Love the Second Time Around Novel

“Lian, I've already told them the truth. With things the way they are, we shouldn't keep it from them any longer,”

Dominic said.

| looked at him suspiciously, worried that he was about to get up to no good.

He's been callingby my full nsince we met again, and if he’s not calling my nto scold me, then it's

to threaten me. Lian—that’s the affectionate nicknthe old Dominic would use. Also, what does he mean

when he said he told them the truth? What shouldn't we keep from them? That's so strange. What do we have to

hide from them anyway?

“Lili, why don’t you just admit it? Your dad and | won't object to it. We're happy and relieved to hear that the two

of you got back together.”

Huh? Is there something wrong with my ears? Or did Mom make a mistake? Who got back with whom? Dominic

and me? That's ridiculous!

| shook my head vehemently and explained, “Mom, you’re mistaken. | didn’t get back together with Dominic.”

Mom looked a little unhappy at that. “What's the matter? | said we won't object to the two of you getting back

together, so why don’t you admit it?”

| was confused. Why do | have to admit to something that didn’t happen? | have to explain what happened last

night. They must've seen Dominic coming to my house, that’s why they got the wrong idea.

“Dad, Mom, I'm serious. We're— Hey! Dominic, what are you doing? Stop it! | haven't finished talking! Dominic

“We need to talk,” Dominic interjected.

| grabbed his hand and said, “Fine, all right. Just don’t push me.”

| have something to ask him too. | want to know what's going on.

He stopped pushingbut did not let go of my hand. He continued holding it as he turned to my parents and

said, “Please excuse us.”

Then, he draggedinto the bedroom.

Once the door closed, Dominic released my hand without saying a word.

| moved a few steps away to keep a safe distance from him. “Dominic, what on earth did you tell my parents?

Why do they think that we're back together?”

Dominic sat down shamelessly on my bed. “They clooking for you and saw that | was here, so naturally,

they were curious about our relationship.”

My eyebrows twitched, and | said coldly, “Even so, you shouldn't have spouted nonsense. It's going to be a pain

to explain our way out of this.”

“Then what do you think | should've done?” Dominic retorted. He did not feel the least bit guilty. Instead, he

deliberately played dumb and threw the problem back at me.

Exasperated, | could feel a headache brewing. Holding in my anger, | replied, “You could've said that you got

drunk and had to stay over at my place for one night. That's not too difficult to say, is it?”

Suddenly, Dominic smirked and said in a mocking tone, “If you went to Shannon's house and saw a half-naked

man there, and she gave you that explanation, would you believe her?”

| was momentarily taken aback and at a loss for words.

“You... Don’t change the topic. We're talking about my parents now. Anyway, you shouldn't have lied to them

and told them that we're together.”

After a brief pause, | added, “You ought to know that my dad is an old-fashioned and strict person. If you don’t

explain things clearly now, it'll be even harder to do so later.”

Dominic looked atclosely for a while, then said, “When your parents came, | thought it was you, and |

opened the door with only a towel wrapped around me. Even if | didn’t say anything, what do you think would

cto their minds when they sawlike that?”

Those words made my blood boil. If my parents had not been in the living room, | would have cursed aloud.

However, | could only restrain my anger and growl in a low voice, “So whose fault is it? | told you to get out of

my house, but you refused. Now, look what you've done. | don’t even know what | should say.”

While | was seething with rage, Dominic appeared unruffled and calm.

He toldthat the best solution was to play along and admit that we were an item again. My parents would

probably only stay for a few days. So, while they were around, we would pretend to be a couple. After they left,

we would each go our separate ways.

I did not want to agree to it. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like a bad idea, and it still meant that we

would be lying to my parents.

However, since my parents had seen him in my house and in that state, | had no other choice.

After all, friends of the opposite sex would not usually end up naked in each other's houses.

Moreover, no normal woman would allow a naked man to stay in her house while she went out shopping.

If I insist that nothing is going on between Dominic and me, Dad might think I’m provoking him. After all, he

doesn’t believe in premarital sex, and he thinks one-night stands and booty calls will tarnish the Zanetti family’s

reputation. That's a minefield | don’t want to navigate.

| sat at the dressing table and looked at myself in the mirror. | was frowning deeply.

“T-Then let's agree that we'll only act like a couple in front of my parents. However, you're not allowed to get

handsy. When they leave, we'll forget that this ever happened. After stime, I'll find a chance to tell them

that we broke up.”

I'm sure they'll believe that.

However, as soon as | said that, Dominic's expression inexplicably turned sour.