Chapter 267

Midnight swallowed the city whole in its inky darkness.

The twins had been asleep for hours. Evelyn sat hunched over her laptop, forcing herself to work on designs.

She wasn't in the mood, but she had to keep busy.

The moment she stopped, unwanted thoughts would flood her mind.

Eleven o'clock chimed. Evelyn's eyes burned from staring at the screen too long.

Dominic hadn't called.

She showered mechanically, the hot water doing little to ease her tension. Wrapped in a silk robe, she tried his number again.

Her fingers trembled. That robotic "subscriber unavailable" message haunted her. The line rang endlessly.

Just as she was about to hang up, a woman's voice answered.

"Hello?" The feminine tone dripped with confidence.

Evelyn's throat tightened. She forced her voice steady. "I'm looking for Dominic Blackwood. Is he available?"

"Oh?" The woman laughed lightly. "Dominic's in the shower. Who should I tell him called?"

The phone slipped from Evelyn's numb fingers.

She powered it off like shutting a door on reality. The silk robe suddenly felt too thin despite the heating.

Moonlight painted silver streaks across the floor, mocking her loneliness.

Every promise Dominic had ever made echoed cruelly in her mind. "My phone is always on for you." Lies.

At the penthouse suite, Vivienne smirked at Evelyn's name on the call log. She deleted the record with surgical precision.

Not a single fingerprint out of place.

The bathroom door opened just as she set the phone down. Dominic emerged in a robe, his sculpted frame barely concealed.

His beauty was almost unnatural - sharp jawline, lips redder than sin, eyes like frozen mercury. The man who built an empire with ruthless precision.

Only someone like Vivienne deserved him.

His expression darkened seeing her. "It's midnight. What are you doing here?"

Vivienne tilted her head, letting the silk nightgown slip off one shoulder. "You haven't eaten all day." She gestured to the steaming meal. "Even if not for me, think of T Corporation."

"Not hungry." Dominic's tone cut like glass. "Leave."

He grabbed his phone. Vivienne's nails dug into her palms as he tried calling Evelyn repeatedly.

Each failed attempt made his jaw tighten. He reached for water, found the glass empty, and hurled it against the wall.

The explosion of crystal startled Vivienne. She'd never seen him lose control.

Over that plain little nobody? The jealousy burned like acid.

She poured fresh water with practiced grace. "Problems?"

"Get. Out." Each word was a bullet.

Vivienne's perfect mask cracked. The Laviere heiress wasn't accustomed to being dismissed like staff.

She forced a smile. "Don't stay up too angry." Gathering the shards, she made her exit before he could humiliate her further.

The door clicked shut. Dominic redialed again.

Still no answer. His knuckles turned white around the phone.