MasukEILEEN POV:I was walking out of class when I realized people were staring at me. Since my relationship with Dominic became public, a lot of people recognized me, but they kept their distance after a while. But today’s gazes were less curious but held more judgment.“Dan, did something happen?” I asked.Dan had followed her around every day since Arthur came into the picture. “The college didn’t allow any journalists and paparazzi to enter, so you are safe for now,” he said quickly. I sucked in a breath. “What is it?” I asked in a low voice. He pulled the car door open and waited for me to slide in. Realizing he was in a rush to get me out, I got into the car without question and played with my thumb as he rounded the car and slid into the driver’s seat.He took the south gate instead of the one we usually took back home and I arched my brow. “The cameras are waiting outside Gate 2,” he informed her. “Can you tell me what is happening now?”“Arthur tried to sell the story to a news
DOMINIC POV:I smiled. One conversation and he had changed his tunes? Well, then. He wasn’t as bothersome as I had previously believed.“Did he add a condition?” Eileen asked, filled with anxiety.“No, instead, Arthur is willing to settle for a quarter of a million dollars.”Slashed his price in half. So much for being a master negotiator. Eileen gasped. “Why would he do that?” she wondered. She looked at me, suspecting I had a hand in the matter.“He came to see me today. I chased him out of the office.”Eileen’s eyes widened. “I’m so sorry,” she blurted out. “I didn’t think–”I pressed my finger against her lips. Then, I spoke into the phone on her behalf. “Allow him to stew over it some more. If he can slash it once, he can do it again.”“Understood,” Gardener replied curtly. “I’ll keep you updated.”To whom he said this was unknown, but Eileen sagged once the call was cut off.Lucy hung her head, her joy sapped by the mere mention of Arthur. “I’ll take the kids upstairs. The two
DOMINIC POV:I whipped my head to glare at him. “You can try. Let’s see if the news reports it before I call the cops on you for threatening me.”Arthur rolled his eyes. I could tell at a glance that he had never suffered the consequences of his actions. He was in for a rude awakening. “What? Did I say I will kidnap Bethany? I’m her father, I will be telling the press the truth. You, on the other hand…”“Are you threatening to kidnap Bethany?” I questioned. “So what if I am.”I narrowed my eyes. “The room is under surveillance. Every word you said has been recorded,” I warned him. “Try me.”He stepped back, his confidence waning. “I’m sure the media will enjoy another breaking story about you. But what about Bethany and Eileen? They will be dragged through the mud because you are unwilling to dish out pocket change.”I shoved him aside and slammed the door behind me. “Throw him out of the company,” I commanded.The guard rushed inside and dragged him away. I heard his curses from do
DOMINIC POV:And as I had anticipated, Arthur was waiting for me, early in the morning, a few days later. He broke sooner than I had anticipated.I walked into the office building, a flurry of people throwing their concerns my way, while the others nodded curtly in acknowledgement. With the holiday week just over, everyone was sluggish, but the security team worked harder than ever before, restraining a clearly distraught man.“I have to meet Dominic Presley!” he yelled. “Let me go, you fuckwad!”His language was colorful, but his struggle was futile. He hissed in pain as he was dragged towards the side door, leading into the building but away from normal operations.“Mr. Presley is not in office,” someone tried to reason with him. “Please come with us.” The underlying warning was ignored.Arthur scanned over the eager, whispering crowd, wondering why a random man was making a scene so bright and early in the morning. His eyes fell on me, and his eyes lit up with recognition. “Hey, D
EILEEN POV:He was genuine in his approach. He wanted my opinion.“Half a million dollars is beyond the question, but I want to get rid of him forever. Can Mr. Gardener get a better price?”Dominic mulled over the possibility. “From the recording alone, I can tell Arthur isn’t the type to back down easily. If we give him money once, he will come back to ask for more.”“So, we shouldn’t give him money?” I whispered. Wouldn’t the case be dragged to court then?“I also want him to lower the amount. And I will ask Gardener to push for it.” He sighed. “Arthur doesn’t want to parent Bethany at all, so we can convince him in a few ways. But don’t worry…”How could I not?“I will make sure he signs over all his parental rights at the end of this.”He sounded confident but I didn’t think it would be as easy as he made it out to be. “How will you do it?”He patted my shoulder. “Leave it to the professionals, Eileen.”Harry unlatched, and I handed him to Dominic before covering myself up quickly
EILEEN POV:I barely held onto my emotions on the way back home. When I was finally behind closed doors, with Harry and Bethany sleeping in their respective cribs, I broke down. I took Bethany from her crib and pressed her close to my chest, afraid I didn’t have much time left with her. I sobbed silently as she slept soundly.Dominic was already at the office while Lucy was probably downstairs, probably attending an online class, so I was left alone to process my own emotions. So, I was shocked when I heard a knock on my door. I put Bethany back into the crib and wiped my tears away before opening the door.I found Lucy on the other side.“Did I disturb you?” I asked softly, knowing she must have heard the baby monitor go off and came to investigate.Lucy shook her head. She entered the room and glanced at the two babies, sleeping soundly. “I take it things didn’t go well?” she inquired softly.I sniffed. “When has Arthur made things easy for me?”Lucy frowned as she led me to the w
DOMINIC POV:“And? What is the verdict?” Greg urged.“Well, if the offer still stands, we would like to take you up on it. The three of us would move in. I will stay in the room you showed me upstairs so that I can better care for Harry, and Bethany will stay in the extended room next door. Lucy ca
DOMINIC POV:Eventually, she wasn’t shy anymore. She looked at me and smiled. After a few matches of peek-a-boo, and using Harry as a shield, she giggled and chirped, “Hi!”We indulged in some playtime before heading down the stairs to grab something to eat for lunch. I was still holding Harry whil
LUCY POV:Dominic Presley. I just spoke to Dominic Presley on the phone.The funniest part was, when I first saw him on the news, I had a teenie-weenie little crush on him. But then he was caught getting along with Camille and I got over the crush quickly. That didn’t mean that I didn’t find him cu
DOMINIC POV:She hadn’t seen him in two years? That means there was no father in the picture? Eileen was single, then. Why did that make me so happy?I was with Camille. Well, not really.It was over; deep down, I knew that. The brief flash of happiness I felt however, was misplaced and quickly rep







