Chapter 153: I couldn’t find you in time

Clara had no idea how long she had been running through the vast garden before she finally came to an abrupt stop, bending over as she struggled to catch her breath.

"Wait a second..." she muttered, blinking in confusion. "Why am I even running? It’s not like I wasn’t going to tell him everything anyway."

The realization hit her like a brick.

After hearing Dominic’s thoughts, she had panicked, shoved him away, and bolted out of the room as if her life depended on it, convinced her husband was about to punish her.

But now that she thought about it...

Dominic had never been violent toward her.

Not in this life.

Not even in their previous one.

"...So what exactly was I so terrified of?" she mumbled, feeling incredibly foolish.

Before she could answer herself, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist.

With one swift tug, she stumbled forward and crashed straight into a firm, chiseled chest.

"Ow!"

Her poor nose bore the full impact.

Clara rubbed it with teary eyes before looking up.

The moment she saw Dominic’s face, her heart skipped a beat.

Why was she even running away from me? Did she seriously think I’d punish her? Good grief... I only wanted to punish her with an endless kiss until that stubborn little brain of hers started thinking logically again.

"..."

Clara blinked.

Her face instantly turned bright red.

An... endless kiss?

Her brain completely short-circuited.

"Caught you," Dominic said, watching her carefully, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

However, what happened next caught even him off guard.

"Dom, just... just listen to me first!"

Without warning, Clara wrapped both arms around him and charged forward.

"Whoa—"

Dominic barely had time to react before his back hit the trunk of a large tree with a dull thud.

For a brief moment, his mind went completely blank.

Clara looked up at him with watery doe eyes, making it impossible for him to interrupt.

"I was going to tell you everything about Thomas," she blurted out in one breath. "I just wanted to find out who was helping him first."

Dominic remained silent.

Taking his silence as permission—or perhaps a sign that she needed to explain faster—she continued nervously.

"I know sneaking into Crimson Crest alone was reckless. Extremely reckless. Monumentally reckless." She nodded at herself. "Looking back... I deserve at least a lecture. Maybe two."

A tiny smile almost escaped Dominic’s lips.

"But I only did it because I wanted to prove Gen was innocent." Her voice softened. "She didn’t kill her mother."

"It was Thomas."

The playful look vanished from Dominic’s face.

His expression turned deathly serious.

Even so, Clara kept talking, afraid that if she stopped, she’d lose the courage to continue.

"And... even with all that chaos happening around me..." she admitted shyly, "...I kept missing you."

She lowered her head, her ears turning crimson.

"I missed you so much that I’d already decided... if you hadn’t responded to my text, I was going to come looking for you the very next day."

Silence fell between them.

Dominic stared at the woman in his arms, completely speechless.

For once...his clever little wife had managed to leave him without a single word to say.

"What did you just say?" Dominic asked, quickly recovering from his moment of shock.

Clara blinked in confusion.

"That the real culprit is Thomas?" she answered cautiously.

He shook his head.

"No. After that."

"That I shouldn’t have been so reckless?"

"After that."

"That I would’ve come looking for you?"

Again, Dominic shook his head.

"Before that."

Clara frowned, trying to retrace everything she’d blurted out in her panic.

She replayed the conversation in her head, sentence by sentence.

Then it hit her.

Slowly, she looked back at him.

The moment their eyes met, her cheeks began to warm.

"...That I missed you?"

A satisfied smile finally spread across Dominic’s face.

"There it is."

Before Clara could react, he gently wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her a little closer.

"I missed you too," he admitted softly.

The words were simple.

But hearing them made Clara’s heart melt.

Her eyes softened, and a bright smile slowly bloomed across her face.

Without giving herself time to overthink it, she rose onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his.

Dominic froze for only a heartbeat before smiling into the kiss and wrapping an arm around her waist, returning it just as eagerly.

It wasn’t rushed or desperate.

It was simply two people who had spent far too long worrying about each other, finally saying everything they couldn’t put into words.

***

"Ahem..."

Several pairs of eyes peeked out from behind the neatly trimmed hedges.

The servants who had secretly followed their master and madam stood completely stunned.

"...They’re kissing again," one maid whispered, her eyes wide.

"I thought Master was chasing Madam because she was in trouble," another servant muttered.

"So did I."

Butler James adjusted his glasses with a helpless sigh.

"I told you all to stop following them."

"With all due respect, Butler James," one of the guards whispered, "how were we supposed to know we’d end up watching a romance instead of a confrontation?"

Another servant quietly covered a younger maid’s eyes.

"Don’t stare."

"But they’re so cute together..."

James pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Everyone..."

The entire group immediately straightened.

"...Kindly pretend we were never here."

The servants nodded in perfect unison before silently retreating one after another.

Not a single one dared interrupt the couple.

After all...even they knew better than to get between their master and madam after such a heartfelt reunion.

***

After they had kissed to their hearts’ content, the couple finally returned to their bedroom.

Once Clara had changed into a fresh set of pajamas, she quietly walked over to Dominic, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Are you... still upset with me, Dom?" she asked softly, looking at him with a pitiful expression.

She genuinely didn’t want to upset him.

Especially after hearing him admit how much he had missed her—so much that he had worked day and night just to finish everything early and come back to her.

Yet the first thing she had done was complain that he hadn’t replied to her messages.

Thinking about it now, she felt guilty.

Then another thought suddenly crossed her mind.

Wait...

She had threatened Mark into gathering information on Thomas, but she had never told him about her plan to sneak into Crimson Crest.

Then... how did Dominic know exactly where I was?

[Why does she have to be this adorable all the time?] Dominic sighed inwardly, unable to take his eyes off his wife.

Looking at her now, it was hard to believe she had nearly given him a heart attack.

Thank goodness he put that tracker on her phone...

After Clara had crashed Eric’s wedding to expose him, Dominic had secretly installed a tracking app on her phone.

At the time, he had only wanted peace of mind.

Knowing Clara’s habit of throwing herself into danger without warning, he couldn’t help but worry.

And this time, the tracker had helped him find her before it was too late.

Yet remembering everything that had happened at Crimson Crest only convinced him that a tracker wasn’t enough.

[Maybe... I should assign a few men to protect her from a distance.]

Meanwhile, Clara continued staring at him expectantly.

When he remained silent, she puffed out her cheeks.

"Dom..."

The sight made Dominic chuckle. "Yes," he admitted. "I’m still upset."

Clara lowered her head.

"But..." he continued, "I’ll forgive you if you promise me something."

She looked up hopefully. "What is it?"

"Promise me you won’t act on your own again. If you’re planning something dangerous, tell me first."

Clara blinked before a relieved smile spread across her face.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and nodded.

"I promise."

Dominic smiled and gently kissed her forehead.

"Good."

Finally getting everything off her chest made Clara feel much lighter.

Still...there was one question she couldn’t ignore.

"Dom..."

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

She looked at him curiously.

"How did you know I was at Crimson Crest? I never told Mark what I was planning, so no one should’ve known where I was."

Dominic’s smile stiffened.

[...Will she get angry if I tell her I put a tracker on her phone?]

Clara’s eyes widened.

A tracker?

Before she could react, Dominic let out a quiet sigh.

"I installed a tracker on your phone." He met her gaze directly.

"I wasn’t planning on telling you. But since you asked, you deserve the truth."

"W-What?" Clara exclaimed, immediately pulling her arms away from him.

Before she could step back, Dominic caught her wrist and gently pulled her toward him again.

"You don’t get to be angry about this, Clara."

She frowned. "I do get to be angry! We made a deal. You promised you wouldn’t have people following me everywhere."

"I know." His voice remained calm. "And I kept that promise."

Clara blinked.

"I didn’t assign anyone to watch you," he explained. "The tracker was different."

He sighed heavily before continuing. "I never intended to install it. But after you snuck out of Pearl Mansion that night without telling anyone..." He looked straight into her eyes. "You left me with no choice."

His expression grew serious. "I’d rather have you mad at me for protecting you..." He gently squeezed her hand. "...than lose you because I couldn’t find you in time."