Called Off the Wedding, Left Him Bankrupt novel Chapter 105

She admitted she'd chosen Benedict—and only after seven years did she finally see his true nature. That decision was monumentally stupid.

"Well, even if it was stupid, at least it was brave! That's a thousand times better than certain people who skulk around in the shadows, too afraid to face their own hearts, too cowardly to love the woman they want."

Dominic stared at her, his expression icy, the air around them seeming to drop a few degrees.

Cynthia knew she'd hit a nerve, and hard.

For a split second, she had the wild thought he might actually lunge at her and wring her neck.

Locked in a silent standoff, they held each other's gaze. Someone had to blink first.

Truthfully, she was running on empty. But she refused to back down.

In the end, Dominic was the one to look away. He turned on his heel and strode down the hall, shoulders tense.

Cynthia pressed her lips together, watching his retreating figure—there was a hint of defeat in his posture. But she felt no sense of triumph whatsoever.

She stood quietly in place, guilt creeping in as she replayed her words. Maybe she'd gone too far.

She knew what it meant to be an heir to a powerful family. Generations of effort and sacrifice weighed on their shoulders; they enjoyed the privileges of their legacy but paid a price for it. Love was always the least necessary part of the equation.

Some choices were simply out of their hands.

People are, after all, emotional creatures. To keep your feelings bottled up for years, to exercise that kind of self-control... Compared to her reckless bravado, maybe that was the more admirable strength.

Cynthia bit back her discomfort and headed down the corridor toward her own room.

When she reached her door, she let out a sigh, bumped her forehead gently against the wood, and tried to clear her mind. Only then did she key in the code to unlock it.

Just as she was about to step inside, she heard the door across the hall open.

She turned and saw Dominic standing in the doorway.

Please don't tell me he's so mad he wants to hit me, she thought, gripping her doorknob a little tighter, ready to dart inside if she had to.

Dominic's dark eyes fixed on her, voice low and steady as midnight.

Just because she broke off their engagement, did she really have to endure a lifetime of his verbal sniping?

Maybe being "too brave" wasn't such a great thing after all.

Cynthia took several deep breaths, finally opened her own door, and stepped inside.

She shut the door and flopped face-first onto her bed, drained in every way possible.

A notification flashed on her phone.

Unlocking it, she saw a new message—one of Mr. Whitaker's people had sent her a video.

Even the thumbnail made her queasy. She had a feeling actually watching it would be a mistake.

Beneath the video was a message:

"Miss Tremaine, the boss wants to know—are you satisfied with Zachary's fate?"