Called Off the Wedding, Left Him Bankrupt novel Chapter 33

"I only refused a loveless marriage and had a failed relationship. That's hardly a crime worthy of death, is it? So why does Mr. Holloway insist on hounding me for my mistakes?"

Cynthia's voice was weary, but there wasn't a hint of collapse in her words. She just sounded exasperated, as if Dominic's deliberate coldness was simply too much to bear, and she couldn't help but show a flash of temper.

The man standing on the balcony didn't reply. Instead, he flicked the crumpled cigarette butt in his hand into the trash can with a casual, practiced motion.

The tension between them hung in the air, thick and unmoving.

After a few seconds of silence, Cynthia remembered that Dominic wasn't someone she could casually snap at. She forced her emotions down and steadied herself.

"Sorry. I've disturbed you. I'll go."

She turned quickly to leave, her expression tinged with frustration and a trace of lingering regret.

Dominic stood there like a jilted hero in some over-the-top drama, destined to get the last word and humiliate the fiancée who didn't know what she'd lost.

Cynthia couldn't have imagined that a seven-year relationship would end in such a humiliating scene.

Normally, she was fiercely competitive, but in front of Dominic, she couldn't even lift her head.

As she waited for the elevator, Cynthia let out a string of quiet sighs, her whole body drained of energy, spiritless and low.

Assistant Shaw stepped out of the elevator, nearly brushing shoulders with her. He lifted a hand, about to greet her, but Cynthia—head bowed, eyes downcast—slipped past him into the elevator, pressed her floor, and stared listlessly at the mirrored wall, as if contemplating her sins.

The elevator doors slid shut. Shaw's raised hand hung awkwardly in the air before he scratched his head, baffled, and walked into Dominic's apartment.

On the balcony, Dominic held a freshly lit cigarette between his fingers. At the sound of the door, he glanced over his shoulder, his gaze sharp and unmistakably displeased.

Shaw, quick on the uptake, instantly understood what that look meant.

Dominic tapped the ash from his cigarette, his tone dry. "You sound like you've been through this before. Another proposal shot down?"

He put a little extra emphasis on "another," and Shaw's face immediately fell. He groaned, wanting nothing more than to shut Dominic up, and quickly changed the subject.

"Pearl texted me earlier. She's coming to Cloudcrest City tomorrow, and she made me promise you'd wear that coat she picked out for you when you meet her."

Dominic grunted in reply, not exactly agreeing, but making his annoyance clear.

Pearl, his twin sister—older by all of three minutes—had been obsessed with picking out his outfits since they were kids.

Ever since she'd broken into the fashion world, she'd declared war on his monotonous black suits, making it her personal mission to overhaul his wardrobe.

Now, nearly seventy percent of the clothes in Dominic's closet were her handiwork.