I Faked Love, He Spoiled Me Rotten

Chapter 6

Louisa froze for a second, her brain completely short-circuiting.

"N... no more," she stammered.

Dominic tilted his head to look at her. "Didn't we just buy a box last month?"

Louisa's face flushed so hot it felt like it was on fire. "I... I..."

She bit her lip, and a sudden shot of pain from her ankle gave her the perfect excuse to switch topics.

"My foot still hurts a bit. Maybe another day."

Whenever Dominic talked about stuff like this, his voice was always totally deadpan.

"I mean, I wasn't saying we had to do it tonight or anything."

Louisa was so mortified she literally wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

"Just wondering. Am I seriously that big of a monster to you?"

It wasn't every day Louisa caught Dominic sounding so playful.

Thankfully, Dominic was just messing with her. He grabbed the hair dryer and started working on her hair.

Once it was dry, he flicked off the lights and hopped into bed right next to her.

Louisa kept her eyes shut tight and faked being asleep, totally freaked out that he'd realize she wasn't actually exhausted yet.

Her foot felt a little better the next morning, so Louisa headed into work as usual.

The clinic was pretty dead. Madison was at the front desk, scrolling through her phone with a thermos in hand. She beamed when she saw her walk through the door.

"Hey, what's up with your foot?"

Louisa swapped into her scrubs. "Twisted it last night."

"So, what does your guy do for work?"

Louisa hesitated for a fraction of a second. "He's a security guard."

Madison's smile instantly stiffened before she squeezed out an "Oh." She took a sip of water and leaned back in her chair, clearly losing her friendly vibe. "A security guard, got it. Well, hey, at least it's a steady paycheck."

And just like that, she went right back to her phone, totally freezing Louisa out.

Louisa knew exactly what was going through her head. She probably figured neither she nor Dominic amounted to much, so there was no point wasting time trying to be besties.

When they were packing up to leave that afternoon, Madison hovered over to her again.

"Where do you live, anyway?"

Louisa told her the area.

Madison's eyes instantly widened. "Rent's pretty steep over there, isn't it?"

"It's not too bad."

"Can your boyfriend actually cover that by himself?"

"We split a place."

Madison smirked, "Oh, makes sense. Going halves definitely helps out."

She paused for effect, then flexed, "My boyfriend's family actually owns an apartment right in the middle of downtown."

Louisa glanced up at her.

"He says we're getting married in a couple of years. The place and the ride are already taken care of."

If Louisa was still the person she used to be back in the day, she probably wouldn't have been able to resist clapping back. Fortunately, she wasn't planning on sticking around this job anyway, so this petty drama wasn't worth her energy.

Louisa just went along with it and said, "Wow, must be nice."

Right as they clocked out, Madison's boyfriend pulled up to get her in a flashy Mercedes-Benz.

Whether she was actually trying to be nice or just flexing, Madison said, "Hey, since your foot's all messed up, want us to drop you off?"

Louisa happily agreed and limped her way out the door.

Who would've thought her investment-banker boyfriend would just stare at Louisa like that? It took him a second to snap out of it and eagerly open the car door for her.

What the three of them didn't realize was that Dominic had gotten there early to pick her up. He was sitting on his scooter across the street, watching the whole thing go down.

Watching her back as she got ready to step into the car, Dominic's Adam's apple bobbed, and he tightened his lips into a straight line.

He didn't walk over. Instead, his gaze cut through the evening traffic, locking right onto that black Mercedes.

The car's chassis caught the setting sun, looking painfully bright.

Louisa stood by the car door with her head down. The guy was eagerly holding it open, smiling and saying something, and she just nodded back.

The evening breeze blew past, kicking up a bit of dust. He narrowed his eyes, his eyelashes casting a shadow over his lower lids.

His usually aloof face looked totally frozen right now. His brow was knitted, and his eyes were completely blank as he stared at the car without moving an inch.

He remembered what Louisa had told him a few days ago.

"I just want to help share some of the burden."

A scooter and a shared apartment.

She was only staying with him because she hadn't found a better option yet.

He stared over there for a few seconds, feeling a lump in his throat that he just couldn't shake off.

In the end, he turned the handlebars and rode off the other way, keeping out of her sight.

Meanwhile, seeing how her boyfriend reacted, Madison became less friendly. "Oh right, you have a boyfriend. And wow, I just remembered how bad traffic gets. Louisa, wouldn't it be faster if you just took the subway?"

If Louisa couldn't read between the lines there, she would've wasted all her years alive.

She cast a slightly wistful glance at the free ride and could only say, "Oh right, I totally forgot about that. You guys go ahead. It really is faster for me to just take the subway."

Madison's boyfriend still didn't want to give up, but Madison quickly shoved him into the driver's seat.

"Let's go. We'll get a ticket if we idle here too long."

When she got home, Louisa whipped up a simple dinner.

Dominic wasn't home yet, so she covered the food and took a shower first.

As she lay in bed waiting, drowsiness hit her, and she started drifting off to sleep.

The door lock clicked. Dominic was back.

Without opening her eyes, Louisa heard him rustling around the kitchen. Before long, the sound of a fork clinking against a porcelain plate drifted in.

He was eating the food she left for him.

The sound was soft and steady.

After finishing up, Dominic washed the dishes and came over to sit on the edge of the bed.

Louisa rolled over, pretending to be asleep.

Without a word, Dominic pulled a small box out of his pocket and set it on the nightstand.

Hearing the noise, Louisa opened her eyes.

"You awake?"

Louisa sat up. "Hey, you're back."

Dominic pointed at the nightstand. "For you."

Louisa blinked, picked up the box, and opened it.

Inside lay a necklace with a silver chain and a tiny star pendant, glowing softly under the light.

"How much did this run you?"

"A couple grand."

Louisa's hand shook, almost dropping the necklace onto the floor.

"That's way too expensive!"

Dominic leaned against the headboard. "I got a bonus."

Louisa stared at the necklace, her throat tightening.

She put the necklace back, snapped the lid shut, and forced herself to say,

"I can't take this. Take it back."

"Don't like it?"

"I do."

"Then why return it?"

"I told you, we really shouldn't be blowing cash on pricey stuff right now."

Dominic replied, "It's not that much. Honestly, I was worried you'd think it was cheap."

Louisa stared at the little box, her fingertips curling in slightly.

"No... no way, I seriously think it's too much. Aren't we supposed to be saving up right now?"

"You used to blow through every single cent you had," Dominic cut her off, his voice flat. "Where is this sudden urge to save coming from?"

Louisa's back stiffened.

She had almost forgotten that in her past life, she really was a paycheck-to-paycheck spender.

"I... I can save money too, you know," Louisa lied through her teeth. "Otherwise, how would I have had the cash to cover your medical bills back then?"

The moment those words left her mouth, a strange, uncomfortable feeling welled up inside her.

At this point, she had to commit to this lie until the bitter end. There was no coming clean anymore.

Dominic stared at her for a few seconds. He didn't question her and just nodded. "True."

Louisa let out a quiet breath of relief.

Dominic sat on the bed, picked up the box, opened it, and lifted the necklace. The silver chain dangled in the light.

"If we're going to build a life together, we need to save up," Louisa seized the chance to say.

Dominic put the necklace back and closed the lid. "That's true."

He paused, looking up at her. "Once we tie the knot, it's gonna cost even more."

Louisa swallowed hard, her smile turning a little stiff.

She forced a smile. "Yeah, I guess."

But inside, her heart was pounding.

Marriage? She wasn't greedy enough to think she'd actually marry Dominic.

The girl who actually saved his life was his real future wife.

She was just a fraud taking the credit. Once Dominic found his real savior, she'd have to pack her things and get lost.

Oblivious to her thoughts, Dominic just said, "I already bought it anyway. Just keep it."

Feeling a weight in her chest, Louisa took the necklace. "Don't buy stuff like this next time."

"Okay."

Dominic turned around to go take a shower.

By the time he came out, Louisa was lying on her stomach, holding her phone up. Her lower legs were kicking back and forth in the air, a huge grin on her face.

"What are you watching?"

Louisa didn't even look up. "Just scrolling."

"What's making you laugh like that?"

Only then did she look up, her eyes sparkling. "It's hilarious. Want to see?"

Dominic sat down beside her, and Louisa handed him the phone.

In the video, the female lead looked panicked while the male lead stood at the door, his face deathly pale.

Louisa started narrating, "So the girl cheated, and the guy caught her red-handed."

Dominic stared at the screen without saying a word.

Louisa kept going, "The girl thought he was going to dump her, so she's totally freaking out."

In the video, the guy finally spoke, his voice shaking violently, "Why do you want a divorce? If you cheated, just break up with him! Why do you have to bring me into your guys' mess?!"

Louisa cracked up. "Look at this guy, he's seriously so whipped."

Dominic handed the phone back, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. "Yeah."

Louisa took it back and watched it again, giggles bubbling out of her throat.

Once she was done laughing, she tossed the phone aside and rolled onto her back. "Don't you think guys like that are just stupid?"

Dominic said coldly, "He just couldn't pull his weight to keep his wife. She's moved on to someone better, and he's still clinging on like a loser."

Louisa thought about it and felt Dominic's perspective actually made sense.

"True. I wouldn't have even thought about it that way if you hadn't mentioned it."