Chapter 14

the morning wasn’t even supposed to feel weird. like it started… normal. sunlight doing that stupid stripe thing across the floor in the office, coffee machine already rumbling, printer smell (which i hate but it’s like stuck in my head now), and i walked in early—heels clicking too loud cause i was nervous for no reason, i don’t even know why, maybe cause of him, dom, i don’t know.

and yeah he was already there. of course he was. always early. sleeves rolled up like he’s some cliché, pencil behind his ear like he’s the only one working. didn’t even look at me at first, then finally did, that half-second eye contact, quick little nod, nothing else. like the almost-kiss the other night didn’t happen. except it did. i feel it every time. it’s like this humming wire between us that neither of us wants to touch cause we’d burn. he acts like it’s not there but it is. i know it is.

then vincent barges in, all wind and cologne like the outside world just follows him, and suddenly the whole room feels different. he’s grinning like a maniac, coat flying onto the chair, hands clapping. “big project big deal” whatever. he sounded rehearsed. said it’ll put us “on the map” like we’re not even on one already.

i asked what project. he said mixed-use development. silent partners blah blah capital blah blah. he loves words like “capital,” makes him sound important. dom froze though. i saw it. pencil mid-air, then dropped it slowly, like even touching it was too much. “silent partners?” he said it like he already knew something i didn’t.

vincent didn’t blink. “through me. that’s all you need to know.” he said it like it was a warning. dom picked up the pencil again but he wasn’t really drawing. i swear his fingers were tight like he wanted to snap it in half.

the air changed. like… heavy. thick. i pretended to keep typing but i was watching both of them. dom’s jaw muscle jumping. vincent smiling too wide. i wanted to scream at both of them.

by lunch vincent was gone, off to another “meeting” (who even knows if that’s true anymore) and i’m in the break room stabbing a salad i didn’t even want. dom came in, water bottle, leaning like he always does like the counter might fall if he doesn’t hold it up. i said he didn’t look happy with the news. he said, “you don’t know these people.” cryptic. i asked him to explain. he didn’t. just drank like he needed the water to shut his mouth. i pushed harder. “vincent’s my husband. i deserve to know.” he cut me off. “this isn’t a game.” his voice low, sharp. then he said if i was in danger he’d tell me. but not now. so basically he admits there’s something. and then tells me to shut up and stay out of it.

how am i supposed to do that??

he left me there with the stupid salad i didn’t even touch again.

the whole afternoon dragged. silent partners kept looping in my head like a broken tape. silent. why silent. people don’t stay silent unless there’s something to hide. i thought about vincent’s excitement. dom’s unease. the man with the camera. all of it tangling together and i couldn’t untangle it no matter how hard i tried.

around three i heard vincent in his office, on speaker with someone. his voice was too smooth, like salesman smooth. kept saying “yes we’re aligned” and “i’ll keep dom focused.” like dom was some problem to control. my stomach twisted. i moved before he came out so he wouldn’t see me listening. he came out whistling like it was just another day.

later dom shows up with a blueprint and a form. asked me to sign. i didn’t even look, just scribbled. i asked if he’d tell me the truth. he stared for too long then said, “not unless i have to.” what does that even mean? he sounded protective but also shutting me out. it made me both want to slap him and… i don’t know. something else.

when the office was empty i saw him outside smoking. he quit. i know he quit. i called him on it. he said sometimes you start again when things are complicated. i asked complicated like investors. he snapped back—complicated like knowing when to keep your mouth shut. that stung but also… it felt like he wasn’t mad at me. like he was mad at himself.

later i sat in my car watching him. yeah i know that’s creepy but i did. he stubbed the cigarette out and walked to his truck. looked over his shoulder and saw me watching. i swear i felt it in my chest, that look. like he knew exactly what i was thinking. and he didn’t like it.

then dinner. vincent all charm, wine, laughing, like nothing wrong. said everything’s gonna change for us. grabbed my hand. smiled. i smiled too but it wasn’t real. cause in the back of my head all i could hear was dom’s voice saying “not unless i have to.”

and now i’m sitting here writing this and i feel… what? split in half. vincent promising a golden future, dom warning me with half-answers, some stranger pointing a camera at me in alleys like i’m a target. my chest won’t unclench. it all feels like it’s building up to something and i don’t even know what but i can’t shake it. like the air is too still before a storm.