Chapter 110: Chapter 110
Celeste tugged at Dominic’s wrist the moment the car engine went silent, her fingers curled with an urgency that left him no room to resist.
The park stretched ahead.
"Come on," she whispered fiercely, tugging him out before he could adjust his cufflinks. "Be human with me, Dominic. Just tonight."
She hadn’t expected him to agree when she asked back at home that they should visit the park after a little rest from the wild episodes.
It was Sunday, and so many families would be at the pack. She wanted to be around carefree kids.
He looked too tired to fight when she asked him, while cuddled up in his arms on the floor of the living room. Maybe that was why he surprised her. He’d glanced at her with his sharp, unreadable eyes, and then nodded once.
And so here they were, spilling into a world he had never stepped into. He said he’d never been to a kids park before. Not even as a kid. Her heart crushed when he said that. Kids aren’t allowed to miss out on their childhood.
Dominic’s tall frame looked painfully out of place. His immaculate shirt sleeves caught the golden glow of the bulbs strung overhead, but the way his jaw tightened told her everything. This wasn’t his element.
He was the type of man who commanded boardrooms, and who knew how to fold people with a stare. Not a man who queued for popcorn or fumbled for change at a token booth.
However, Celeste didn’t care. She dragged him straight to the first stall. It was a ring toss booth with bottles glinting under harsh yellow light. The carny grinned, tossing her three hoops. "Win a bear for your boyfriend?" he teased.
Dominic’s brows flicked upward. He didn’t correct him, neither did he even flinch. Celeste caught the flicker of a smirk playing at his lips and shoved a hoop into his hand. "Yes, my boyfriend. Let’s see if he can win me something for once."
He looked at the thin ring like it was a foreign object, stunned. Celeste couldn’t help laughing. Her laugh came out loud and unrestrained, the sound startling him in a way that softened the tautness of his shoulders.
"Like this," she said, tossing one expertly. It wobbled, slipped past the bottle neck, and clattered to the floor. She cursed under her breath, cheeks heating. "Okay, maybe not like that. But still."
Dominic said nothing. He bent his wrist, studied the target with unnerving focus, and released. The ring bounced, spun, and fell. He frowned.
He tried again. He wasn’t used to losing, yet he missed again. His jaw ticked, but his gaze never left hers. Celeste’s heart thumped at the way he absorbed failure. There was a strange kind of fascination that pushed him to try harder. Like missing a simple game wasn’t possible in his world, and yet here he was, watching her laugh at his expense.
When her turn came again, she managed to land a ring. The carny clapped, hauling down a stuffed giraffe almost as tall as her. Celeste squealed, hugging it tight. "See? Natural talent." She beamed at Dominic, waiting for him to roll his eyes or remind her how childish this was.
Instead, he reached out, adjusted the giraffe in her arms so she wouldn’t stumble under its weight, and murmured, "You’re radiant when you smile like that."
She looked so happy holding it, so he let her.
It wasn’t the words he said, but his tone when he said it. He said it with the kind of honesty that slipped out before he could cage it. Celeste blinked, heat rising in her chest that had nothing to do with the neon glare.
They tried the basketball hoops next, where Dominic’s precision finally came through.
He sunk each ball with cool ease, and the attendant had to hand over a smaller toy. It was a penguin that looked absurd in his large hands.
Celeste laughed until her stomach hurt, snapping pictures of him holding it, refusing to let him hand it off to a passing child. "Keep it," she said, "it’s proof you can be fun." He didn’t argue. He tucked it under his arm, carrying it through the crowd like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Whack-a-mole came next. Celeste shrieked with laughter as she slammed the mallet, with her hair flying, and her eyes bright. Dominic tried once, his movements was too measured, and too delayed. He missed almost every pop-up. "Unbelievable," she teased, breathless. "The mighty Dominic, taken down by a rubber mole."
He only watched her, with his chest rising and falling. His lips tilted with something she couldn’t name.
Dominic took his time to memorise every toss of her hair, every reckless burst of laughter, and every time she leaned back against the counter with flushed cheeks and shining eyes. For once, his world of order, control, and discipline was irrelevant. She was chaos, and he was helplessly enthralled.
By the time they reached the food stands, Celeste was carrying two stuffed toys and an armful of tickets. She dragged him to the ice cream booth, ordering with giddy impatience.
She handed him a cone, already dripping down the side. He didn’t eat. He stared at it strangely, and just held it, eyes fixed back on her as she licked hers with exaggerated delight. "You’re supposed to eat it, you know."
"I am," he said smoothly, but his gaze never lowered to the cone. She flushed, realizing the weight of his attention, and turned sharply away. Her heart raced with an ache she didn’t want to name.
They wandered toward the line of claw machines, neon reflecting off the glass. Celeste pressed her hands against one, whispering encouragement as Dominic tried.
The claw fumbled each time, the toy slipping free at the last second. She laughed harder than she had in months, leaning against his shoulder for balance, the giraffe’s head bobbing between them. "You’re hopeless," she gasped.
But then he did something unexpected. He stepped back, gesturing for her to take over. She slipped the joystick under her fingers. Her tongue was caught between her teeth as she maneuvered.
On her second try, the claw snagged a plush rabbit and dropped it perfectly. She squealed, hugging the prize. She spinned around to look at him. "See? Talent."
Dominic’s gaze softened. The softness made her pulse stutter. "You glow when you win," he murmured, taking notes.
Cekeste smiled brightly, and kissed his cheek.
Later, they found themselves in front of the massive wall of stuffed toys. The prizes of the toys were stacked high in dizzying colors.
Celeste stood still, scanning the rows, and caught between choices. Her fingers fidgeted at her side. "What’s your favorite color?" she asked suddenly, squinting at the rows of reds, blues, and pastels.
Dominic went silence. His silence was heavy. When she turned, he wasn’t looking at the toys. He was looking at her.
"It’s the color of your eyes, Celeste."
The words sank into her bones like fire. She blinked, caught off guard, her heart skipping. "My eyes?"
"Yes, baby." His voice was low, velvet-dipped, his gaze locked on hers with unnerving intensity. "Brown on normal days. Hazel when the sun touches them. Almost green when you’re excited. And light chestnuts when you’re soft like this, and soemtimes when you cry."
Celeste froze. The stuffed toys were now forgotten, and the world narrowed to the space between them. Her pulse thundered, and her knees weakened. She hadn’t expected this. This was a massive amount of raw unveiling of attention. This was poetry hidden behind his sharp exterior.
She swallowed hard, dragging her gaze back to the wall, desperate to ground herself.
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