Crushed Affections (Dominic and Bella)

Chapter 448 Want to Stay the Night

After a moment, Dominic finally shifted his gaze away from her chest. He said, "The dinner was pretty boring, so I decided to come home early. I'm tired. I'm going to shower and get some sleep. You should rest early, too."

Bella followed him upstairs. As he headed toward the guest room, she called out, her tone light and teasing, "Do you want to sleep in my room tonight?"

Dominic froze, his body stiffening. His eyes were sharp, his expression a mix of restraint and warning, as if daring her to push him further.

Bella pouted. "I just thought the baby should get to feel some fatherly love every now and then. But if you're not interested, that's fine. You can wait until the baby's born to start bonding."

Dominic suddenly smirked, his lips curling with a hint of mischief. "If it's fatherly love you're after, wouldn't it make more sense for me to go in and 'check on' the baby directly?"

Bella prided herself on her newfound ability to tease him, but his comment turned the tables so effortlessly that it left her speechless. The implications of his words were impossible to ignore. Her face turned scarlet as she stammered, "Y-You're awful," before rushing into her bedroom to hide her embarrassment.

The next morning, Dominic was already gone when Bella woke up.

He didn't respond to her texts or calls. The only contact he made was through Carla, giving her occasional

was avoiding her. Perhaps he'd figured something out. Or maybe, now that the media frenzy had died down, he no longer needed to keep up appearances and felt no reason

lan or Leonard. But knowing how close

times like these, Sean was the obvious choice. When she called him, he immediately started laughing. "Instead of trying to figure out what he's

felt a wave of embarrassment. The old saying about pregnancy making you forgetful

returned to her room to dress up, intentionally choosing an

deliberately acted

Just as she was about to call him, he texted her "See the hotel across the street? Come to room 801. Meeting ata hotellike

was a high-end hotel

was a

a moment of hesitation, she decided

however, was less than thrilled. "Ms. Jones, why are we going to a

"I'm meeting someone. Wait outside the room. I