Sensing the male lead's loss of control, Lucien trembled slightly. He struggled to turn his head away to avoid that suffocating kiss, panting as he murmured: "Don't... Dominic... my father... he is waiting..."
This weak act of resistance and the excuse of bringing someone else into the matter did not make Dominic back down in the slightest. On the contrary, it triggered his domineering possessiveness to its absolute peak.
Dominic lowered his head and bit down hard on Lucien's sensitive Adam's apple, growling: "Let him wait for all I care."
Lucien smiled faintly in his heart, but on the surface, he put on an expression of extreme grievance: "But... Miles will scold me... he will say I don't know my place... and that I made you late for dinner..."
"Who the hell does Miles Sinclair think he is?" Dominic interrupted gruffly. He lifted Lucien's small face, his gaze sharp and possessing an undeniable majesty: "Tonight, you are going with me. You will sit right next to me, and let me see who in this house dares to utter a single word to scold you."
Ding! Congratulations to the host, Side Quest 2 has been completed.
Lucien bit his lip, nodding softly, and buried his face in Dominic's chest, hiding an immensely triumphant smile.
Lucien knew all too well what kind of theatrical play tonight's dinner table would turn out to be. Miles Sinclair would definitely be shedding floods of tears, crying noisily, and playing the role of a deeply aggrieved, cuckolded victim. As for Mr. Sinclair, a man who favored Miles to an outrageous extent, he would use the pretext of being an elder and the future of the two families to force Dominic into giving an answer. At the same time, the old man would find a way to trample Lucien, the son of his ex-wife, into the mud to clear the path for his precious darling, Miles.
But little did they know, the current Lucien was no longer the weak and cowardly Lucien of the past. Playing the victim card? Very well. Let us see who the real victim is.
At the same time, in Miles Sinclair's room.
Shards of an expensive crystal vase were scattered all over the floor. Miles stood in the middle of the mess, his face completely devoid of the tears or the frantic sorrow he had shown just moments ago. Instead, it was replaced by a viciousness so twisted it was hard to look at.
He was pressing a phone to his ear, his icy voice issuing orders to the butler of this villa, a man whom his father had spent considerable effort to bribe.
"That is right, get ready. When my father returns later, you know what to say, don't you? Just say that for the past few days, Lucien Sinclair has been constantly sneaking around, wearing skimpy clothes and parading back and forth in front of Dominic Vance. Say that he was the one who drugged him, or that he stripped naked and crawled into the bed to seduce him himself. Dominic is a man, so how could he possibly restrain himself when tempted by such a slutty fox spirit?"
Miles smirked, his eyes resembling those of a venomous snake: "We must make my father see that Dominic is just playing around casually, and that the piece of trash Lucien is the truly despicable and shameless one who is ruining the family's reputation."
"Lucien Sinclair, you want to steal what belongs to me? I will utterly destroy your reputation and have you kicked out of this house like a stray dog!"
The grandfather clock in the hallway slowly struck 6:45.
In the bathroom, Lucien was standing in front of a large, mist-covered mirror. He had washed up cleanly and changed into a set of neat, presentable clothes. The soft, white silk shirt draped over his slender frame, making him look incredibly docile and modest at first glance.
However, Lucien's long, slender hands moved slowly and with absolute deliberation to unbutton the top two buttons of his shirt.
Instantly, his fair neck and collarbones were revealed. Right in the most eye-catching spot, a deep red hickey that Dominic had just bitten and sucked into his skin struck the eye glaringly. And if one were to look a little closer at the inner side of his peeking arm, that rough cigarette burn scar was also faintly visible.
Lucien looked at his own reflection in the mirror. A pale, fragile young man, bearing a body completely covered in the undeniable marks of abuse and violation.
It was far too perfect for the role of a pitiful, trampled white lotus.
The pale corners of Lucien's lips slowly curled into an eerie smile, the smile of a hunter watching his prey willingly throw itself into the net.
My dear little brother, you want to play a game of slinging mud? You want to play the pure and noble saint with me?
Lucien's fingers caressed the hickey on his neck, his eyes flashing with overwhelming, boundless ambition.
What a pity, I actually prefer to play dirty.
Click.
The sound of the bathroom doorknob turning slightly echoed, shattering the quiet atmosphere. The smile on Lucien's lips was instantly extinguished, completely replaced by a panicked, timid expression like that of a startled little animal.
The door opened, and Dominic stepped inside. He had changed into an expensive, dark-colored silk shirt paired with immaculately tailored trousers. Although his loungewear was somewhat more casual, the arrogant, cold, and ascetic aura exuding from him was still in complete contrast to the out-of-control beast on the bed just moments ago.
The man's gaze swept over Lucien's thin body, ultimately pinning firmly onto the glaring crimson hickey on his collarbone and the two shirt buttons that had been left unfastened.
Dominic's long, narrow eyes narrowed slightly as a gloomy fire carrying a primal possessiveness flashed through the depths of his gaze. He stepped forward, pressing Lucien tightly against the sink. His minty breath, mingled with the faint scent of tobacco, brushed against the young man's forehead.
Dominic's rough hand, bearing calluses, reached out. But he did not re-button the shirt for Lucien to hide those marks of intimacy. On the contrary, his long, slender fingers merely moved with a slow, leisurely pace to stroke and adjust the soft silk collar, deliberately leaving it at an angle that was half-hidden and half-exposed. The hickey was partially obscured, but with just a slight movement from Lucien, it would immediately be laid bare in the light.