Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 155: Chapter 155

Lena’s POV

My indifference hit him harder than anger ever could.

Dominic stared at her. “You sure you don’t want to hear it?”

“Yeah.” She turned her face away. “Wouldn’t matter.”

She got to her feet, set the cup down, and walked to the bed. “I’m tired. I’m lying down. Do whatever you want.”

She didn’t look at him again. She slipped under the blanket, turned onto her side, and shut her eyes.

She didn’t know why this trip had drained her so badly. Maybe it wasn’t even about him. Maybe coming back here, standing where her grandmother once lived, speaking to a gravestone while the man beside her didn’t even know her mother was dead, had burned through every last bit of energy she had left for pretending.

Sleep took her fast.

When she opened her eyes again, the room was pitch-black. She turned over.

Dominic was sitting by the window where she had been earlier. The streetlight outside spilled across his shoulders and cheekbones, that soft glow landing on a man who still felt cold.

Somewhere along the way, she had actually forgotten who he was. The warmth of the last few weeks, the closeness, the physical intimacy—it had all blurred the picture. But this was the real Dominic. Distant. Closed off. Hard to reach.

A little happiness really could mess with your head. It made you forget what you were actually dealing with.

He turned when he saw her sitting up. “You want dinner?”

“Yeah.”

She really did need to eat something.

She dug a jacket out of her suitcase. Then they went out together and took the elevator down. It stopped on another floor, and a crowd poured in.

Dominic pulled her into his arms, one arm around her waist, shielding her from the press of people.

She was pressed tight against him. His heartbeat. His body heat. His breath brushing past her ear. Her body reacted to every bit of contact like it had a mind of its own, and she hated that. Seriously hated it.

The doors opened, and she slipped free at once, walking ahead of him.

The little town was lively at night. Street stalls, packed sidewalks, voices everywhere, the air thick with the smell of fried food and beer. She had zero interest in some proper sit-down restaurant. She found a tiny, easy-to-miss diner, six tables crammed into a space no bigger than a closet, and took a seat by the door.

Dominic glanced around. The tabletop was greasy, the trash bin by the chair legs stuffed with used napkins, and the whole place smelled heavily of cooking oil.

He sat down, pulled a few tissues from the box, and wiped the table three times in a row. He only stopped when the tissue finally came away clean.

I handed him the menu. "What do you want?"

He gave it a quick look. "You pick."

So I ordered two mains and a soup. After the owner walked off, I poured a cup of tea and quietly watched Dominic’s face.

"You really didn’t have to come with me." I took a small sip of tea.

"I figured I should."

I smiled a little and said nothing. The tea was actually pretty good. Shame about the cup.

"Dominic." I set the cup down. "You don’t have to keep doing this."

"Doing what?"

"This. Us. You can let it go now."

He looked at me, and I met his eyes without backing off.

I’d been thinking about it the entire way here. On the surface, we looked weirdly right together, like a decent match. But underneath that? There was nothing holding us up except habit and physical need. The only real connection between us existed in my body, not in my heart.

"I’m not clinging to anything." His voice stayed flat and calm. "I’m living the life I want."

The corner of my mouth lifted slightly. "Don’t you get tired?"

"No."

"I do. I’m tired. And I honestly can’t keep this up anymore. Dragging this relationship out won’t change where it ends."

He touched the ring on his finger. "My end is being with you. Until I stop breathing."

I truly couldn’t understand why he was this hung up on us. He didn’t love me. So why lock himself inside a relationship with no foundation at all?

The food arrived then: a grilled steak, roasted vegetables, and a bowl of tomato soup.

She picked up her fork. "That’s impossible."

Lena could feel the distance sitting between them like a wall. No matter what Dominic chose to call it, it wasn’t love. And without love, any relationship was basically on a countdown.

Dominic hadn’t touched a single bite. He just sat there watching her eat.

"You still want to end the agreement?" he asked.

"Yes." The steak was seasoned perfectly, honestly kind of impressive. This little restaurant clearly knew what it was doing.

"I thought we were doing fine. Physically, we work. In daily life, we don’t fight. I don’t understand how we ended up here."

She chewed, swallowed, then dabbed at her mouth with her napkin. "Men and women want different things. A man thinks if the sex is good, then everything’s good. Women don’t see it that way."

This was not the place to get into it. The next table was so close they could probably hear every word.

"We’ll talk later," he said. He got it too.

She finished her meal. It had been good. Only then did he finally pick up his fork and start eating.

She watched him and gave a faint smile. "See? That’s the difference between us. You’re sitting here right now because you’re humoring me. The second you don’t have a reason to do that anymore, you won’t be sitting at this table."

He glanced at her, then lowered his eyes to his plate and took another bite. That was his answer to the challenge she had thrown out without even softening it.

They paid and stepped outside. The wind had picked up. Lena pulled her coat tighter around herself. Dominic took her hand, his fingers threading through hers, holding on tight.

From the outside, they looked exactly like a couple. Anyone passing by on the street would see them walking hand in hand through the evening like everything was fine.

Only she knew there was no love in it.

"When we’re together," Dominic said, "doesn’t it feel good?"

She nearly stumbled. It took her a second to even process what he meant.

"Or what part of it doesn’t feel good?" he pressed.

She tried to pull her hand free, but he only held on tighter.

"I want to talk about this."

I took a deep breath. “It feels awful. Not good at all.”

He stopped walking right away. He looked at her like he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. Lena turned her face away.

“You kept telling me to walk faster. I thought you...” His voice trailed off, lower and lower. He genuinely had no clue how to make sense of what had happened between them.

“Shut up.” She shot a glance at a couple passing by, then glared at him hard.

He shut his mouth.

On the way back, she tried three more times to pull her hand free, and not once did he let go.

In the end, she gave up.

They were too far from the hotel, so they had no choice but to call a car.

The second they got back to the room, he finally let her go. She moved past him fast, not even looking at him.

He caught her wrist, spun her around, and pinned her against the wall. His nose brushed hers. Warm breath swept over her lips, and his body pressed tightly against hers.

She planted both hands on his chest. “Let go of me.”

His arm circled her waist. “I need to understand. How was that bad for you?”

She bit down hard on her teeth. “Do you seriously think sex fixes everything? You think if you get me into bed, every problem just magically disappears?”

And he still had the nerve to look confused.

“You ignored me for ten whole days. You left without a word. No call, no text, no explanation. And now you suddenly show up, and the only thing on your mind is whether the sex was good?” Her voice kept rising, the anger spilling out faster and faster. “Do you honestly think that’s what I want?”

He frowned. This time, he could tell her anger was real. No misunderstanding, no mood swing—she was genuinely furious.

“I offered to explain, and you refused to listen.” He let go of her. “If something’s bothering you, then just say it.”

“Nothing’s bothering me.”

“Then why are you pushing me away?”

“Because I don’t care anymore.” She laughed, but there was no warmth in it, only bitterness scraping through the sound. “Dominic, I don’t need your explanation, because I don’t want you anymore. It’s that simple.”

He narrowed his eyes and stared at her for a long time.

“You don’t want me anymore?” he repeated slowly, like he was testing the words, trying to see if there was even a shred of truth in them.

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