Sins of Dominion

Chapter 12: Tangled Webs

Dominic

The cold air nipped at my skin as I walked through the quiet campus, the usual hustle and bustle of students long since faded into the night. The darkness had a way of settling over Dominion University, wrapping it in an eerie stillness that always made me feel more alive, more aware.

I had been restless ever since Evelyn had left earlier in the day, a tension coiling tightly in my chest that I couldn’t shake. I was used to being in control, to knowing exactly how to manipulate the pieces on the board to get the outcome I wanted. But Evelyn… she was different.

I had thought that after last night, after the kiss, I would have her where I wanted. But the look in her eyes when she had pulled away, the fear and confusion, had unsettled me in a way I hadn’t expected.

I needed to see her again, to push her further, to unravel the layers she was so desperate to keep hidden. But there was a part of me—a small, insistent voice in the back of my mind—that kept whispering that I was playing a dangerous game, one that could easily spiral out of my control.

I ignored the voice. Control was what I did best.

I was passing by the old greenhouse when I saw her—a shadowy figure standing just outside, staring through the fogged-up glass. For a moment, I thought I was imagining things, that my mind was conjuring her up because I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

But then she moved, and the faint glow of the campus lights caught her face, revealing the unmistakable features of Evelyn Hart.

My heart skipped a beat, a mixture of surprise and something else—something darker—flooding my senses. What was she doing here, in the middle of the night, so close to a place I knew my sister often frequented?

I watched from the shadows as the door to the greenhouse creaked open, and Isabella stepped out. They exchanged words, too quiet for me to hear, but the tension between them was palpable, even from where I stood.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I could see the way Evelyn’s body was tense, the way Isabella was watching her with that cold, calculating gaze she always reserved for those she considered a threat.

A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips. Evelyn was becoming more interesting by the day, and it was clear that she was beginning to realize just how deep she was in.

When Isabella finally walked away, I considered stepping out from the shadows, revealing my presence, but I decided against it. Evelyn was already on edge, and there was no need to push her any further tonight. Besides, I had a feeling that Isabella had given her plenty to think about.

But as I watched Evelyn linger near the greenhouse, a strange sense of unease crept over me. I had always known how to read people, how to get inside their heads and twist their emotions to suit my needs. But with Evelyn, there was something different, something that made me question my own motives, my own desires.

I told myself that it was because she was a challenge, because she was stronger than the others who had come before her. But deep down, I knew it was more than that. There was something about Evelyn that got under my skin, something that made me want to understand her, even as I sought to break her down.

And that was dangerous.

I couldn’t afford to let my emotions cloud my judgment, not when there was so much at stake. I had a plan, a carefully crafted strategy that I couldn’t deviate from, no matter how much Evelyn intrigued me.

But as I turned and walked away, leaving Evelyn alone in the darkness, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the threads of control I had worked so hard to weave were beginning to unravel.

And I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stop it.