Crushed Affections (Dominic and Bella)

Chapter 296 How Are You Different From Your Mother

Curious, Bella walked closer to inspect the roses. They were still fresh, their red petals vibrant and dewy as if they had just been discarded there. The cold air around hadn't yet affected their color. Almost as if on impulse, she crouched down to search for a card that usually accompanied such bouquets, but there was none. It seemed someone had deliberately removed it. Felix approached and asked, "What's wrong?"

Bella stood up, shaking her head. "Nothing. There's a bouquet of flowers here. I'm not sure who left it."

Puzzled, Felix glanced around. "Weird. Why would they throw the flowers at my doorstep? Forget about it. Let's have breakfast first."

After breakfast, Bella drove back to Miller Manor. She needed to shower and change before heading to the hospital.

When she arrived at the gate, she noticed Dominic's car parked there. It wasn't in the garage, suggesting he had just returned

She hadn't expected him to come back from his overseas trip so soon. Overwhelmed with joy, she walked to his car and glanced inside. He wasn't there, so he must have gone inside.

As she was about to enter, her eyes caught sight of a card on the driver's seat. She had excellent vision, and it didn't take much effort to read the words.

It read, "Merry Christmas", and was signed off by Dominic

The card was elegantly designed, with the border pattern marked with the store's name-Bloom Haven Flocals.

Bella's thoughts immediately went to the bouquet at Felix's door, and her heart sank

Nervously, she entered the house.

Dominic was sitting on the couch in the living room, sipping coffee. His suit was crisp, and Pudding lay obediently at his feet on the carpet His expression was like a layer of frost-cold and unyielding The atmosphere in the living room seemed to chill with his Bella couldn't contain her curiosity. She stepped forward and asked, "Did you go to Felix's place this morning?" Without looking at her, Dominic coldly replied with a question, "Should I not have gone there to see if you were there?" presence.

She took a deep breath. "He's sick, and his family is all overseas. When I visited him last night, he wasn't in good condition, so 1-

Before she could finish, Dominic cut her off. "No need to explain. He's a doctor himself. He should know going to the hospital would be more useful than having you there. You've got some nerve, Bella. You really fucking do!" With that, he slammed his coffee cup onto the floor. The carpet was stained, and Pudding jumped away in fear,

Upon hearing the commotion, Sylvia rushed out to clean up, but Dominic gritted his teeth and said, "Leave it, Sylvia Clean up later."

Sylvia glanced at Bella with concem before reluctantly retreating.

Bella tried to maintain her composure and pushed down the fear she felt at his anger. "It's not what you think. There's nothing between us, Can you not get so worked up? I wouldn't have stayed over unless it was an emergency." Perhaps her blunt mention of spending the night at Felix's house set him off entirely.

Dominic stepped forward and grabbed her by the chin. His eyes were filled with contempt. "You're in the wrong, but you're still pretending to be innocent. How are you any different from your mother? Acting all righteous while being two-faced. You disgust me" Bella's eyes widened before they went lifeless. "What did you just say?"

He delivered another blow. "Did I say something wrong? If I had known you were this filthy, I would've never done all that for you. Like mother, like daughter!"

Waking up from a Dream