Chapter 18

"Take a seat."

Dominic's voice was ice-cold as he glared at Evelyn.

"Fine," she muttered, sinking onto the couch across from him.

A sleek laptop sat on the coffee table between them, its screen angled toward her.

Surveillance footage played on the display.

The video showed a bedroom—their bedroom—with Evelyn perched on the edge of the bed beside Dominic’s unconscious form.

Her blood turned to fire.

She shot to her feet, jabbing a finger at the screen. "Are you serious? You had cameras in the bedroom? What kind of creep does that?"

Rage coiled tight in her chest.

Those three months were supposed to be forgotten.

He had been in a coma—just a body, not a man.

People did things in private they’d never do in public.

And now he had proof of every single one of those moments.

Nobody had warned her about cameras.

Dominic watched her trembling with something close to satisfaction.

"Who said I installed them?"

His mother had.

While he lay helpless, she’d rigged the room with surveillance—protection against potential abuse.

Even a man like him was vulnerable when unconscious.

He couldn’t fault her for it.

But he could fault Evelyn for what she’d done.

He’d reviewed the footage earlier.

And it had sent his blood pressure skyrocketing.

"Oh." Evelyn’s fury flickered, but only for a second. "Your mother? She couldn’t have told me? I—I—"

"You never thought I’d wake up, did you?" His voice was a razor’s edge. "You had fun with me while I was out."

Her face burned as she collapsed back onto the couch.

"That’s not what happened! I was giving you physical therapy! To prevent muscle atrophy!"

She’d watched the nurses do it.

Then taken over, because sitting there doing nothing felt wrong.

For a second, her defiance almost made him doubt himself.

Almost.

"Open it," he ordered. "See for yourself."

Her fingers shook as she tapped the play button.

She knew what was coming.

But admitting she’d messed with him? Never.

She’d just… touched him. A little.

If she’d known he’d wake up—if she’d known about the cameras—she’d have chopped off her own hands first.

She turned her head away, but the footage played in her periphery anyway.

Dominic hadn’t lied.

The video was damning.

Evelyn sucked in a sharp breath. "Okay, listen. The doctors said you were basically dead. I didn’t think you’d wake up! And I was helping you! You can’t ignore all the actual therapy just because I—"

Dominic pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Let me find a clip where I’m actually massaging you properly—"

Her fingers flew over the touchpad.

A minute later, she slammed the laptop shut and leaped up.

"Shit!" Her face was scarlet. "You—you saw all of it? Everything?"

Panic clawed at her throat.

Dominic didn’t even blink. "Obviously."

"You bastard! Who told you to look? You pervert!"

She’d just spotted a clip of herself naked.

She’d gotten careless, stepping out of the shower without clothes.

Why would she worry? He was comatose.

But the cameras had seen everything.

"You’re the one who walked around naked," he said flatly. "And frankly, aside from being pale enough to blind someone, there’s not much to see."

Her vision went red.

"Excuse me? Who the hell are you to judge my body? Shut your mouth if you’re just going to insult me! I’m deleting this!"

She snatched the laptop and stormed off, slamming her bedroom door behind her.

Outside, the driver exhaled a cloud of smoke, shaking his head.

In all his years, he’d never seen a woman rattle Dominic Blackwood like this.

——

By seven that evening, Evelyn had wiped every last second of footage.

She dropped the laptop back on the coffee table, exhausted.

Hunger gnawed at her, but the thought of facing Dominic again made her stomach twist.

Still, she forced herself into the dining room.

He wasn’t there.

But the air still felt thick with surveillance.

"I had no idea about the cameras, Miss Evelyn," Mrs. Wilkins murmured. "Master Dominic values his privacy more than anyone."

"It’s fine," Evelyn muttered. "I deleted it all."

She picked at her food, appetite gone.

"Was he… in a worse mood than usual earlier?"

Mrs. Wilkins hesitated. "A bit."

Evelyn sighed. "Whatever. It’s not like he can stand up and hit me, right?"

She pushed back from the table, determined to stop caring.

But fate had other plans.

She collided with Dominic the second she stepped out.

He didn’t speak. Didn’t move.

Just stared at her with those dark, fathomless eyes—like he could see every thought in her head.

Her pulse stuttered.

"Move."

The command was low, absolute.

Evelyn sidestepped, cheeks burning as he passed.

She’d thought he was coming to torment her.

But he just… sat down to eat.

She groaned, pressing her palms to her face.

So what if he saw me naked?

She’d seen him naked too.

Plenty of times.