The storm didn't subside. Neither did the tension.
Aurora sat on the edge of Dominic's pristine glass table, scrolling through her phone. The glow from the screen was harsh against the dim lighting of the penthouse, but her eyes couldn't tear away from the headlines that kept pouring in. Aurora Lan3's Scandalous Affair with Billionaire Dominic Raine: Secret Relationship Exposed!
Every click brought her closer to the abyss.
Dominic stood by the window, his broad back to her. His posture was rigid, tense, and his gaze focused on the storm outside, but his mind? She knew better. It was with her. Always.
"I should have never gotten involved with you," Aurora muttered, more to herself than to him.
Dominic's voice broke through the silence. "You didn't have a choice."
She froze. That voice, the way he said it with that quiet intensity, like it was a fact rather than an opinion.
"Is that how you see it?" she snapped, standing abruptly, feeling the pressure of everything mounting. "You think I wanted this?"
"No," he said, turning to face her. "I think you wanted to keep things clean. Keep your life, your career, your reputation intact. But sometimes life doesn't give us that luxury."
Aurora's heart stuttered. He's right.
But she wasn't ready to admit it. Not to him. Not to herself.
She crossed her arms in defiance. "I never asked for this. For any of this. Not you. Not your damn media games. Not this fake relationship that's supposed to fix my problems."
"You think it's fake?" he asked, his tone slipping into something far more dangerous. "Everything about this is real. We're real."
She met his eyes, then looked away. "You don't get it. You don't understand what it feels like to have your life picked apart. To have everything you've worked for… destroyed."
Dominic's jaw tightened, and he stepped forward, his gaze never leaving hers. "The world's already torn you down once, Aurora. You're not going to let them do it again, are you?"
His voice held something in it. Something raw. And for a moment, it was as if the space between them closed entirely.
But she couldn't let it happen.
"I don't need you to fix it, Dominic," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't need you at all."
For the first time, Dominic didn't respond immediately. His gaze flickered, the storm of his emotions shifting beneath the surface. Then, his expression hardened. "Fine. But I'm not walking away."
The determination in his eyes made her heart stutter again. But it was too late for that. The damage had already been done.
---
The next morning, the media was relentless.
Photos of Dominic and Aurora had flooded every news outlet, their every move scrutinized. The speculation only grew, more venomous by the hour. The whispers were everywhere, accusing them of everything from manipulating the public to using each other for personal gain.
It was suffocating.
Aurora paced through Dominic's office, her heels clicking sharply against the polished floor. She couldn't escape the feeling of being trapped in a maze with no exit. And Dominic—he was still nowhere to be found.
Where the hell was he?
As if answering her unspoken question, the door to the office swung open, and Dominic walked in, his expression unreadable. He had a calmness about him that made her blood boil. How could he be so… collected when everything around them was spiraling?
She took a deep breath. "You just let them say whatever they want, don't you?"
Dominic locked eyes with her. "The truth doesn't need to be defended. It's the lies that need to be crushed."
"Easier said than done," she retorted. "What happens when your 'plan' stops working? When they're no longer buying it?"
He closed the door behind him, walking toward her. "You're smarter than this, Aurora. The media will tire. They always do. But they'll believe the narrative we give them. We give them."
His words were sharp, his confidence too much to ignore. And yet, the frustration still simmered beneath her skin.
"How?" she demanded. "How do we make them believe it when all they've seen is scandal?"
Dominic paused in front of her, his eyes dark. "By showing them something they haven't seen. You don't get to control your past, but you do get to control what happens next."
Aurora's chest tightened. "And what exactly is next?"
He stepped closer. "We take control."
The electricity between them flared again. It was undeniable. Her heart thudded against her chest, her breath coming faster. She had no idea what he was talking about—but she didn't care.
"You're not just playing the game, are you?" she asked, voice quieter now, as if the energy between them was holding her words in place.
"No," he replied, his voice low, gravelly. "I'm ending it."
---
That afternoon, they found themselves on the front lines. The press was everywhere. Cameras flashing, microphones being shoved in their faces as they walked through the glass doors of Raine Global.
For a moment, Aurora hesitated, her nerves creeping back in. It was one thing to pose for the cameras in private. Another entirely to do it in front of a corporation that was built on power, wealth, and dominance.
Dominic reached out, grabbing her hand. His grip was firm, confident.
"Stick with me," he said, eyes locked on hers, as if nothing and no one else existed.
The crowd roared as they stepped onto the elevator. His hand never left hers, his thumb tracing soft circles on the back of her hand.
"You're going to need to do better than that, sweetheart," he said with a smirk. "This is only the beginning."
Aurora met his gaze, still reeling from everything they'd just stepped into. The world outside wasn't just waiting for them to slip up—it was eager for their downfall. The second they gave in to the pressure, they would be consumed.
But Dominic's presence, the sheer magnetism of his confidence, made it hard to even consider walking away.
And that terrified her.
---
By the time they reached the conference room, the storm inside her had reached its peak. Everything she'd held onto for so long—control, independence, the walls she'd built—was slowly starting to crumble under the weight of his touch, his promises, and the intimacy they had shared.
Dominic turned to her, his expression focused and intense.
"This isn't just about us anymore, Aurora," he said, his voice steady. "It's about who gets to define you. Who gets to write your story."
Aurora could only nod, because she realized—perhaps for the first time—that she didn't need to fight this battle alone.
Not anymore.
---