Called Off the Wedding, Left Him Bankrupt novel Chapter 219

Dominic walked past Cynthia, his brow furrowed in that familiar, impatient way.

Cynthia pressed her lips together and quietly followed him out of the study.

As she reached the doorway, she caught sight of Dominic by the shoe cabinet. He pulled open one of the lower doors and took out a pair of slippers.

“No need, really, I’m fine barefoot,” Cynthia protested, waving her hands.

Every woman has a certain possessiveness about her boyfriend, she thought. She knew exactly what it meant for a woman to leave her things at a man’s place—it was a declaration, a quiet staking of territory. So there was no way she could wear those slippers.

Dominic shot her a look, then bent down and set the slippers at her feet. His voice was low and unyielding.

“I said put them on.”

Cynthia had only glimpsed the slippers in the cabinet earlier, not noticing that they were nearly identical to the pair Dominic wore—clearly a matching set.

She let out a quiet sigh, resigned. Seeing the impatience written all over his face, she lowered her voice and tried to explain.

“Mr. Holloway, maybe men don’t always get how women think. If a pair of slippers ends up in your cabinet, it means no one but the woman who put them there is supposed to wear them. If you give them to me today and Miss Kingsley finds out tomorrow, well... she’s not going to be happy.”

Cynthia hadn’t even finished when Dominic cut her off, his expression stony.

“Didn’t you say you weren’t stupid?”

She blinked, caught off guard. How did they end up here?

Dominic’s tone was cold and final.

“Because you seem pretty stupid to me.”

With that, he strode into the dining room and took a seat at the table.

Cynthia stood there, bewildered by his inexplicable attack on her intelligence.

Just then, the gentle man in chef’s whites finished setting all the dishes on the table. Spotting Cynthia frozen in the doorway, he smiled warmly.

Cynthia, called by her full name, froze in the entryway.

Lamont rubbed his forehead, suppressing the urge to clamp a hand over Dominic’s mouth.

“Miss Tremaine, he’s not trying to threaten you...”

He was about to explain, but Dominic stood abruptly, crossed the room to the study, grabbed the slippers, and strode to the foyer. He stopped in front of Cynthia, his tone flat and uncompromising.

“If you walk out that door, I’ll make sure everyone knows there’s no partnership between the Holloways and the Tremaines.”

His face was unreadable as he once again bent down and set the slippers at Cynthia’s feet.

“Put them on. Eat.”

There was no room for argument in his voice.

Cynthia stood there, rooted to the spot, unsure what to do next.