章 22: Charles Willows
Evangeline was about to leave when Dominic held her arm and whispered to her, "Dear spoiled princess, it's not your hotel—it's your grandmother's hotel, which she bequeathed to me as your husband. Deal with it, kitten. I'm just doing my duty. Send my greetings to Richard and tell him to get well soon."He ended his words with a chuckle.
He released her arm but took a strand of her hair, smelling it again. Evangeline gasped, irritated by his touch and his mention of Richard's injury. Without saying a word, she shoved him away, stormed out of the office, and slammed the door in anger. The loud noise made Caleb flinch. He placed the newspaper on the table and noticed shredded papers scattered across the floor.
"I'm glad it's approved. Thank you. Everything will fall into place soon," Dominic said, thanking Caleb as he noticed his reaction to the papers. Dominic sighed.
"She didn't sign it. She's a stubborn woman..." he added, and Caleb sighed, adjusting his glasses.
"The way she looks at me, I can see the pain and hatred in her eyes, along with a lot of intimidation and lack of trust. She's hiding her tears, trying hard not to let them fall. She won't let a single tear drop," Dominic said while touching the newspaper. "She's trying so hard not to cry in front of me. Sometimes I hate the way she nags at me with those teary eyes she's holding in." Dominic took a deep breath, his mind drifting to when he leaned against Evangeline in the office, recalling the closeness of her breasts and lips. He gulped again while reading the newspaper.
"I heard Richard got injured at a motel during a fight," Caleb said to Dominic. Dominic raised an eyebrow in interest.
"I heard the news. So he got injured at a motel? That jerk, after messing with my wife, he messes with other women. He has no shame," Dominic gritted his teeth, clenching his fists.
"Ah, Dominic, don't misunderstand the matter. He said he got into a fight like it was a trap or something," Caleb said, waving his hands nervously, trying to reassure Dominic not to jump to conclusions. Dominic calmed down, taking a deep breath. He had a reason for sparing Richard's life, knowing it benefited him to keep Richard around. He could get rid of Richard in a second without hesitation, but he didn't want to—not yet.
"By the way, have you gotten any information about my mother? I've been asking you to find some clues since her death, ever since I cut ties with my father," Dominic asked, pulling out his mother's locket from his pocket and opening it to reveal her picture inside. He rubbed the tiny picture in the pendant.
Caleb nodded and pulled out a file, handing it to Dominic. Dominic took the file, put the locket back in his pocket, and read through the papers. He saw a family photo with a younger version of his mother, according to the description and names. They all had strawberry-blonde hair like his, but a few had silver hair mixed in. Only one person had completely silver hair, which caught his attention. A name stood out: "The Capulet Family." Dominic muttered, "Capulet... My mother's family is the Capulets? How come I didn't hear of this? She never told me." He closed the file and said to Caleb, "Since my business trip is in Eardoznia next week, I can visit my mother's family there since their house is in the country. I need to know more about my mother." He took out a photo of him and his mother from the drawer, rubbing his thumb on the frame. As he stared at it, a tear dropped from his eyes, but he didn't let any more emotions show outside. Clenching his fists, he called out to Caleb with an emotionless reaction "Caleb..."
Caleb turned and answered, "Yes?" His fingers were fidgeting.
"Introduce Evangeline to Mr. Willows, the officer, yourself. I can't do that now—I just had an argument with my wife, as you can see. Also, I have a visitor next month and I'm making preparations, so cover for me," Dominic said, still staring at the photo. Caleb nodded and left.
Evangeline barged into her bedroom and saw Richard sitting there, waiting for her. She walked toward him angrily. "What's wrong, Evangeline? Did something happen?" Richard asked.
"Richard, imagine the nonsense I just saw! Dominic asked me to sign some ridiculous papers to remove traditions from my family's hotel," she explained, sitting on his thigh and caressing his chest.
"How are you feeling? Are you getting better?" she asked about his well-being while kissing his neck and licking it seductively.
Richard held her hand and lifted her chin to face him. "I'm feeling better." He grabbed her by the waist and kissed her deeply, holding the back of her head. She gave in to the kiss, and they continued for a while until Evangeline placed her finger on his lips, stopping him, and sighed.
"Why would he do such a thing?" Richard asked as he kissed her hand and stroked her hair.
"What else? To sell it to his goddamn family. I even saw his plan on paper with the ridiculous audacity of asking me to sign it. I refused and tore the paper," Evangeline answered, scoffing as Richard caressed her thigh.
"And Dominic found out about your injury," she added. Richard stopped caressing her thigh, surprised, though not entirely. His lie had already convinced everyone to avoid complications in the future. He also thought about his mission to find the Heart of the Deep Blue Sea in her home but wondered where it could be.
"Let's go for a walk, shall we?" he suggested, staring at her. Evangeline nodded in agreement. They both heard knocks on the bedroom door and a familiar voice.
"Hey, Evangeline, it's me, Caleb. They assigned an officer to investigate as promised. I want to introduce you to him," Caleb informed her, following Dominic's instructions.
The door opened, and Evangeline greeted Caleb. "Oh, that's good then. Let me see him." She turned to Richard, "I'll be right back... wait for me," she said and left with Caleb, closing the door as Richard nodded. He dipped his hand into his pocket, taking out the handkerchief he had obtained from Evangeline's room, smelling it and rubbing it with his fingers, thinking about her while he waited for her return.
Evangeline followed Caleb to the garden and saw the young officer waiting for her at the gazebo. Mr. Charles wore a blue button-down shirt, black trousers, and shoes. He had blonde, wavy hair that stopped at his neck, and he was a year older than Dominic. Seeing Evangeline from afar with Caleb, his cheeks flushed a little red at her beauty. He dipped his hands into his pockets, holding a cup of tea in his other hand, saying to himself, as his blonde hair floated in the wind, "Dominic is a lucky man to marry this beauty. I didn't expect her to be this lovely. I've been hearing a lot of news about his clashes with her and her affair. No wonder he said..." He raised his head, remembering Dominic's words in the office when he suggested replacing the head of the kitchen.
"Oh? Well, I'll think about it before my dear cranky wife gets mad about changing her family's staff."
Charles saw Caleb approaching him, and Caleb greeted him. "Hello, officer, this is Dominic's wife, Miss Evangeline," he said, gesturing toward Evangeline.
Charles walked to Evangeline and took her hand, kissing it. "Pleasure to meet you, madam. I'm Charles Willows," he grinned sweetly at Evangeline, trying not to blush again.
"It's a pleasure meeting you too, Charles," Evangeline replied as she slipped her hand away from him. "I heard my husband wants to replace my family's head of kitchen with you to investigate the culprit trying to kill me," she said, turning away and placing her hand on the table in the gazebo, brushing her fingers on it.
"You can do that; it's only temporary to fish out the criminal. I'm glad you came. Coming into the Serenity House means you're family, so I won't take you as an officer. I'll take you as my family. I'll gladly support you in this investigation," she said, staring at the teapot on the table and the cup in his hand. "I see you have a liking for the tea," she added, interlacing her fingers.
"Ah, yes, it's delicious and the best one I've tasted, my lady. Very unique..." Charles complimented the tea with a chuckle, raising the cup and taking a sip, his cheeks flushing red.
"Huh?!! But Evangeline isn't nice to Dominic like this... Ah, forget it; they both dislike each other," Caleb thought, watching the smooth conversation between Evangeline and Charles. He sighed, shaking his head, then felt a hand on his shoulder—it was Evangeline.
"I'll be taking my leave, Caleb. I have some matters to attend to," she said, removing her hand and walking away.
"Yes, my lady," Caleb said, bowing his head repeatedly. Charles watched her from behind, his cheeks turning red again without Caleb noticing, as he was facing away. Charles then picked up the teapot and poured more tea into the teacup.
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