LOGINDOMINIQUE I find Leo at the bar, a drink sitting in front of him as he stares at the glass like it personally offended him. He’s hunched over the counter, fingers tapping absently against the marble. Mild irritation still lingers across his features, but underneath it, he just looks weary. Oliver is nowhere to be found. And I need to fucking talk to him. As I approach, Leo lifts his glass of dark amber liquid to his lips and drains what’s left in one gulp before setting it down harder than necessary. “Think you’ve had enough?” I ask, taking the seat beside him. I sling an arm around his shoulders before picking up the empty glass and bringing it to my nose. Fuck. That’s some strong shit. I motion the bartender over with a flick of my wrist. “A bottle of water for my brother and a whiskey for me.” “Of course, sir.” He gets to work. “I’m not drunk, Dom,” Leo groans. He leans back on his stool, elbows against the counter, dragging a palm over his face before
DOMINIQUE I built my empire knowing everything. Every secret. Every lie. Every skeleton buried deep. Knowledge is power. And I’ve spent years making damn sure I’m never the one left in the dark. Yet the woman sitting across from me, sleeping so peacefully, is the one thing I can’t seem to decipher. Robyn Denver started as a game. A dirty, sex-motivated power play. But now… Now, I can’t imagine not being close to her. Can’t even fucking think about not having her in my life. That’s how deep I’m in. Somewhere between trying to get her into my bed and trying to figure out every little thing about her, the game stopped being a game. She stopped being a woman I wanted to fuck. She became the woman I wanted to keep. And that realization should scare the living shit out of me. But it doesn’t. Losing her does. For a long second, I just watch her. The slow rise and fall of her chest. The way her head is bent slightly to the side, her cheek resting against her
DOMINIQUE There. The one question that’s been sitting at the back of my mind for all these years, finally out in the open. “I need to know.” My fingers tighten around the chair. “I think you owe your kids that much. An explanation. An answer. Anything.” There’s a long beat. Carlotta’s lips tremble as her gaze moves from me to Dad, then to Leo and Camilla before finally returning to me. “You were.” Her voice breaks around the words. My grip tightens around the back of the chair, my teeth grinding together. “You were all enough.” She shakes her head, drawing in a sharp breath as tears gather in her eyes. “You were.” An irritated scoff escapes me before I can stop it. “If we were enough, then why the fuck did you leave?” Carlotta blinks rapidly, finally tearing her gaze away from mine. “Because I wasn’t thinking about what you needed.” Her voice is quieter now. “I was thinking about me. About what I wanted. It was selfish.” Leo scoffs, his arms folding across his chest. “R
DOMINIQUEThey say forgiveness should come easily when you love someone.Especially if it’s family.I fucking disagree.Sometimes, love is exactly what makes forgiveness so fucking difficult.As humans, we tend to think love should naturally lead to forgiveness. That because you love someone, forgiveness should come easily.Which is fucking bullshit if you ask me.Because loving someone means that when they hurt you, lie to you, betray you, or abandon you when you need them most, that kind of hurt stays with you.It festers. It grows. It becomes this fucking persistent, irritating feeling that sometimes threatens to eat you alive.So, no.I fucking disagree with whatever logic says forgiveness should come easily because it’s someone you care about. Because it’s family.Sometimes the reason you can’t simply forgive someone isn’t because you don’t love them enough. It’s because you love them too much for what they did not to matter.Because deep down, you still care about them. You stil
For one stupid second, nobody says anything.Then the amusement around the table registers all at once.Every eye seems to be on us.Great.I blush harder, my cheeks already hurting from how much I’ve been smiling since Dominique decided it was a good idea to fucking tease me.I drop my gaze to my plate, grabbing my glass of orange juice and bringing it to my lips for a sip, an attempt to hide how embarrassed I am right now.Especially since everyone apparently finds us interesting enough to abandon their conversations and watch us instead, amused smiles on their faces.Except Aimee.The bitch is practically seething on the other side of the table.Jealousy definitely doesn’t look good on her.Beside me, Dominique looks completely composed.“It seemed like you two needed a room. If you want, we could all leave. Give you that privacy you seriously need,” Leonardo adds, leaning forward with a grin.Laughter erupts around the table.“Shut up, Leo,” Dominique says, not bothering to look a
Ignoring Lorenzo becomes surprisingly easy once I finally turn my attention to what’s sitting in front of me.And holy shit.Breakfast might be the one thing capable of distracting me from the irritating man across the table.The aroma hits my nose before I even have time to take everything in.Smoked salmon and roasted potatoes. Scrambled eggs and avocado toast. Eggs Benedict. Freshly made waffles and pancakes.You dream it, it’s here.There’s also a large platter overflowing with fresh fruit—berries, grapes, sliced melons—along with a transparent pitcher filled with orange juice. A few bottles of champagne sit nestled in an ice bucket beside another pitcher of orange juice for mimosas, while a steaming pot of coffee sits within easy reach.Everything is simply perfect.Dominique’s family and Anthony’s family, all gathered together on this rooftop overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the distance. The scent of the sea fills the air, carried toward us by the gentle morning breeze, mixing
My mission, during this breakfast meeting with his family, is to get my revenge on Dominique for leaving me sexually frustrated. Earlier when I was taking my bath, I had touched myself to get the edge off while I shamelessly imagined Dominique touching me in the places where I desperately craved his
DOMINIQUEI’m ruined. I knew she was going to ruin me when I had a taste of her, but not this soon. It’s been more than a month since that unforgettable night and it felt like it was yesterday. I could still taste her on my tongue, I could still hear her cries and her moans, and I could still remembe
I slowly peel my eyes open, squinting and groaning as I place my hand on my forehead. God, my head hurts so bad, it feels like a party is going on in my head.How much did I drink last night?I peel my eyes wide open, coming face to face with the darkness in my room. But there’s something strange abou
DOMINIQUE“Aren’t we gonna address the elephant in the room?” Camilla asks, turning around in her seat with her judgmental look.“And if I may ask, what elephant is that?”“Dom, you know what I’m talking about.”Oh, I know what she’s talking about, I’m just not willing to talk about it with her.I turn t







