Chapter 223: It wasn’t intentional

"I already told you," Clara muttered, trying desperately to maintain her composure.

Her heart was pounding wildly against her chest. The longer she looked at Dominic, the more she felt as though it might leap straight out of her mouth.

Dominic, however, simply creased his brows.

[Why does she look like she’s about to pass out? Is she not feeling well?]

Clara blinked.

How could a man be so completely clueless about the effect he had on her?

Yet she refused to say it aloud. The mere thought of explaining it made her want to hide her face.

Dominic waited for a few seconds before reaching up to check her forehead. His brows furrowed even deeper.

"You don’t have a fever. Then why do you look like you’re about to faint?"

Confusion was written all over his face.

Dominic was very much aware of the effect his wife had on him. When it came to Clara, his emotions were anything but difficult to understand.

But when it came to recognizing someone else’s feelings?

He was hopeless.

Which was why he still couldn’t figure out what was actually happening to his wife.

Clara swallowed. Her racing heartbeat had slowed slightly, but the way Dominic was looking at her still made her feel strangely giddy.

"You really have no idea what’s wrong with me?" she asked.

Dominic frowned again.

[Should I know? I don’t understand what is wrong with her.]

Clara mentally sighed.

Dominic had certainly started working on his communication skills, but when it came to understanding romantic feelings, he still had a long way to go.

"Well, to put your worries at ease, I’m perfectly fine," she finally said. "It’s just that you caught me off guard when you pulled me onto your lap."

She gestured toward their current position.

Normally, Clara was the one who casually climbed onto Dominic’s lap and caught him off guard. But this was different.

They weren’t inside their room, and this certainly wasn’t the conversation she had expected to have with him.

Dominic said nothing. His eyes continued to study her skeptically.

[But I was gentle. And... I like having her like this, sitting on my lap where I can hold her close.]

A deep blush crept across Clara’s cheeks. She quickly looked away.

This man is going to be the death of me.

She shook off the thought and turned back toward him. "Anyway, forget about that. I wanted to ask you something."

Dominic raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Why were you scaring the staff?" Clara finally asked, pointing out the obvious problem with Dominic’s naturally stoic demeanor. "You do realize they’re still not used to your... normal behavior."

Dominic tilted his head. "Is it even my fault? They signed up for it."

Clara stared at him. "And you really think that’s an excuse?"

"Of course."

He paused before adding, "Besides, Butler James selected them. He clearly explained what they should expect beforehand."

Clara looked at him in disbelief. "You really think that?"

Dominic nodded without hesitation.

"Wow..."

Clara quickly climbed off his lap and stood in front of him, placing her hands on her hips.

"Dominic Sterling, you have so much to learn."

Dominic blinked before standing as well. "I am already learning to communicate, just like you asked."

Clara rolled her eyes. "That’s different."

"How?"

"You can’t go around terrifying your staff and making them question every life decision they’ve ever made."

Dominic frowned. "I don’t terrify them."

Clara gave him a look. "Dom, they practically stopped breathing when you looked at them."

"They were working."

"They were gossiping."

"They shouldn’t gossip while working."

Clara sighed. "That isn’t the point." She stepped closer and gently poked his chest. "You don’t have to change who you are. I know you’re naturally serious, and I would never ask you to act differently around the outside world."

Dominic watched her quietly.

"But when it comes to your people, you could try being a little more approachable."

He raised an eyebrow. "Approachable?"

"Yes." She hesitated. "Although... friendly might be asking too much."

Dominic’s lips twitched. "So I’m allowed to remain unfriendly?"

"Less scary," Clara corrected.

"That’s more reasonable."

Clara shook her head, amused.

"You’re impossible."

[But she still likes me.]

Clara froze for half a second after hearing his thought.

She quickly looked away.

"Yes, unfortunately, I do."

Dominic’s brows furrowed in confusion.

"I didn’t say anything." Clara smiled innocently.

Dominic looked at his wife. Despite how suspicious she could be at times, Clara somehow managed to look adorable while doing it. Perhaps that was why, whenever she genuinely wanted something from him, he found himself agreeing far too easily.

"Fine," he finally said. "I’ll be more approachable."

Clara’s eyes widened.

"You will?"

He nodded.

"But I won’t go easy on anyone who tries to harm you."

Clara’s eyes widened further.

This was the first time Dominic had openly voiced what he felt about people who looked at her with malicious intentions.

She had always known he was protective of her, but Dominic usually showed it through quiet actions rather than words. Hearing him say it so firmly made warmth spread through her chest.

Dominic’s gaze softened before he reached out and pulled her closer.

"I won’t spare them," he added, making his intentions perfectly clear.

Clara’s heart fluttered.

In her previous life, she had never truly understood the depth of Dominic’s feelings for her. She had been too blinded by the people around her to see what had always been right in front of her.

But after opening her heart to him, she finally understood.

His love had slowly found its way into her heart, making her want to protect him with the same intensity.

Clara’s eyelashes fluttered as her gaze moved across his face.

Those deep eyes seemed to speak a thousand words she had failed to understand in her previous life.

But now, when she looked into them, her heart leaped.

And I won’t spare your enemies either.

The thought barely crossed her mind before Clara slowly leaned closer.

Dominic’s eyes lowered toward her lips.

For a moment, the world around them seemed to disappear.

Clara was just about to close the remaining distance between them when—

"Dominic, I think something is wrong with Hannah!"

Clara practically jumped.

She and Dominic immediately turned toward the voice.

Grace and Jonathan were hurrying toward them, both looking unusually serious.

Clara’s cheeks flushed as she quickly stepped away from Dominic. But the moment the two people stopped in front of them, both seemed to freeze.

"Whoa... Why do I suddenly feel cold?" Jonathan muttered, rubbing his arms.

However, the moment his eyes landed on his son, his entire body stiffened.

Dominic stared at him coldly.

"What are you two doing here?"

His voice was perfectly calm, but somehow, everyone could feel the chill behind it.

"Don’t tell me we interrupted you both." Grace spoke up after realizing what they had gotten themselves into, but the response made her question her actions even more.

"..."

***

Inside the mansion, everyone settled into their respective seats in the living room. Clara, however, was busy trying to calm her husband, who was still shooting accusing glares at his parents.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Grace seemed completely unaware of the danger they were in, happily playing with Toto as if nothing had happened.

"It’s okay," Clara said softly, placing a hand on Dominic’s arm. "They simply need some time to realize they interrupted us."

Dominic’s eyes narrowed.

"They should have realized before interrupting."

Clara pressed her lips together. "Dom, it wasn’t intentional."

"They still interrupted."

Jonathan, who was busy scratching Toto behind the ears, suddenly glanced toward them.

"Why do I feel like we’re being discussed?"

Grace quietly looked at him. "Because we probably are."

Dominic’s glare immediately shifted toward them.

Jonathan froze.

Toto, completely oblivious to the tension, happily licked his hand.

"See?" Jonathan said awkwardly. "At least Toto likes me."

Dominic’s expression darkened and he quickly looked away.

Clara quickly tugged at his sleeve, trying to calm him down, but before she could Grace finally looked in his direction.

Clara quickly tugged at Dominic’s sleeve, trying to calm him down. But before she could say anything, Grace turned toward her son.

The moment she caught Dominic glaring at her, she immediately complained.

"Don’t look at us like we intentionally barged in while you were almost kissing your wife!"

Dominic’s expression remained cold.

Grace pointed at him.

"And why were you even out there in the first place? Shouldn’t you two have been inside your room?"

Clara’s cheeks immediately warmed.

"Mom..."

Grace sighed, finally realizing how awkward the entire situation had been.

"Honestly, we should have waited for Butler James to find you and call you inside."

Jonathan nodded while playing with Toto. "We were in such a hurry that we didn’t think about it."

"Exactly," Grace continued. "We were worried about Hannah, so we decided to come looking for you ourselves."

She paused. "Unfortunately, we found something else."

Jonathan cleared his throat. "Something we probably weren’t supposed to see."

Clara covered her face with her hands. "Please stop talking about it."

Dominic, meanwhile, remained completely calm. "There was nothing to see."

Grace stared at him. "Nothing?"

Dominic nodded. "We were talking."

Jonathan nearly choked. "Talking?"

Grace immediately looked at Clara, who was now turning red.

"Is that what young people call it these days?"

"Mom!"

Clara’s embarrassment only made Grace grin. "I’m just saying. We walked in at a very suspicious moment."