Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 240

Chapter 240

I pulled my phone out and unlocked it, my fingers moving on autopilot as I opened a browser and typed my name into the search bar.

The results made my stomach drop.

Celeste and Dominic were trending at number one Julian and Seraphine were trending at number two. Every headline, every article, every social media post was about us. About him funding Helix About the forehead kiss. About whether we were really together or if it was all for show.

I looked up at him, my heart pounding. “Dominic, I am not even divorced yet. Is it okay for us to be acting so intimately in public?”

“There are people dragging me too, you know.” I could hear the weight creeping back into my voice. “They are calling me a discarded woman who does not deserve a man like Dominic Ford. They are calling me secondhand. Some of them are saying I must have cheated on my husband first, that I was sleeping with you for money before Julian found out and retaliated by sleeping with my best friend. And a lot of people are accusing me of releasing Seraphine’s sex video. They say my heart is full of

evil and venom.”

I felt the weight pressing down on my shoulders again, the familiar ache of carrying something too heavy for one person to bear.

Dominic must have seen it in my face. He lifted my hands to his lips and kissed them, one after the other, his mouth warm against my skin. “Trust me, Celeste. I will always be by your side. No matter what they say, no matter what they write, I will be right here.”

I nodded.

“When I went back home,” he said, his voice softer now, “I set my grandmother and Imelda straight. Since they refused to go, I decided to move out. I found a new apartment, somewhere they cannot follow me.”

“Where?”

“I will show you soon. But first, there is something I need to tell you.” He leaned forward, his eyes holding mine. “I had a bad feeling. After everything that happened, I knew the reporters would come after you. They might be afraid to ask me certain questions, but they would throw everything at you. I know you have bodyguards. I arranged them myself. But I still felt uneasy. So I came to wait for you.”

I realized then that my bodyguards must have stood down to let him through. I had been wondering why they had not pushed the reporters away. Now I understood.

“Julian and Seraphine are probably the two most hated people on the internet right now,” Dominic said. “That means they will do anything to avoid the public. Which means you will be the easier target for the reporters.”

Something clicked in my head, a piece of the puzzle sliding into place. “Seraphine must be so mad right now. She will probably strike back using my brother.”

“She will be too busy for that.” He said it with such confidence that I felt a knot tighten in my stomach.

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