Vespera''s tune suddenly faltered, her melody slipping off-key.


    After drinking too much at lunch, she had felt dazed for the rest of the afternoon.


    Dominic had told her to rest in the office, and when it was time to leave, he called her into his office. It was then that he finally gave her permission to head home.


    Vespera had assumed they wouldn''t cross paths again for the rest of the day.


    After grabbing the shopping bags from the passenger seat, she stepped out of the car and walked toward him.


    "Mr. Reid, what brings you here at this hour?" she asked nonchntly.


    She stopped in front of him, her demeanor as though she had run into a colleague on the street. Her enthusiasm was polite, but there was a trace of insincerity beneath it.


    The light beneath the tree was faint, but a nearby streetmp provided just enough illumination for them to make out each other''s features.


    Vespera''s lips curved into a smile.


    Dominic''s intense gaze shifted from her face to her hand. "Have you sobered up already?"


    "Yes, I''m all good now," Vespera replied with a nod. "I have a decent tolerance. I get drunk quickly, but I sober up just as fast."


    "I can tell. You''re already back to your usual self."


    "Well, it''s mostly because I wasn''t that drunk in the first ce. I always know my limits when ites to drinking."


    "You really do seem to have a good handle on it."


    Dominic chuckled softly.


    Vespera''s fingers tightened around the shopping bags.


    She didn''t respond, and the silence between them lingered.


    The carefree demeanor she had worked so hard to maintain started to fade, cracking under the weight of the palpable tension that hung in the air.


    Dominic watched her in silence, his expression calm andposed, yet his gaze


    held an unsettling depth, as though he could see right through her.


    It gave her the unnerving feeling that he hade to deliver some kind of judgment.


    Vespera felt trapped under the weight of his presence, her irritation steadily growing.


    Vel


    It was like this scorching summer day-stiffing, oppressive, with mosquitoes buzzing around her ears Not only did they bite, but they left an incessant, maddening itch.


    "Did youe here just to check if I''m sober?


    "Well, I''m sober, as you can see. You can leave now."


    Her tone had lost its earlier pretentiousness, growing noticeably sharper.


    Dominic didn''t respond.


    Vespera couldn''t hold it in anymore.


    "Do whatever you want. I''m going upstairs. There are too many mosquitoes here-feel free to stay and entertain them."


    With that, she turned and walked off.


    Dominic closed the gap between them, stepping right in front of her.


    Startled, Vespera bumped into his chest. She looked up at him, her anger still simmering. "What do you want at this hour? Is it too much to ask for some peace and quiet around here?"


    "Come take a walk with me."


    "No! I''m going upstairs to shower and sleep!"


    "Don''t get so worked up."


    At that moment, Vespera almost couldn''t resist the urge to smack him with her shopping bags.


    Dominic took the bags from her. He then wrapped his other hand around hers, his thumb grazing her skin. "Just a short walk, please?"


    Her irritation began to melt away. "Half an hour."


    "Alright, just half an hour," he agreed, leading her toward the side of the road.


    "Come on, let''s go help the mosquitoes together."


    Vespera stayed silent.


    They strolled through themunity, eventually reaching a children''s yground.


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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!