Chapter 5 He Doesn't Want To Lose Her

• A sleek black car slowly rolled to a stop in front of a luxurious mansion with classic architecture. The tall iron gates opened automatically, as if welcoming its master back to his lair.
• But Elena remained silent in the back seat. Her hands clutched the seatbelt tightly, her eyes staring straight out the window. When Dominic opened the door and turned to her, she didn’t move an inch.
• “Get out,” Dominic said quietly.
• Elena shook her head. “I’m not getting out. I won’t go back to living in your cage.”
• Dominic paused for a moment. His eyes studied Elena’s tense, angry face.
• “I’m not caging you,” he said, his voice low but sharp. “I gave you everything. Safety. Clothes. Food. Protection... and love.”
• Elena let out a bitter laugh. “That’s not what I need, Dominic. That’s a golden cage.”
• Dominic held his breath. “Have I ever hurt you, Elena?” he asked softly. “Have I ever hit you? Touched you without your consent?”
• Elena stared at him. Her tongue refused to move. No. In her heart, the answer was clear: he never did.
• But she stayed silent.
• Dominic met her gaze sharply. “Everything I’ve done… was for your good. I never meant to treat you like a prisoner.”
• Elena looked up, her eyes burning again. Her voice rose, trembling with emotion.
• “Not a prisoner? I wasn’t even allowed out of my room, Dominic! I didn’t even know what rooms existed in that house!”
• She pointed toward the grand mansion, its glowing lights behind massive glass windows.
• “You gave me everything, clothes, food, a bed, a movie theater in my room, a fully stocked kitchen, a private salon, a gym, everything inside my room. But none of it made me feel alive. You wrapped me in luxury, but it felt... like death. Like I had no world of my own. You hid me from my past. You made everything so small, just me and you, it's suffocating! It's driving me insane!”
• Her voice broke at the end. Her eyes glistened, but she didn’t cry. Not this time. She just sat there, clutching herself, hurt, angry, and exhausted.
• Dominic stood outside the car door. Silence fell between them. Then slowly, he bowed his head.
• “I… I don’t know any other way to love you, Elena.”
• The words left his lips like a whisper. But they hit like a storm.
• Elena turned to him. “If that’s what you call love… then I don’t want to be loved.”
• “You regret being loved by a man like me?” Dominic asked, his jaw tightening. “Would you rather be loved by some stranger out there? Poor, abusive, ugly... and probably unable to protect you? You’ve already seen how cruel the outside world is, haven’t you? If I hadn’t come, you might’ve ended up passed around like a piece of meat!”
• Elena stayed quiet, turning her tense face away.
• “Fine. I won’t force you,” Dominic said, still trying to keep his composure. “But maybe this is your new cage now.” He slammed the car door shut.
• Elena flinched and looked up, watching Dominic walk toward the terrace, where black-suited guards stood at their posts like the house was hiding treasure everyone wanted to steal.
• “What kind of man is he? He thinks love and comfort will make me satisfied? Of course not. I need fresh air!” Elena grumbled, then tried to open the car door—but it was locked.
• She crawled to the other side and tried again. Still locked.
• “Well done… So now what? A new cage?”
• She fell silent, angry, looking out the window. It was quiet, but she knew guards lurked at every corner, ready to drag her back even if she escaped the car.
• “This isn’t love. This isn’t love!” she screamed, clutching her head in frustration and collapsing to the side, curling up in tears. “I want out, I want my family… I hate him, damn you, Dominic!”
• Dominic stepped into the mansion. His shoes echoed heavily across the marble floor, the cold air inside doing nothing to cool the fire in his chest. As he took off his coat and tossed it on the couch, a sweet, seductive voice greeted him.
• “Dominic, finally you’re home…”
• A woman stood in the doorway. Long blonde waves framed her face, her lips painted a bright red, her body wrapped in a crimson satin dress that clung to every curve. A sweet smile played on her lips, but her eyes held something sharp and cunning.
• Dominic sighed, barely glancing at her. “Bianca.”
• Bianca stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his neck without permission, trying to embrace him. But before she could, Dominic swiftly pulled her arms away.
• “What are you doing here?” he asked coldly.
• Bianca chuckled lightly, unfazed. “You talk like I’m a stranger. I have every right to be here. I’m your fiancée, remember?”
• Dominic’s eyes darkened.
• “My fiancée?” he sneered. “You call yourself that because of some ridiculous arrangement between our parents?”
• Bianca blinked, trying to keep her smile. But Dominic was already walking fast toward the study on the mansion’s right wing.
• “Dominic!” she called, her heels clicking loudly as she chased him. “You can’t keep running from this. That agreement was made for the sake of both our families! For the legacy of our names!”
• Dominic didn’t reply, his pace quickening. Bianca nearly stumbled but caught up with him in the grand corridor.
• “You don’t have a choice, Dominic!” she cried, her voice cracking. “I can be a good wife to you. This is what’s best for everyone! We’ve known each other since we were kids…”
• Dominic stopped at the threshold. His shoulders tensed. Slowly, he turned around.
• “Exactly. Because we’ve known each other since we were kids… I know who you really are, Bianca,” he said sharply. “And one thing you should know, i don’t love you.”
• Bianca froze. Her smile faded. “What?” she whispered. “You… don’t love me?”
• Dominic took a step closer, his face inches from hers.
• “No,” he said firmly. “And I never will.”
• “Why?” Bianca’s voice cracked. “What changed you, Dominic? You’re not the man you used to be…”
• “Because I met someone who made me realize… that love isn’t a contract. Love isn’t a family duty. And most of all,” he said, staring deep into her eyes, “love isn’t you.”
• Bianca stood frozen, her beautiful face now stained with tears and shame.
• Dominic opened the door to his study, stepped inside without another word, and slammed the door shut behind him.
• Bianca remained in the corridor, swallowed by shadows of hatred and rejection.
• ...
• Inside the quiet study, Dominic stood still in front of a large bookshelf covering one wall. He ran his fingers along the edge, pressing a specific spot. A soft click sounded. The shelf slowly shifted, revealing a hidden steel cabinet behind it.
• With a calm but heavy expression, Dominic opened the cabinet. Inside were several thick folders. But he took only one a black file embossed with the name: Elena Palvin
• He opened it on the desk, revealing photos of Elena from various angles: street CCTV, hospital data, even scraps of personal documents—her entire past laid bare. Some pages were worn with age.
• Dominic touched one photo, Elena smiling in a library. A smile he rarely saw anymore.
• With a heavy sigh, he closed the file, then walked toward the large window overlooking the mansion’s front lawn.
• From behind the glass, he could still see his black car parked there, the cabin light glowing faintly.
• His hand clenched at his side. His face was tense, but his eyes revealed a deeper sorrow, imagining Elena, her rage, her longing to escape him for a world she thought was hers.
• “I never meant to cage you, Elena…” he murmured, more to himself than anyone. “I just… couldn’t let you know everything. Because the truth out there… it’s not what you hoped for.”
• Silence swallowed his words. But inside, his heart kept roaring with love, guilt, and the fear of losing her.