Page 73 of Accidental Doctor Daddy

“I was willing to do it alone,” I said, barely holding it together. “Raise the girls. Be a single mom. Whatever it took. Because I thought it was better than tearing apart your family.”

The silence between us settled heavy, thick as wet wool in the chilly night air. I could hear the hum of the city just beyond the curb, a cab horn in the distance, the whisper of wind against the building. But all I could feel was Dom—his presence beside me like a storm barely contained in a man’s body.

I kept my arms wrapped tight around myself, clutching the edges of my coat like armor. My breath came out shaky. Myconfession still hung between us, and I braced for whatever would come next. Yelling. Accusation. Walking away.

But when he finally spoke, his voice wasn’t hard.

It was wrecked.

“I should be thinking about why you didn’t tell me,” he said, not looking at me, his jaw rigid as stone. “That’s what I should be stuck on. That you kept this from me.”

He paused, chest rising like it hurt to breathe.

“But all I can think about… is that night. On the island. When you told me your ex didn’t like touching you. That he didn’t want your curves. That he made you feel like… too much.”

My breath caught. I hadn’t expected that. Not now. Not here.

His eyes found mine then—sharp, dark, burning.

“It was Leo, wasn’t it?” he asked, his voice low, dangerous. “He was the ex who made you feel that way.”

I felt myself nod before I could stop it. The answer pushed past my pride. The shame. The fear.

Dom closed his eyes for half a second, and when he opened them again, something in him had changed. He looked at me like he was seeing everything I’d hidden. Everything I’d tried to carry alone.

“I wanted to find the bastard who made you feel that way,” he whispered. “Back then, I didn’t know who he was. But I felt it. That rage. The second you said it, I wanted to tear him apart.”

Tears burned behind my eyes, but I blinked them back. Because I wasn’t the only one breaking.

He stepped closer, his hand lifting—hovering at my jaw, then lowering like he couldn’t bear not to touch me. His palm found my waist instead, warm and solid.

“No one gets to make you feel like that again,” he said. “Not him. Not anyone.”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

I didn’t have words for what that did to me. For how the girl who once stood in front of a mirror and wished herself smaller now felt seen. Not just wanted—but defended.

I nodded, throat tight.

And he nodded, too. Like it wasn’t a question. Like it was a promise.

I barely had time to breathe before he surged forward—closing the space between us with a force that stole the rest of the oxygen from my lungs. His hands gripped my waist like he couldn’t tell if he wanted to anchor me or drag me against him. His jaw was clenched, eyes wild, burning like fire had replaced the calm control he always wore like armor.

“You’re mine, Ella.”

I blinked up at him, heart ricocheting in my chest.

“I don’t care what’s between us and the rest of the world,” he growled, voice low and rough, like it was clawing its way up from someplace buried deep. “I want you. I want our girls. And I’m not walking away.”

He didn’t wait for my answer. Just pulled me flush to his chest and wrapped his coat around my shoulders like a shield. His mouth crashed down on mine—hot, unrelenting, like he was making a vow with every bruising kiss. I melted into him, into the heat and hunger and heartbreak of it all.

But even as my lips parted for him, the fear was still there. Lodged in my chest like glass.

I pulled back just enough to look him in the eye. “Dom, I’m your son’s ex-girlfriend. Do you even hear what you’re saying?”

His hands flexed against my hips. “I hear it.”

“I dated Leo. I slept with Leo. Are you even aware of the fallout this could cause? With your career, your reputation, your son?—”

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