Chapter 40: Chapter 40
The night air was crispy. It carried too much weight for Celeste lungs to hold. Celeste had barely slept. Her phone buzzed from time to time with emails from the Dean’s office and a few reporters who somehow had her personal contact. She blocked each one and pressed her palm against her chest, trying to keep herself from falling apart.
It was quiet outside her dorm room. It was saved for the occasional sound of distant laughter or a car rolling past. Celeste sat on the floor, her back against the door, curled up in her own sweater.
A sudden soft knock came to her door.
At first, she didn’t move. She figured it was the neighbor again with her usual midnight ramen offering. However. the knock came again. This time, it was low, deliberate, and familiar.
Her chest tightened.
She stood and peeked through the peephole. Her breath hitched.
Dominic.
She froze. For a second, she wondered if she was imagining things. But the sharp line of his jaw, the midnight-black coat, and the storm behind his eyes confirmed it.
He should have just called. Why did he show up?
She unlocked the door, but only to open it slightly.
"What are you doing here?" Her voice was rough, and guarded.
He looked at her.
Her curls were tied up messily. Her eyes were puffy. She looked tired and angry and beautiful all at once.
"I needed to see you." His voice came out rapsy, like he needed air and water, all at once.
The door slammed shut. She leaned her back against it, with fists clenched at her sides.
"Celeste," he called, softly. "I know what it looks like."
She inhaled deeply and opened it again, just a crack.
"What does it look like?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Because to me, it looks like I was stupid. Like I trusted someone who saw me as nothing but a weekend fling."
Dominic’s voice lowered. "Don’t do that."
"Do what?"
"Talk like I don’t care about you. Or talk like what... like I’m not real,"
Celeste stepped back, opening the door fully. Her eyes were swimming now, but no tears had fallen. She was too exhausted to cry.
"I wanted to crawl to you," she said quietly. "Every time someone sent me another picture, another headline... I wanted to call you. I wanted to bury myself in your chest and pretend the world didn’t exist."
Dominic took a step forward.
She stepped away from him. "But I couldn’t," she added. "That’s because there are mountains. And doors we can’t walk through together."
"Celeste—"
"You’re Dominic Cross. You have power built into your bone." Her voice cracked. "Do you even know what it’s like to be in my shoes? I’m a scholarship student. My internship’s under review. I’ve been told to stay out of the press and pretend like I wasn’t in that picture. While you? You go home to a penthouse. You have teams handling your press. You walk away from the mess you create, but I have to bathe in it."
Dominic’s lips parted like he was going to argue. But he didn’t.
He knew she was right.
"I’ve been accused, punished, and humiliated," she said, her voice rising. "And not one headline asked me how I felt. Not one wondered if I was dragged into this. Not one."
Dominic took a slow, shaky breath. He moved closer, gently. When she didn’t move away, he reached out and held her hand.
"I’m sorry," he whispered.
She looked away.
"I didn’t ask for this," she whispered.
"I know." he replied. He raised her hands to his lips, and dropped kisses softly on them.
He pulled something from his pocket. A folded piece of paper that consists of printed screenshots of a message he’d sent to his PR team.
"Tell them to leave her alone. She’s off-limits," she read aloud, her voice cracking. "Shut it down. Every piece. Every leak."
He handed her his phone next. The last ten messages were arguments. He had fired two people.
"I didn’t disappear," he said. "I fought for you behind the scenes. I just... I didn’t know if showing up would make it worse."
Her lip trembled. She loce-hate he showed her.
"I’ve been trying so hard to be strong," she whispered.
He took her face in both hands now, tilting her chin up. "You are strong."
Her walls began to crumble.
"I can’t have you, Dominic. I want to, but I can’t." She regretted and loved kissing him in that club.
"Why not?"
"Because if I do... I lose everything I’ve worked for."
"And if you don’t?"
"I lose you."
Silence dropped between them. It choked them even. It stretched between them like a thin thread. One strong wind, and it would break.
Dominic pulled her into his arms.
She didn’t resist.
He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
"It’s you and I against the world, baby." He promised.
Her knees buckled a little, but he held her tighter.
"You’re not alone," he murmured. "I’ll take the fall. Let them come for me. But you? You’re off-limits. Always." He kissed her forehead again, and rubbed her arms.
She buried her face in his chest. Her shoulders shook.
"You can’t keep showing up like this," she whispered. She was so desperate to look around, amd know if someone was recording.
"I can. And I will. Until you believe I’m not going anywhere."
She looked up at him, eyes red. "You’re stubborn."
"So are you."
She smiled.
Celeste’s smile was a small thing. Dominic saw it and tucked it in his chest like a sacred thing.
He leaned down, his forehead resting gently against hers. "You don’t have to decide anything tonight," he murmured. "I didn’t come here for an answer. I just needed you to know I’m still here."
Celeste closed her eyes.
"Even if I send you away?" she asked.
"Then I’ll wait down the hall. Or across the street. Hell, I’ll take a bench and camp out under your window. But I’m not disappearing again. You’re not alone in this anymore."
Her fingers curled slightly into his coat.
"But I’m so tired, Dominic. I’m tired of fighting, of pretending none of this hurts. Of looking strong when I just want someone to... stay."
"I’m staying," he said, soft but firm. "And if you let me, I’ll hold up the sky for you until you can breathe again."
That did it.
A tear slipped down her cheek, and he caught it with his thumb, brushing it away like it offended him.
"Come here," he whispered.
This time, when he pulled her in, she didn’t resist.
He cradled her. One arm wrapped around her shoulders, the other cupping the back of her head as she let herself melt into him. Her fingers curled around the lapel of his coat and didn’t let go.
For a few long minutes, they stood there in silence, letting the world spin without them.