48: No one likes me, and that's okay.

No one likes me, and that's okay.

"Your feet."2

Dominic's hot breath caressed the shell of her ear, snapping her out of her delusion he was planning to take this to romance. When he drew his head back, he quirked a brow and tipped his head down slightly.

"Oh." Heaven cleared her throat, almost embarrassed at having a silly mind. "Why do you have to word it like that? Gosh. I thought you were going to do something."

Heaven immediately removed her feet from his, avoiding his gaze to save herself some face.

"What did you think I'd do?" asked Dominic, staying on his spot even though her feet weren't on his anymore.

"Hmm?"

"What did you think I'd do?" he repeated, tilting his head to the side. "Did you think I'd kiss you?"

"Hell no!" she denied aggressively. "There's no way in nine hells I will think like that! I'm not a pervert. I just thought… just thought you will strangle me or something."

Dominic looked at her as a subtle smirk turned up on his face. "Sure."

The moment that word rolled out of his tongue, he turned on his heel to go back to where he could watch her. Meanwhile, as he walked away, Heaven pouted grumpily.

'He's toying with me, is he?' she wondered, mentally clicking her tongue. 'Damn it, self. Don't rush things — you'll only embarrass yourself.'

Heaven shook her head and followed him. She threw the fresh memory at the back of her mind, hoping she could erase them forever. It didn't take long before she started cooking, distracting herself from Dominic's watchful eyes.

Little did she know, while she successfully buried the shame swelling within her chest, her husband was doing the exact opposite.

'If I did what she just thought…' Dominic had his eyes fixed on her while he was leaning against the counter in the corner. He had his arms and feet crossed, realizing how efficient his wife was in the kitchen. '... would she just take it?'

Even though Dominic willingly and wholeheartedly wanted to give this marriage one more chance, it was almost broken beyond repair. Especially when it comes to physical touch. Heaven was particularly sensitive. She hated the sight of him, and his touch disgusted her.

The only time they actually held each other was that night. That one fateful night which bound them in this marriage and shoved them into a role as parents. After that, she wouldn't even let him graze her. Therefore, the surprise he had when she suddenly turned up in his room, announcing she wanted to share the bed, was inexplicable.

'Repulsive… that's what she said back then,' Dominic mentally hissed, closing his eyes for a moment. 'Stop it. We agreed. I don't want to doubt her right now.' — but he wasn't truly doubting, but simply… puzzled.

Completely appalled.

"Mm!" Dominic opened his eyes ever so slowly upon hearing her make a sound, only to see her smile as she tasted the dish. "Not bad, Hera — self!"

Heaven smiled as she faced Dominic. "Want to taste it?"

Dominic glanced at the pot before he advanced in her direction. "It looks nice," he remarked monotonously, noticing how she used the same spoon to scoop a small portion. Heaven guided the spoon to his mouth.

"Come. Try it," she urged, nodding encouragingly.

"Let me —"

"It's alright. I'll do it slowly."

For a second, Dominic couldn't react to the situation. All he could do was watch her blow at the spoon before offering it to him to have a taste. Although appalled, Dominic bent over slightly while she fed him.

"So?" her eyes twinkled in anticipation. "What do you think? Good?"

"Not bad." Dominic licked his lips and nodded. "I mean, it's good."

"First comments are always the truth." Heaven sighed, having another spoon to see if she could add more to the dish.

"It's good."

"Mhm, na ah. It still needs a bit of salt." Heaven busily added more without giving him a look.

'I should've said it was good.' Meanwhile, Dominic had a slight regret for his feedback. Not that he was lying. Heaven's cooking was actually good; it just tasted different from what the chef would prepare, but not in a bad way.

"I'll just let this simmer and I'm all done!" Heaven placed the lid back and lowered the heat, grinning at her husband upon making that announcement. "You can go back to bed now. It's late. I won't take responsibility if you oversleep tomorrow."

"I never overslept my entire life."

"Because you always stick to a schedule."

"If you know that, then you have more reason not to worry." Dominic shrugged. "I always stick to my schedule strictly. I wake up to attend a conference, even if I only napped for ten minutes."

"My impression of your assistant is not getting any better." Heaven shook her head in dismay. "I don't like him even more now."

"He doesn't like you."

"No one likes me, and that's okay."

"Are you sure?"

Heaven raised a brow. "Do you?"

Silence. Dominic didn't answer, and it didn't surprise her even one bit. Sometimes, silence was much better than honesty or lies.

"How considerate of you, Mr. Zhu." Heaven chuckled, raising her hand over the lid to check it. "Don't worry. I'm used to people hating me to the point they want me dead. Can't blame them. I haunt them even in their sleep, after all. So, you don't have to feel bad about it."

"Millions of people admire you," he replied, translating her words as just a part of her negative yet untrue thoughts showing. "Even right now, people are still waiting for the time they'd see you on the big screen again."

Heaven paused, and her subtle reaction didn't go past his eyes.

'Did I make a mistake?' Dominic wondered, thinking her acting career was almost like a taboo for her.

"What's the use of being admired by millions… if I ruined the people who actually matter?" she whispered to herself before forcing a smile. Heaven faced him, keeping a shallow smile intact. "This is done. You can wait for me in the theater if you are eager to join me. I'll just prepare all this, okay?"

"I shouldn't have mentioned that." Dominic breathed out deeply. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"It's not." He sighed once again, looking straight into her eyes as he stressed each word. "I'm sorry."

'It's really fine,' was what she wanted to tell him, but kept quiet. "If you really mean that, then let's have a late-night date. I don't think we ever dated before and after marriage."

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