Chapter 12 Not Like This

• After dinner, Calliope sliced up some fruit and took a seat beside Dominic.
• The man was staring at his phone the entire time, so Calliope curiously glanced at the screen. She thought he was playing games, but surprisingly, he was on a website in a foreign language. The suited men in the photos all looked like successful individuals.
• Calliope blinked in surprise, and right then, Dominic turned to her. Calliope was close to him, so she nearly touched the tip of his nose when he made the sudden move. The two of them then stared at each other while Calliope's face heated up as her heart pounded.
• “What's the matter?” Dominic asked in a low voice.
• “N-Nothing.” Calliope awkwardly shifted to the side before wringing her hand. Flustered, she squeezed out, “Are you reading the news?”
• “Mhm. Finance news.”
• “You know about that?”
• Dominic turned around and quirked the corner of his lips. “What do you think a man who fought and landed in jail should know, then?”
• “That isn't what I mean!” The blush on Calliope's face turned redder. “I'm just surprised. I wasn't expecting you to know that much.”
• An awkward silence hung in the air. Calliope tensed up, but when she looked at Dominic's unbothered expression, she felt that her nervousness was unwarranted.
• They were legally married, but they were so awkward when they sat beside each other. They were even hitting dead ends in their conversation.
• Calliope smacked her head as she wondered if she was a fool.
• Her action was seen by Dominic, and a smile he did not even realize grew on his lips.
• Putting down his phone, Dominic took a fork to stab a piece of the fruit. “So, do you have something you want to talk to me about?”
• “Huh?” Calliope blurted out before shaking her head. “No.”
• “Oh.” He turned to her. “Do we have enough money for the household?”
• “Why are you suddenly asking about that?”
• “Just a passing thought,” Dominic replied in a flat tone. “How do couples chat? Do they not talk about household matters like these?”
• Calliope bit her lip and fell silent.
• “Maybe... we should talk about this in a different spot.”
• As the man said that, he looked toward the bedroom, his voice low and seductive. When Calliope raised her head to look at his eyes, she could almost see fireworks in them.
• When she leaned to the side, he grabbed her waist and pulled her toward him instead.
• Calliope froze.
• Dominic's gaze was a burning one.
• He tightened his grip around her waist, but he did not do anything else. All he did was stare at her. Calliope had her eyes tightly shut. Even though she was trying her best to relax, her quaking body still betrayed the fear she felt for her first intimacy with him.
• Dominic's heart ached.
• He did not want to take her like that. It should have been something that came naturally for the two of them instead.
• “You must be tired,” were the hoarse words Calliope heard. “Rest early.”
• Right as she held her breath, she felt the grip around her disappear. The heat in the air was dissipating, too.
• Calliope could not think of the right words to describe what she felt at that moment.
• Dominic should be the closest person to her in the world, but she only knew him for a few days.
• Furthermore, there was something else that plagued her mind—she was there in her sister's place, and she was sure that Dominic still knew nothing about that.
• She once mustered the courage to confess to him that she was Calliope, not Penelope, but the hesitation would rear its ugly head whenever the words were at the tip of her tongue. If Dominic were to think that the Gingrich family was fooling him, and if he were to cause a ruckus because of that, Calliope had no idea how intense the conflict would be. Dominic had a fiery temper, and fighting was normal for him. She could not help but think about the what-ifs.
• When she glimpsed the punching bag and boxing gloves in the yard, she immediately dismissed that thought of hers.
• “You should be resting early. Why are you still spacing out here?” Dominic quietly prompted.
• At that, Calliope snapped back to her senses and started walking to the bedroom. Right then, Caleb called.
• “Calliope, you don't need to worry about Mom's medical bills anymore! It's been resolved!”
• “What?” Calliope could not believe her ears. “Where did you get the money?”
• “Penelope gave it to us,” Caleb said with a chuckle. “She brought a diamond necklace over and said that it was Dad's dowry for you. It's worth three hundred thousand!”