Chapter 4 : A Dangerous Silence
Alina’s POV
Dinner should have been normal.
That was what I kept telling myself.
Just a simple dinner between my mother, her fiancé, and me.
But nothing about the situation felt normal.
Not when the man sitting across from me was the same man who had held me in his arms less than twenty-four hours ago.
Dominic Vale.
Even thinking his name now felt dangerous.
I picked up my glass of water, pretending to focus on the condensation forming on the outside.
Across the table, my mother looked happier than I had seen her in years.
“You know,” she said warmly, turning to me, “Dominic told me he travels a lot for work.”
Dominic nodded slightly.
“Business tends to require it.”
“Alina has never traveled much,” my mother continued. “She’s always been too busy working.”
His gaze shifted to me.
Calm.
Focused.
“Is that true?”
I shrugged lightly.
“I prefer staying in familiar places.”
“That’s surprising,” he said.
“Why?”
“You don’t seem like someone who enjoys standing still.”
Something about the way he said it made my heart skip slightly.
It sounded less like an observation and more like a challenge.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” I replied.
His lips curved faintly.
“Maybe I’m wrong.”
Before I could respond, a waiter appeared with the next course.
For a few minutes, the conversation returned to safer topics.
But the strange tension between Dominic and me didn’t disappear.
It was still there.
Quiet.
Unspoken.
And growing stronger every time our eyes met.
My mother eventually stood up from her chair.
“Excuse me,” she said. “I need to take this call outside.”
She gave Dominic a quick apologetic smile before leaving the room.
The door closed behind her.
And suddenly the silence between us felt heavier than before.
I kept my eyes on my plate.
But I could feel him watching me.
“Alina.”
The sound of my name made my stomach tighten.
I looked up.
“Yes?”
He leaned back slightly in his chair, studying me carefully.
“You seem uncomfortable.”
“That’s because the situation is uncomfortable.”
“Which part?”
I stared at him.
“You really need to ask?”
His expression remained calm.
“I’d like to hear your answer.”
I exhaled slowly.
“Yesterday we were strangers trapped in an elevator.”
“Yes.”
“Today you’re engaged to my mother.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re asking why this feels awkward?”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“When you say it like that…”
“Because it’s true.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he said quietly,
“You didn’t tell me who you were last night.”
“You didn’t ask.”
“That’s fair.”
His eyes moved slowly across my face again, thoughtful.
“I suppose that makes things more complicated.”
“That’s one word for it.”
Another silence settled between us.
But this one felt different.
Charged.
Like something important was being left unsaid.
“You’re worried,” he said suddenly.
“About what?”
“About what happened in the elevator.”
Heat rushed to my face.
“Nothing happened.”
His eyebrow lifted slightly.
“Didn’t it?”
My heart began beating faster.
“You caught me when I slipped. That’s all.”
“And when you fell into me again?”
“That was the elevator’s fault.”
He smiled faintly.
“Of course.”
I crossed my arms.
“You seem very entertained by this.”
“Not entertained.”
“Then what?”
His voice lowered slightly.
“Curious.”
The word made something in my chest tighten.
“About what?”
“About you.”
I immediately looked away.
“That’s a bad idea.”
“Why?”
“Because in case you forgot,” I said quietly, “you’re about to marry my mother.”
The reminder hung in the air between us.
For a moment, Dominic didn’t respond.
Then he said something that made my heart stop.
“I’m aware.”
I frowned slightly.
“Then you should probably stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re trying to figure me out.”
His gaze didn’t move.
“Maybe I am.”
The door opened suddenly.
My mother returned, smiling as if nothing unusual had happened.
“Sorry about that,” she said cheerfully. “My sister talks too much.”
Dominic leaned back in his chair, the calm mask returning instantly.
“Not a problem.”
She glanced between us.
“You two weren’t bored while I was gone, were you?”
I forced a smile.
“Of course not.”
But when Dominic’s eyes met mine again across the table…
I realized something unsettling.
He wasn’t trying to avoid the tension between us.
He was testing it.
Slowly.
Carefully.
And part of me was afraid to find out how far he planned to take it.
