Chapter 57

Dominic’s POV

“You took them without asking?!” her voice raised, reaching for the kids who shrank behind me, their earlier joy from the walk vanishing in an instant.

“I didn’t—” I started, but she held up a hand, stopping me in my tracks.

“Do you have any idea what went through my mind when I woke up and found them gone?” she snapped, her voice trembling in anger. “I thought something happened to them! I thought—” She paused, her chest heaving as she struggled to keep her emotions in check.

“They are fine,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “I just took them for a walk. They wanted to explore, and I thought—”

“You thought?” she interrupted again, cutting me off. “You did not think, Dominic. You did not think about telling me. You did not think about how I would feel waking up to an empty house.”

Devon tugged on my sleeve, his small voice barely above a whisper. “Mommy, it was not his fault. We wanted to go.”

Samantha’s gaze softened for a brief moment as she looked at her son, but