Chapter 12
Dominic’s wounds were far from healed, but despite the doctor’s repeated warnings that he needed rest, he insisted on leaving the hospital early.
He spared no expense, arranging his proposal at North Shore’s most luxurious rose garden.
The garden was filled with Juliet roses flown in from France, each one personally selected by him. The orchestra performed pieces he’d stayed up for three consecutive nights to finalize. The fireworks were custom–designed to match Mia’s preferences, programmed to form a starry–pattern that would spell out her name at the most romantic
moment.
He even personally tasted every dish on the menu, scrutinizing the champagne vintage with meticulous attention.
His friend Alexander, watching this display, couldn’t help but quip: “Dom, anyone would think you’re preparing for a coronation rather than a proposal.”
Dominic ignored him, checking his watch–thirty minutes until their appointment.
However, thirty minutes passed, then an hour…
Mia never appeared.
Dominic stood on the rose–covered terrace, fingers unconsciously tracing the diamond ring in his pocket.
He called Mia countless times, but every call went unanswered.
“Could something have happened to her?” His brow furrowed with concern as he contacted his staff. “Check Miss Mia’s schedule for today.”
Ten minutes later, the report came in…
[Miss Mia Reeves is at Chateau Spa and Resort. Today she received a full–body spa treatment, manicure, and has an appointment with a stylist. She has been there for six hours.]
Dominic stared in disbelief.
She was… at a spa?
Had she forgotten? But he’d reminded her just yesterday.
He gripped his phone tightly and drove directly to the spa.
When Dominic tried to enter Chateau Spa, the security guard attempted to stop him: “Sir, please present your membership-”
20:12
Chapter 12
“Get out of my way!” The manager rushed over, slapping the guard aside. “Have you lost your mind? This is Mr.
Reed!”
Dominic strode toward the VIP suite, but paused at the door when he heard laughter from inside…
“You’re seriously not going to meet that bodyguard?” A friend’s voice carried a teasing note. •
Mia responded lazily: “Why would I? I can tell from the way he looks at me that he wants to propose. As if I’d marry a bodyguard?”
“But he’s been so good to you,” her friend countered. “Taking a bullet, climbing a cliff, even tattooing your name on
his chest…”
“So what?” Mia scoffed. “No matter how handsome or devoted he is, he’s still just a doorman. I’ve been noticed by the North Shore heir now–of course I’m focusing on securing a place in high society.”
Dominic’s hand froze on the doorknob.
The friend persisted: “But why not just reject him outright? Leading him on seems cruel.”
“You don’t understand,” Mia’s voice carried a note of triumph. “He’s gorgeous, strong, and willing to die for me. Why
wouldn’t I want an extra admirer? But most importantly…”
Her voice dropped to a malicious whisper:
“Ariana was in love with him, but he’s in love with me. Just imagining her face when she realized I stole something she cherished–it’s absolutely delicious. It’s like when she used to love wearing white dresses, but I mentioned once that I liked them, and Dad gave me all her white dresses. I wore them around her constantly until she stopped
wearing white altogether!”
Dominic felt as though he’d been struck by lightning.
The friend seemed intrigued: “Speaking of which, you’ve sabotaged Ariana quite a bit over the years, haven’t you? I
heard about her mother’s difficult delivery…”
“That woman deserved it!” Mia’s tone suddenly sharpened. “How dare she occupy the position that belonged to my mother? I just slipped some abortion pills into her water before her due date… who knew she’d be so weak that both she and the baby would die?”
“And Ariana’s study abroad opportunity was canceled because you reported her for academic dishonesty?”
“Just a forged complaint,” Mia said dismissively. “That idiot threw a massive tantrum at home but couldn’t do anything about it. Daddy always takes my side.”
Each word felt like a poisoned dagger, dismantling the image of the pure–hearted girl rescuing a bird’s nest that had lived in Dominic’s memory.
The manager anxiously whispered: “Mr. Reed, would you like to go in?”
20:12
Buchand’s son
Chapter 12
The room suddenly fell silent, then Mia’s wary voice called out: “Who’s there?”
Dominic closed his eyes, then turned and walked away. “Don’t tell her I was here.”
In his black Maybach, Dominic chain–smoked one cigarette after another.
He replayed Mia’s words in his mind.
She considered him a mere “doorman,” only interested in marrying into wealth.
She had slipped abortion pills to Ariana’s ten–months–pregnant mother, causing both her and the unborn child to
die.
She had fabricated academic dishonesty claims against Ariana, causing her to lose her study abroad opportunity.
Through the haze of smoke, he recalled Ariana’s eyes, always filled with mockery…
The way she called him an “idiot” while gritting her teeth, her trembling fingers as she bandaged his wounds, the way she slammed the door as she left with a final “Dominic Reed, I don’t want you anymore“…
It now became clear that the woman he’d placed on a pedestal was utterly contemptible.
And Ariana, whom he’d repeatedly treated with cold indifference…
Was the true victim all along.
The cigarette burned down to his fingertips, but he didn’t notice.
In the distance, fireworks erupted from the rose garden, forming a brilliant “MIA REEVES” against the night sky.
Yet the man who should have been gazing up at those fireworks was sitting alone in his car, smoking cigarette after cigarette, his heart aching inexplicably.
He couldn’t understand how the sweet girl who had once rescued a bird’s nest could become this unrecognizable, calculating creature.
BANG!
His fist slammed against the steering wheel.
He finally understood–the woman he’d loved had always been a mirage.
That girl rescuing a bird’s nest had never existed–or rather, that person had never been Mia Reeves.
His memory flashed back to that charity gala three years ago.
Sunlight, white dress, the girl in the tree…
20:12
Husband’s Secretary Affair Pynosed–Then I Fell Into College thymerclage’s Arms
16.99
Chapter 12
Wait.
Mia’s words suddenly echoed in his mind with startling clarity.
“It’s like when she used to love wearing white dresses, but I mentioned once that I liked them, and Dad gave me all her white dresses. I wore them around her constantly until she stopped wearing white altogether!”
Back then, he had asked the server who that girl was.
The server had only said “Miss Reeves.”
Later, after returning from handling company projects abroad, he finally had time to seek her out, only to learn that the Reeves family had two daughters–one wild and unbridled, the “vixen” of their social circle who preferred red dresses, and one pure as jasmine who loved wearing white.
He had automatically assumed “Miss Reeves” meant the younger Miss Reeves.
But now…
Dominic’s blood instantly froze in his veins.
With trembling hands, he dialed Alexander’s number: “I need you to find the security footage from the charity gala garden three years ago…”
{
