His innocent wife is a dangerous hacker.-Chapter 580

Silence.

Dominique didn’t fill the silence with noise. He just let it sit, letting her know he heard her.

After a moment, she asked, "Do you like it? The work?" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"When it’s good, yeah. When I get to work with people who actually see me." He smiled. "And the money helps."

She almost smiled. Almost.

"Have you done any cool shoots?" she asked.

He lit up. "Okay, so last year I did this campaign in Valdoria. Mountains that look like they’re painted, these deep blue lakes, ancient stone villages. Freezing my ass off in a designer coat at 4 AM, but the photos were insane."

"Valdoria," she repeated.

"Beautiful. Quiet. Cold. Would go back." He looked at her. "You should come sometime."

She blinked. "What?"

"To Valdoria. Or wherever. You know, when you’re not too busy glaring at plants."

She stared at him.

He stared back, completely serious except for the tiny smile at the corner of his mouth.

"You’re asking me to travel with you?" she said slowly.

"I’m saying the offer’s on the table." He shrugged. "No pressure. Just... if you ever want to get away. See somewhere new. With someone who won’t stare at your face like it’s a problem."

Hazel’s throat tightened.

No one had ever said that to her. Not once. Not in years.

"How do I know you’re not lying?" she whispered.

Dominique met her eyes. Honestly.

"You don’t," he said quietly. "Not yet. But I’ve got time."

The waterfall roared.

Hazel looked away, but not before he saw the shimmer in her eyes.

"Tell me more about Valdoria," she said softly.

And he did.

He talked about the mist rolling over the mountains at dawn and the way the lakes mirrored the sky perfectly. He told her about the stone villages tucked into valleys, with old women who sold warm bread from tiny shops. He made her laugh with stories of tripping over his own feet during a shoot and sliding down a muddy hillside in thousand-dollar boots.

By the time he finished, Hazel was almost smiling.

"You talk about everything like you have adventures all the time," Hazel said, a hint of genuine curiosity in her voice. She had relaxed enough now to lean slightly toward him, drawn in by his stories. "Maybe you should show me your photos too? From those shoots?"

Dominique’s face lit up. "Of course!"

He pulled out his phone immediately, his fingers swiping across the screen. Then he shifted closer, angling the phone so she could see. He didn’t think about it, just moved naturally, the way you do with someone you’re already comfortable with.

But Hazel felt it. The moment he leaned in, his shoulder nearly brushing hers, his presence suddenly filled her entire awareness. She could smell him, that clean, masculine scent mixed with something expensive. Not overpowering. Just there, wrapping around her like a warm blanket.

Her breath caught for half a second.

She ignored it. Looked at the phone.

The first photo was stunning.

Dominique stood on a cliff edge, backlit by golden sunrise, wearing a flowing coat that caught the wind. His expression was intense, artistic, completely different from the goofy man beside her.

"This is Valdoria," he said quietly. "That shoot I told you about."

She nodded, scrolling slowly.

More photos. Dominique in a tailored suit, rain falling around him in a city square somewhere. Dominique in casual clothes, laughing in a field of wildflowers. Dominique looking dramatically at the camera with shadows cutting across his perfect cheekbones.

Each one was more beautiful than the last.

"You look..." Hazel searched for the right word. "Ethereal. Like you’re not quite real."

He chuckled. "That’s the goal, I think. To look like a fantasy."

She kept scrolling. Mountain shots. City shots. Black and white portraits that made him look like someone from another era.

"You make me want to pick up a camera again," she said softly, studying a particularly striking image of him silhouetted against a stormy sky.

Dominique turned his head slightly, looking at her profile. "Camera?"

Hazel didn’t look away from the phone. "Photography. It used to be my hobby. When I was a teenager." A pause. "I loved clicking photos. Capturing moments. Finding beauty in ordinary things."

"What happened?"

She was quiet for a moment.

"After the accident, I stopped. Didn’t feel like seeing beauty anywhere." She scrolled to the next photo, Dominique laughing genuinely, caught in an unguarded moment. "Looking at these, though..." She trailed off.

He waited.

"I forgot what it felt like," she admitted. "To see something and want to capture it."

Dominique didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then, softly, "You could start again."

She finally looked at him. His face was close, closer than she’d realized. Those dark eyes held hers, gentle and serious.

"Maybe," she whispered.

Then Dominique smiled and looked back at the phone.

"Here," he said, swiping to a new photo. "This one’s my favorite. They caught me right after I fell in a river. See the mud on my ear?"

Hazel looked. Saw the mud. Saw his laughing eyes. Saw the ridiculous, perfect, genuine moment frozen in time.

And for the first time in years, she laughed loudly without restraint, without caring how ugly her cheeks would look.

The sound surprised her, bright and warm, carried away by the waterfall.

Dominique watched her, something soft and wondering in his eyes.

"There it is," he murmured.

She looked at him, still smiling. "What?"

"That sound." He shook his head slowly. "Something ethereal about it. Just real. Beautiful."

Hazel’s cheeks warmed.

She looked back at the phone, but she wasn’t seeing the photos anymore.

"You don’t have shoots nowadays?" Hazel asked, scrolling through more photos. "These look old."

Dominique nodded, leaning back slightly but still close enough that she could feel his warmth. "Yeah, I took a year off. My manager wasn’t happy about it, but I needed a break." He shrugged. "Modeling’s great, but it’s also exhausting. Always performing. Always perfect."

Hazel glanced at him. "So what did you do with your year off?"

"Hung out with friends. Got roped into being Leo’s assistant or worker." He made a face. "Which apparently involves wedding drama, mountain chases, and emotional support for runaway brides."

She almost smiled. "Sorry about that."

"Don’t be." His voice softened. "Best thing that’s happened all year."

Hazel looked away quickly, focusing on the photos again.

Dominique didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy getting excited about something.

"But now my break’s almost over," he continued, sitting up straighter. "And I’ve got this new shoot lined up in a place called Solvira. Have you heard of it?"

Hazel shook her head.