Chapter 227: You finally admitted everything

The next morning, Dominic got ready for work while Clara sat on the bed with her legs folded, Toto comfortably resting on her lap.

As he adjusted his tie in front of the mirror, Dominic caught Clara staring at him through the reflection.

[Why is she staring at me? Do I look handsome?] He thought while stealing another glance at her.

Of course, he wouldn’t mind Clara staring at him. In fact, he secretly enjoyed it. However, something about the way she was looking at him now felt different.

She wasn’t exactly admiring him. It was more like she was plotting something.

Dominic narrowed his eyes at her reflection before finally turning around.

"What is it that you want to talk about?"

Clara straightened at once.

She had already heard his thoughts and rolled her eyes. Of course, she wasn’t staring because she thought he looked handsome.

Although... he did look handsome.

Every. Single. Second.

She simply wasn’t going to admit that she had been staring at him like a lovesick woman.

"Dom, tell me honestly. Did you mean everything you said yesterday?" she finally asked.

Dominic frowned. "Everything?"

"Yes."

Clara had already imagined several possible scenarios regarding Mark’s confrontation.

In one, Dominic stood in front of Mark with an intimidating expression while Mark covered his ears and cried.

In another, Dominic had transformed into a gigantic wolf, while Mark had somehow become a terrified deer running for his life. The wolf chased the deer through the forest, its enormous fangs on full display.

The image was so ridiculous that Clara suddenly giggled.

Dominic stared at her and the second Clara saw it, she immediately stopped.

[Just what does she keep thinking about?]

Judging by the strange grin on her face, Dominic was beginning to suspect that whatever was going on inside her head had something to do with him.

"What exactly are you asking about?" he asked. "I said a lot of things yesterday."

Clara finally dropped her act. Placing Toto gently beside her, Clara climbed off the bed and walked toward him.

"Well, you certainly did say a lot of things," she replied, stopping directly in front of him, and crossed her arms.

"But I think there’s something far more important you need to work on."

Dominic raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Your smile."

"My smile?" he asked, and Clara nodded seriously.

"Yes. You need to improve it."

Dominic stared at her as if she had just accused him of committing a crime.

"My smile is fine."

"No, it isn’t."

"It is."

"It really isn’t."

Clara remembered what had happened the previous evening when Grace and Jonathan had gotten ready to leave.

She had waved at them cheerfully.

"Goodbye! See you soon!"

Dominic, apparently trying to be polite, had attempted to do the same.

"Goodbye."

The problem was his smile.

Jonathan had frozen on the spot, while Grace had stared at Dominic as if she had suddenly entered another dimension.

Jonathan had later admitted that Dominic’s smile looked less like a friendly farewell and more like a silent threat.

Clara covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Yesterday, when you smiled at them, Dad looked like he was about to run for his life."

Dominic’s brows furrowed.

Well, he has to. After all, they both ruined my moment with my wife]

"I was being friendly," Dominic muttered as he looked elsewhere.

Clara, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes. "You looked like you were warning him."

"I wasn’t," he argued.

"You were."

Dominic pursed his lips as he couldn’t stand arguing any further. Maybe he indeed needs to work on a lot of things.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" he asked, carefully looking at her.

Clara smiled at his cute reaction and reached up, gently poking his cheek.

"Practice."

"Practice smiling?"

"Yes."

"I know how to smile," he still debated, only for Clara to give him a skeptical look.

"Then prove it."

Dominic stared at her for a moment before slowly forcing his lips upward.

Clara’s eyes widened. "...No."

His smile dropped. "What?"

"Don’t ever do that again."

Dominic’s face went blank. "You asked me to smile."

"I changed my mind."

"Clara."

She immediately burst out laughing. "I’m sorry, but you look like you’re about to announce someone’s execution."

Dominic sighed. For the first time in his life, he was beginning to think that smiling was more difficult than running a company.

"Let’s not do this now," Dominic suddenly said.

Clara blinked, caught off guard by his sudden change of mind.

But before she could ask what he meant, his arm wrapped around her waist. With a swift tug, he pulled her against him.

Clara’s hands instinctively landed on his firm chest, and she looked up at him without breaking eye contact.

"I’ll work on my smile," Dominic murmured, a faint smirk appearing on his lips. "But before that, let’s finish what we left unfinished yesterday."

Clara’s breath hitched as he leaned closer.

"Dom..."

He didn’t answer. He simply continued closing the distance between them, his gaze fixed on hers.

Just as their lips were about to meet—

"Wau! Wau!"

They both froze.

Clara’s eyes widened before slowly turning toward the sound.

Toto was sitting on the bed, staring at them with his head tilted to one side.

"Wau! Wau!"

Clara immediately covered her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter.

Dominic closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

[Of all the times...]

Clara glanced at him. "Looks like someone doesn’t approve."

Dominic opened his eyes and looked toward Toto. "I was wondering when he’d decide to interrupt."

Toto barked again as if proudly defending his position while Clara giggled.

"Maybe he thinks I’m more important than you."

Dominic’s expression turned serious, and he was just about to scold Toto when Clara suddenly cupped his face and planted a quick kiss on his lips, catching him completely off guard.

"No more disturbances," she murmured, pulling back with a mischievous smile.

Before Dominic could even react, she leaned in again and kissed him once more.

For a moment, Dominic simply stood there, stunned by her sudden boldness.

Then his lips curved into a slow smile.

"Well," he whispered, his arms tightening around her waist, "I suppose I can forgive the interruption."

From the bed, Toto turned around, giving the couple some private time.

***

After Dominic left for work, Clara got ready as well and headed to the bakery with Toto.

Since Dominic had several meetings that day, she decided to bring Toto along. She figured he would enjoy spending the day at the bakery, and Gen would be happy to see him too.

However, the moment Clara stepped inside, Lily approached her.

"Madam, Gen isn’t here."

Clara frowned. "Why? Where did she go?"

"Officer Ethan called her," Lily explained. "Apparently, Thomas requested to meet her."

Initially, Clara would have been concerned about Gen meeting Thomas. But now that he was detained, there was little chance he could hurt her.

"I guess it’s time he finally realizes what he’s done to her," Clara muttered.

Lily nodded. "He should."

***

Meanwhile, Gen stood outside the police station, hesitating before entering.

She knew things weren’t as tense as they had been before. Over time, she had worked through much of the hatred she carried toward her father, and Clara had played a big part in helping her let go of the anger.

But letting go didn’t mean forgiving him.

Gen still couldn’t bring herself to forgive Thomas for everything he had done.

She stared at the police station for a moment, taking a slow, deep breath.

I’m not here for him. I’m here for myself.

With that thought, she straightened her shoulders and walked toward the entrance.

The moment she stepped inside, the familiar surroundings made her heart tighten slightly.

A police officer approached her.

"Gen?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

"Officer Ethan is waiting for you."

Gen swallowed hard. "Alright."

She took another breath before following him down the corridor.

Whatever Thomas wanted to say, she was ready to hear it. But this time, she wouldn’t let his words control her.

***

Soon, Officer Ethan guided Gen to the meeting room.

The moment she stepped inside, her eyes fell on her father, who was sitting on the other side of the glass partition. His hands were cuffed, and his usually composed appearance was gone. He looked exhausted, with dark circles beneath his eyes as though he hadn’t slept in days.

"You have ten minutes," Officer Ethan announced. "I’ll give you some privacy, but I’ll be right outside."

Gen nodded silently.

Ethan stepped away, leaving them alone.

Thomas didn’t look up.

For a few seconds, Gen simply stared at him. Despite everything he had done, seeing him like this still stirred complicated emotions within her.

But Thomas seemed different now.

There was no anger in his expression. No arrogance. He looked like a man who had finally accepted that there was no escaping the consequences of his actions.

Clara had not only managed to reopen Gen’s mother’s case, but had also found a witness who had heard Thomas admit his involvement.

The witness’s statement had been questionable because he had been drunk at the time. However, during the interrogation, Thomas had eventually admitted enough for the police to connect the pieces.

Gen slowly sat down.

"You finally admitted everything?" she asked quietly.

Thomas finally lifted his eyes toward her.

"Yes."