempt to claim my place had turned into a cruel mockery. In the end, Dominic saw Leona off and entered the Hawthorne family estate with me. We changed our shoes and followed the maid to the main hall. As I walked, I suddenly felt warmth in my right hand. Looking down, I saw Dominic's large hand completely enclosing mine. His expression was calm, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. My heart raced. When we arrived at the main hall, Harlan Hawthorne was already waiting. Only then did Dominic release my hand and introduce me to Harlan. We sat down, and Harlan asked me several questions, all of which I answered honestly. Throughout, Dominic occasionally made small affectionate gestures—brushing a strand of hair from my forehead, or lightly wrapping an arm around my waist. When Harlan asked me difficult questions, Dominic would gently step in, his voice soft and reassuring, shielding me from discomfort. Dinner was no different. He served me dishes, carefully picked out fish bones from my food. It wasn't until 10:30 p.m. that I finally left Harlan's residence with Dominic. As we were about to leave, Harlan patted Dominic on the shoulder and said, "This girl is good. I'm pleased. You two hurry up and give me a healthy grandson by next year!" Then Dominic pulled me close, his face inches from mine, and murmured in a sultry tone, "Did you hear Grandfather? Let's make tonight count." He was so close that his warm breath fanned against my ear, and my face flushed crimson. Harlan caught on immediately and urged us, "Alright, alright—don't just stand there. Go on!" Dominic kept his arm around me as we walked out. In his embrace, the warmth made me momentarily dazed. But the moment the gates of the Hawthorne estate closed behind us, his arm dropped. Without a word, he turned and strode toward the car. Foolishly, I followed him to the vehicle. Dominic turned, his face twisted in disgust, and spat out one word: "Scram." Even though I had known from the beginning that everything Dominic did inside the mansion was just an act, the abrupt shift in his demeanor left me reeling. I stood frozen as the car sped away, imagining he was on his way to Leona now. Thinking about what they might be doing later… My chest tightened with pain. Remembering the incident from that afternoon, I rushed to the nearby police station to inquire about the case. By then, the officer had changed shifts and told me to come back the next day. Helpless, I took a half-day leave the next morning and returned to the station to speak with the officer. They told me it had been a misunderstanding, so they hadn't saved the surveillance footage. But I refused to accept that. After insisting repeatedly—and given Dominic's involvement the previous day, the officer didn't dare ignore me—we went back to the mall together. We approached the manager and requested the surveillance footage. The manager agreed immediately. But to my shock, the cameras were down! Seeing the system was broken, the manager exclaimed in an exaggerated tone, "Oh no! How did this happen? Hurry and get someone to fix it!" At that moment, I realized Leona must have anticipated I'd come back to check the footage—she had already planned this. Of course, the cameras would never be repaired. The so-called repairman fussed with the equipment for a long time, then declared it beyond repair. Unwilling to give up, I went back to the shop clerk after the police left and asked about what had happened. The clerk stammered and hesitated, finally muttering that he didn't know. Defeated, I turned to leave. But as I stepped toward the escalator, I saw the manager coming down the elevator, heading straight for that store.