Chapter 187
Ellie POV
Dominic stepped into our space as if he belonged there.
Like he always had.
A smile rested on his face, but the atmosphere changed instantly.
It was subtle.
The kind of shift people pretended not to notice.
Like when a predator entered a room, and every instinct quietly told everyone to pay attention.
His hand closed around mine.
Immediately, I felt it.
The tremor runs through my fingers.
And somehow, he felt it too.
His eyes dropped to our joined hands before lifting back to my face.
I couldn't look away.
I felt sick.
Actually sick.
Then his attention moved to Lucas.
The warmth disappeared.
His gaze hardened.
"May I have this dance with my wife?"
Lucas's mouth twitched.
A smirk.
A small flash of satisfaction that made my stomach twist.
"Of course."
He released me slowly.
Too slowly.
Like he wanted Dominic to notice.
"I wouldn't want to keep her from you for too long."
His eyes flickered between us.
"Who knows what might happen?"
Dominic's jaw tightened.
Barely.
But I saw it.
Lucas walked away.
And only when he disappeared into the crowd did Dominic look back at me.
He exhaled quietly.
"What was that about?"
His voice was lighter than I expected.
A small laugh slipped into it.
Like he was trying to pull me back into something normal.
"You look like you're about to throw up."
I almost laughed.
Because I was.
I was staring at his hand.
At the way his fingers fit so naturally between mine.
The way he held me like this was the most normal thing in the world.
But my mind wasn't here.
It was stuck on Lucas's words.
On Dominic's vows.
On the meaning behind them.
"Ellie?"
I swallowed.
"Did you..."
My voice failed.
I forced myself to continue.
"Did you trap me?"
The answer came instantly.
"No."
My eyebrows lifted before I could stop them.
Too fast.
Too certain.
"I'm marrying you because it's what I want."
His voice softened.
"And because it works."
He looked around the room.
"Your health is stable. Your mother is free. We protect each other."
A pause.
"We make a good team."
A team.
The word should have comforted me.
Instead, it felt distant.
"Do you love me?"
His expression shifted.
Frustration crossed his face.
Not anger.
Something else.
"I do love you, Ellie."
His voice lowered.
"That hasn't changed."
"But you said you would heal me every day as long as we stand together."
The color drained slightly from his face.
I stepped back.
"That means..."
My voice grew quieter.
"You tied my healing to you."
A pause.
"To our marriage."
Another.
"To our bond."
His hand lifted.
Like he wanted to touch me.
Then stopped.
Frozen.
"If I ever leave you..."
My throat tightened.
"I get sick again."
Silence.
Heavy.
Complete.
His hand slowly lowered.
He didn't deny it.
And that hurt more than if he had.
"Well..."
His voice was quieter now.
Rougher.
"Are you trying to leave?"
My chest tightened.
Anger rushed in before anything else could.
It was easier.
Safer.
"That's not the point."
My voice sharpened.
"It doesn't matter if I was."
My hands curled into fists.
"What matters is that if I wanted to, you made it so I can't."
My nails dug into my palms.
"Do you understand how messed up that is?"
I stepped closer.
"You tied my body to you."
My voice dropped.
"Without telling me."
A pause.
"Without giving me a choice."
His jaw flexed.
I pressed my finger against his chest.
Right over his heart.
"You knew."
The words came out as a whisper.
"You aren't stupid, Dominic."
His eyes darkened.
"You knew what those words meant."
"We're married."
His voice was controlled.
But there was hurt underneath.
"So why does it sound like you were already planning on leaving before our wedding night?"
"I—"
The answer came too quickly.
"I wasn't."
His mouth curved slightly.
Not amusement.
Something bitter.
"Who's the liar now?"
My stomach dropped.
He knew.
He had heard.
The conversations with Sarah.
The plans.
The desperate hope that maybe there was still a way out.
So he knew.
And he had done it anyway.
The realization settled heavily inside me.
Fury.
Pain.
And something more fragile that I refused to acknowledge.
"So..."
I forced the words out.
"You knew I would try to leave."
My eyes locked onto his.
"So you built it into your vows."
A humorless laugh escaped me.
"A clever little loophole."
I shook my head.
"Some Moon Goddess technicality."
My smile was empty.
"How romantic."
For a moment, he only stared at me.
Then he exhaled.
"Ellie..."
His voice sounded exhausted.
"Your mind has absolutely no respect for reasonable conclusions."
"That's not a denial."
His eyes closed briefly.
Then opened.
"Yes."
The word was quiet.
"I knew you were planning to leave."
My breath caught.
"Is that what you wanted to hear?"
"I—"
"I don't need the Moon Goddess to trap you with me."
His voice lowered.
"She's already doing that herself."
I went still.
Because...
Annoyingly...
That was true.
My body had chosen him long before the contract.
Long before the vows.
Long before either of us had a choice.
The Moon Goddess had tied us together and thrown away the key.
"Maybe."
My voice softened.
"But what happens if I'm trapped with someone who hurts me?"
The words hung between us.
"And I can't leave?"
Something changed in his face.
His eyes widened slightly.
"You think I would hurt you?"
I didn't answer.
Because I couldn't.
I couldn't say with complete certainty that he never would.
Not after before.
Not after our first wedding.
Not after everything.
He looked away.
Ran a hand through his hair.
For the first time tonight, his control cracked.
Only slightly.
"You're afraid of a version of me that doesn't exist."
His voice was quiet.
"You're afraid of something that hasn't happened."
A pause.
"Something that might never happen."
His eyes returned to mine.
"And instead of waiting to see if I would prove you wrong..."
His voice dropped.
"You planned to leave before I ever had the chance."
"No—"
"No?"
His hand moved.
Suddenly.
Quickly.
His fingers closed around my thigh where the slit of my dress revealed the sheath.
Not painful.
Not forceful.
But enough.
Enough to make my breath catch.
Heat rushed through me.
Unwanted.
Humiliating.
My body is reacting despite everything.
"Then what was this for?"
His voice was quiet.
His hand moved away.
And then he pulled the dagger free.
The small blade caught the light.
Everyone could see it.
"It doesn't matter."
My voice came out smaller than I wanted.
"Dominic..."
I stepped back.
"Back up."
The words tasted like defeat.
His expression changed.
Exhaustion.
Pain.
Something wounded.
"You think I would—"
The dagger shifted slightly in his hand.
Not intentionally.
Not threateningly.
Just movement.
Without thinking.
And suddenly...
I wasn't here anymore.
I was somewhere else.
Cold stone beneath me.
Hands gripping my wrists.
A blade above me.
The smell of iron.
The certainty.
The horrible certainty.
This is it.
This is how it ends.
No one is coming.
I'm going to die.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
The memory swallowed everything.
Dominic stepped closer.
I stepped back.
"Ellie."
My name left his mouth.
But I wasn't hearing him.
I wasn't seeing him.
I was seeing the past.
And my body reacted before my mind could catch up.
I moved.
Fast.
Instinctively.
My hand shot forward.
I grabbed his wrist.
Dominic startled.
He wasn't expecting it.
I ripped the dagger from his grip.
And then—
The blade went into his side.
The resistance was horrible.
The sickening ease of steel breaking through flesh.
The vibration traveled up my arm.
His breath left him in a sharp, stunned sound.
And suddenly I was back.
Present.
Here.
I felt the warmth.
Saw the red spreading across his white shirt.
Saw his face.
Shock.
Confusion.
Pain.
My fingers were still wrapped around the dagger.
Still buried in him.