The first time Dominic kissed me, it wasn't planned.
It wasn't soft.
It wasn't even gentle.
It was survival.
I was standing on the university terrace, wind cutting through my hair, heart hammering as Ethan's words from that morning replayed in my mind.
"If you walk toward him, I don't know how to survive that."
I had tried. Tried to ignore Dominic. Tried to focus on lectures, assignments, my life. But the universe doesn't work in neat lines when a man like him exists.
Dominic appeared silently behind me. I felt his presence before I saw him. That oppressive warmth, that power, that promise.
"You shouldn't be here alone," he said quietly.
"I'm fine," I whispered. "I can handle myself."
He chuckled softly, dangerous and low. "I don't doubt that. I doubt anyone else could handle you. Except me."
Before I could respond, Ethan stormed onto the terrace. His eyes were wild, red-rimmed, trembling with fury.
"Aria!" he shouted. "Stay away from him!"
Dominic stepped forward, blocking him effortlessly, his presence like a wall of steel.
"I warned you," Dominic said quietly, voice low, dangerous. "This isn't your fight."
"I… I won't let him take you from me!" Ethan screamed.
And that was the last thing I needed to hear.
Because suddenly, I was collapsing not physically, but emotionally.
Tears spilled down my face as the weight of two men's obsession, love, and possessiveness pressed on me all at once.
"I… I can't…" I choked out, my body shaking.
Dominic closed the distance, cupping my face in his massive hands. His eyes softened only for me. "Shh. You don't have to be strong all the time," he murmured.
Before I could stop him, before I could think rationally, his lips pressed against mine.
It wasn't gentle. It wasn't hesitant. It was everything I didn't know I needed fierce, consuming, possessive.
My knees nearly buckled. My hands went to his chest, trying to push, trying to pull, trying to make sense of the fire burning between us.
But it was too late.
Dominic kissed me like he would never let me go. Like the world would shatter if he did.
And in that moment, the terrace wasn't just the university.
It wasn't just a public space.
It was ours.
Until Ethan's shout broke us apart.
"Aria! Stop!"
I pulled back, breathless, heart racing like it would explode. Ethan's face was pale, eyes wide, veins visible on his forehead.
"You're mine!" he shouted, voice cracking with rage and heartbreak.
And then… disaster struck.
Ethan's phone buzzed on the terrace floor. A student snapped a photo or maybe Ethan did it himself, I realized in horror.
Within minutes, the photo was on campus social media: "University heartthrob caught in scandal with billionaire CEO! Betraying loyal classmates?"
Comments poured in. Rumors. Whispered threats. Gossip.
I felt like I was drowning in shame, fear, and… desire.
Dominic wrapped his arms around me again, possessive, protective. "Ignore them. Only I matter," he said, voice low and steady against the chaos.
But Ethan's shadow lingered. His betrayal. His heartbreak. His desperate move to ruin us.
I felt torn and torn between two fires, two loves, two dangerous paths.
And for the first time, I realized something terrifying:
Love with Dominic could consume me.
Love with Ethan could destroy us both.
But I couldn't stop myself from leaning into Dominic, letting his lips find mine again, letting his hands hold me like the world belonged to him and only him.
Because in that kiss, all the fear, all the chaos, all the scandal faded.
Until reality came crashing back, and I knew the war was only beginning.