CHAPTER 24: It Needs To Stop
Dominic’s POV
The day had been long, but my mind was still a storm. Sitting in the driver’s seat, I stole a glance at Eva in the passenger seat. She was unnervingly quiet, her arms folded tightly across her chest, her eyes fixed on the blur of streetlights outside.
I gripped the steering wheel tighter, the tension between us palpable. We hadn’t said a word to each other; we had hardly spoken at all since the stunt she pulled off at the beach. She had left town for a few days and I hadn’t bothered to find out where she had gone.
Our mother had asked me to pick her up from the airport earlier, of course I could have argued and told her a driver could get her, but I didn’t want to raise suspicion.
When we pulled into the driveway of our family’s estate, I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. The house loomed over us, grand and imposing, yet it felt suffocating in that moment.
“Eva,” I started, turning off the engine. “Are we going to talk about what happened or are we going to keep brooding about it?”
She didn’t answer immediately, just stared ahead. Her jaw tightened, and when she finally turned to face me, her dark eyes blazed with something between anger and desperation.
“Why do you always do this?” she snapped.
“Do what?” I asked, feigning ignorance though I knew this tone of hers too well.
“You act like everything can be so easily ironed out. I deserve more from you than this cold indifference.”
I maintained my calm, even as my patience thinned.
“What would rather have me do?” I said, my voice measured. “You’re crossing a line.”
“I don’t care about lines!” she shot back, her voice rising. “I don’t give a fuck what people are gonna say. I don’t care at all!”
I clenched my fists, struggling to keep my composure. “Enough,” I said sharply, my voice like steel. “Let’s go inside. I’ve had enough of this.”
But Eva wasn’t done. She slammed the car door as she stepped out, her movements sharp and angry. I followed her into the house, tension crackling between us like a live wire.
Inside, the foyer was quiet, the soft glow of the chandelier casting shadows on the walls. Eva didn’t wait for me; she marched ahead, her heels clicking against the marble floor. I caught up to her just as she reached the sitting room.
“Make a fuss of this and mum is gonna find out,” I warned, my voice low but firm.
She needed to snap out of this, she needed to save the drama for when our mother wasn’t home.
She whirled around to face me, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “You think I give a fuck about that too? You can’t keep doing this?”
“Doing what?” I barked, my frustration finally spilling over. “Keeping boundaries? Protecting what’s left of this family’s sanity? You don’t know what you’re asking for, Eva.”
now.
Her laugh was sharp and bitter. “Oh, I know exactly what I’m asking for. I’ve known for years, Dom. And don’t you dare act like you haven’t seen it before
The weight of her words settled like a stone in my chest. I stared at her, my mind racing as memories I had long buried clawed their way to the surface.
Yes, I had seen it in the way her gaze lingered too long, in the way she sought my attention and approval with a fervor that felt… wrong. But I had brushed it off at first, convincing myself it was just a sibling’s admiration, that her attachment to me was nothing more than familial affection.
What else was I supposed to do?
I had tried to create distance, to draw clear lines between us. I focused on my career, my independence, anything to avoid being in the same room for too long. But no matter how far I went, Eva always found a way to pull me back into her orbit.
“You’re delusional,” I spoke again. “Whatever you think this is, it isn’t real. It’s not right.”
1/2
CHAPTER 24: It Needs To Stop
“Don’t you dare tell me what I feel,” Eva snapped, stepping closer. “You’ve known all along. Dom. You’ve known how I feel, and you’ve done nothing but run from it. You can’t keep pretending.”
“I’m not pretending!” I shouted, the force of my own anger surprising even me. “I’m trying to protect you from yourself, from this insanity. This isn’t love, Eva. It’s an obsession, and it needs to stop.”
“Call it what you will; obsession, infatuation, madness! I don’t give a flying fuck!”
Before I could respond, a voice cut through the tension, sharp and commanding.
“What in God’s name is going on here?”
We both turned to see our mother, Caleb, standing in the doorway. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with a mix of confusion and fear. She had never seen us argue before.
“Mom,” Eva said quickly, her voice trembling as she wiped at her face. “It’s nothing. We were just-”
“It doesn’t sound like nothing,” mom interrupted, stepping into the room. Her gaze shifted between us, landing on me. ‘Dominic, what is she talking
about?”
I hesitated, my throat tight. How could I explain this without tearing our family apart?
“It’s nothing serious,” I said finally, my voice flat.
But Eva wasn’t willing to let it go. “Mom, he’s lying,” she said, her voice cracking. “You don’t understand. I-
“Eva, stop,” I snapped, my tone harsh.
But she ignored me, turning to mom with a pleading expression. “I love him, Mom. I always have.”
The silence that followed was deafening. Mom’s face went ashen, her hand clutching the back of a chair for support.
“Eva,” she said slowly, her voice trembling. “You can’t mean that. He’s your brother.”
“He’s not my brother!” Eva shot back. “Not by blood. And you’ve known for years how I feel. You’ve seen it, haven’t you?”
“I’ve seen enough,” mom said, her voice growing firmer. “And I’m telling you now, Eva, this has to stop. Whatever you think you feel, it’s wrong. Dominic is your family, and this… this infatuation is dangerous.”
I stayed silent as mom turned to me, her eyes searching mine for answers.
“Dominic,” she said softly, “please tell me you haven’t encouraged this.”
I shook my head immediately. “Of course not. I’ve done everything I can to keep boundaries, to protect her from herself. But she won’t let it go.”
She sighed heavily, pressing a hand to her forehead. “Eva, you need help,” she said, her voice breaking. “You need to talk to someone about this- someone who can help you see things clearly.”
Eva’s eyes filled with tears, her defiance crumbling under mom’s stern gaze. She looked at me one last time, her expression a mix of heartbreak and anger, before turning and running up the stairs.
The sound of her bedroom door slamming echoed through the house, leaving mom and me in tense silence.
