Chapter 121: Your wife has returned safely
Clara blinked repeatedly, still trying to process what she was seeing.
Wasn’t her husband supposed to be at the Sterling Mansion?
Then why on earth was he sitting comfortably in the Pearl Mansion’s living room?
Beside her, Hannah leaned closer and whispered,
"I thought you said he wasn’t coming."
She swallowed nervously.
"Then... what exactly is he doing here?"
"I’d like to know that too," Clara muttered under her breath.
Her gaze remained fixed on Dominic before drifting toward the others sitting with him.
Grace immediately shook her head ever so slightly, silently telling Clara that she hadn’t been the one to call him.
Jonathan, meanwhile, was barely awake.
His head rested comfortably on Grace’s shoulder, and from the way his eyes kept closing, it looked like he had already accepted the living room as his bedroom for the night.
But the most terrifying person present...
Wasn’t Dominic.
It was Nicholas.
The old man sat with his cane in hand, wearing an expression so stern that even Clara instinctively straightened her back.
"Hehe..." Clara laughed awkwardly.
"Grandpa... you’re still awake?"
Nicholas didn’t even blink.
He simply stared at her before shifting his gaze toward Dominic.
Then back to Clara.
Then Hannah.
The silence alone was enough to make both women sweat.
Finally, he spoke.
"Now that your wife has returned safely..."
He yawned.
"...may I finally go to sleep?"
At his age, he should have been peacefully snoring hours ago.
Instead...
His grandson had barged into the mansion looking ready to declare war because his wife had mysteriously disappeared.
Grace smiled tiredly.
"Son..."
She looked at Dominic.
"If there’s nothing else you need from us, may your father and I please go to bed?"
She glanced sideways.
"Your father seems to have already moved into the living room."
Jonathan lazily opened one eye.
"I was emotionally supporting everyone."
Grace looked at him.
"You were sleeping."
"I was supporting everyone... in my dreams."
Clara almost laughed.
Almost.
Nicholas slowly stood up with the help of his cane.
"I’m going to bed."
He looked sharply at both Hannah and Clara.
"But tomorrow morning..."
"You two are explaining everything."
Neither woman dared to argue.
"Yes, Grandpa."
With that, Nicholas slowly walked away.
Grace helped Jonathan to his feet before the couple also headed upstairs.
Within seconds... only three people remained.
Hannah looked from Dominic to Clara, then quietly took two steps backward.
"Well..."
"I suddenly remembered I enjoy being alive."
Before Clara could stop her—
"I’m going to bed!"
Hannah disappeared upstairs faster than anyone thought possible.
Clara stared after her in disbelief.
"...Traitor."
She clicked her tongue before looking back at Dominic.
"I’m going to sleep."
She pointed toward the front door.
"You can go home now."
Without waiting for a reply, she turned and headed toward her room.
As expected...
Footsteps followed behind her.
Clara didn’t even need to look back to know who it was.
The moment they entered the bedroom, Dominic closed the door behind them.
"I’ll be staying here tonight."
Clara stopped walking.
Slowly...
She turned around.
Her eyebrows rose.
"And who," she asked sweetly, "gave you permission?"
Dominic met her gaze without backing down.
"I don’t remember needing anyone’s permission to stay with my wife."
Clara folded her arms.
"And I refuse."
Clara met Dominic’s gaze with unwavering determination.
Before he could respond, his thoughts flooded her mind.
[Wifey... where am I supposed to go at this hour? You left me all alone after I came home planning to make up with you. I know I wasted time sulking instead of apologizing... but now I’m here, and all I want to do is snuggle with you.]
Clara almost choked.
Seriously?
His thoughts were racing so fast that she barely had time to process one before another arrived.
She had honestly believed that spending a night away from him would be the perfect punishment.
Instead... her husband had followed her all the way to the Pearl Mansion.
And now she had just learned that he had actually planned to apologize.
Wait... He had a plan? Knowing Dominic, that plan probably involved awkward silence and expensive flowers.
Meanwhile, Dominic stood as expressionless as ever.
On the outside, he looked calm and composed.
Inside... he was having a full-blown argument with himself.
Dominic wanted to tell Clara that he had realized he was wrong. That he regretted saying those nonsensical words. That he should have communicated properly instead of making her upset.
But every time he tried to speak... the words refused to come out.
Instead, he cleared his throat. "Well... I can stay."
He walked past her as though the matter had already been settled.
"This is my room. I don’t need permission to sleep here."
Just as he was about to sit on the bed—Whoosh!
Clara darted in front of him and blocked his path.
"No." She folded her arms. "As your wife... I absolutely have the right to refuse."
She pointed dramatically at the bed.
"You are officially banned from using it."
Dominic looked at the bed. Then at Clara. Then back at the bed.
His thoughts immediately started again.
[Why is she being so difficult? Doesn’t she miss cuddling me? How is she planning to sleep without using me as her personal teddy bear?]
Clara’s eyelid twitched.
Unfortunately... he wasn’t entirely wrong.
She had grown so used to falling asleep in his arms that staying away from him felt strangely uncomfortable.
That was precisely why she had come to the Pearl Mansion.
If she stayed beside Dominic... she knew she’d forgive him far too quickly.
Clara looked at him again. His face remained as cold and unreadable as always.
Yet somehow... his eyes looked unbelievably pitiful.
Like an abandoned puppy pretending it didn’t need to be adopted.
For a brief moment... her resolve wavered.
No, Clara. Stay strong. This stubborn husband of yours desperately needs to learn how to communicate with his wife.
She took a deep breath, shoved aside every soft feeling threatening to surface, and stepped closer until she was standing right in front of him.
Then... a sweet smile spread across her face.
"But... I can make one exception."
Dominic blinked. His instincts immediately sounded every alarm.
Whenever Clara smiled like that... someone was about to suffer.
And that someone was him.
Still, he remained silent and waited for her to continue.
Because no matter how suspicious that smile looked... he couldn’t bring himself to say no to his wife.
***
"Good night, Dom. Sleep well." Clara smiled sweetly as she tucked herself comfortably beneath the duvet.
Across the room... her six-foot-two husband stared helplessly at the small couch that had officially become his bed for the night.
He looked back at Clara. "Clara, I think we should—"
Click. The lights went out. A second later, Clara pulled the blanket over her head.
The conversation was officially over.
Dominic stood there for a few seconds before letting out a long, defeated sigh.
"If only I’d negotiated earlier..." he muttered to himself.
At least he could have convinced her to let him sleep on the bed with a wall of pillows between them.
Instead... he had been demoted to the couch.
[Wifey... how can you be this heartless?]
The thought barely crossed his mind before he mentally smacked himself.
[No. You deserve this, Dominic Sterling.]
He rubbed his forehead.
[You could have simply told her you wanted her to recover comfortably during her period.]
[Instead, you somehow managed to choose the one sentence capable of offending almost every woman on the planet.]
Another sigh escaped him. At this point, he had lost count of how many times he had replayed that conversation in his head.
The more he thought about it... the guiltier he felt.
[Congratulations. You’ve successfully created a problem that didn’t need to exist.]
He glanced at Clara’s sleeping figure.
[So accept your punishment like a man.]
Despite everything, he still had countless questions.
Where had Clara disappeared to tonight? Why had she sneaked out in pajamas?
Why did she come back with Hannah?
But... those questions could wait.
For now, he was simply grateful she hadn’t thrown him out of the room entirely.
Compared to sleeping outside, the couch felt like a luxury suite.
Meanwhile, Clara lay with her back facing him. Every single one of his thoughts reached her loud and clear. And the more she listened... the softer her heart became.
She had already guessed what Dominic had truly meant earlier. Yet she had stubbornly chosen to punish him anyway.
Not because she doubted his feelings...but she doubted herself. The last thing she wanted for Dominic was to take cold showers just in case she got horny again.
However, she wanted him to understand that keeping everything bottled up only leads to misunderstandings.
Still...listening to him blame himself over and over again made her chest tighten.
Am I being too harsh on him? She frowned slightly.
For a while, the room fell completely silent. She waited for another stream of thoughts.
Nothing.
Curious, Clara slowly turned around.
The moonlight spilling through the curtains fell gently across Dominic’s face. His eyes were closed.
Is he already asleep?
Just as she wondered that— his thoughts surfaced again.
[I’m sorry, Wifey. But don’t worry... once you’re feeling better, I’ll make it up to you in a way you’d never expect.]
Clara’s eyes widened.
"So you’re pretending to sleep..." she whispered with an amused smile.
She watched him for another few moments. Even now, his expression remained calm and unreadable. Only she knew how noisy his mind really was.
The corners of her lips slowly curled upward.
I can’t wait to see what you’ve planned, Dom.
With that thought warming her heart, Clara closed her eyes, hoping to finally catch the sleep.