“Five minutes,” Dominic said, his voice low and desperate. “That’s all you have to walk out of my life. Don’t pack a thing—I’ll give you everything you need. Just go… because if you don’t, I swear, I’ll never let you go. Ever.” I froze, my heart pounding. His words were harsh and final. But then I saw it, the way his hands slightly tremble, and the way his chest rose and fell too quickly. He’s shaking. He’s not just pushing me away. He’s terrified. Terrified of himself and of what he might do. A slow smile tugged at my lips as I placed my hand over his heart, feeling the hurried rhythm beneath my palm. “Then it’s a good thing I don’t want to go,” I whisper. “I want to be with you.” Something inside him snapped. Dominic grabbed me, crushed me against him in a desperate, almost broken embrace. His arms tightened like he’s afraid I’ll disappear, his breath shuddered as he buried his face in my neck. He clinged to me like I’m the only thing keeping him in the world. And I hold him just as tightly, because I’m not afraid. ****** When Sophie Carter caught her husband, Ethan Koleman sleeping with his secretary, she expected an explanation or even an apology, but instead, she was slammed with divorce papers and an eight year sentence in jail. What did she do? Ethan accused her of attempted murder. Four years in jail, an offer is presented to her by her husband’s biggest rival, Dominic Hayes. “Marry me and I’ll help you take revenge.” Of course, she takes it. But never did she expect to discover a shocking secret about Dominic that broke her.
View MorePROLOGUE
DOMINIC
“I can be obsessive about my interests.” That was my reply to the therapist’s question about myself.
She lifted her eyes from the notepad, intrigued but careful. “Obsessive?”
I nodded.
“Alcohol?”
I slowly shook my head with a small smirk on my lips.
“Drugs?”
It would’ve been easier if it were drugs. At least addiction to substances could be cured.
“Women?”
Woman, I corrected in my head.
I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. The smirk on my lips told her everything she needed to know.
Her eyes flickered to my mouth before she caught herself and swallowed hard. Interesting. She was trying too hard to maintain her composure.
I was used to that and that’s why she intrigued me. She blatantly rejected my advances, when I could have given her everything she wanted and more.
“Do you often give in to whatever it is that you want?” she asked and turned back to her notepad, ready to write.
Not really. Wanting something and having it were two different things. There was no fun in easy wins. I liked the chase, the slow build-up, and the tension before the fall.
I slightly leaned forward and watched the way her fingers tensed around her pen. “No,” I said finally.
Her shoulders relaxed just a little but she wasn’t foolish enough to be at ease in my presence. “Why not?”
I swirled the wine glass in my hand, watching the red liquid slowly move around. It reminded me of the thing I loved most. Blood.
“Because I’ll lose,” I simply said.
She frowned slightly and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “And you don’t like to lose?”
Exactly.
Winning wasn’t just a desire, it was a necessity. Every move I made was calculated, without any form of weakness. And yet, the thought of her scattered that order. I hated her for it, and I wanted her for it.
The therapist shifted in her chair, feeling uncomfortable in the thick silence. She was nervous. Good.
I leaned back, watching the slight rise and fall of her chest. I enjoyed fear. I enjoyed how people thought they could hide it from me, but it was always there, just under the surface.
“…About your obsessive personality,” she said, hesitating for the first time, “how do you cope with it?”
I sighed deeply, and rolled my shoulders as if the conversation bored me. I set my glass down with a soft clink and rose to my feet. I adjusted the cuffs of my shirt as I strode toward the door.
“I don’t.”
She furrowed her brows in confusion. “What do you mean?”
With my hand on the doorknob, I glanced at her over my shoulder. Her throat bobbed slightly, giving away the calmness she tried to portray.
Good.
“When I obsess, Francisca…” I drawled, then I let out a knowing smile. “There’s no fixing it.” And with that, I walked out.
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVESOPHIEWhy was everything happening at the same time? I was operating on three hours of sleep and a truck load of anxiety.Judy was in a life threatening accident?!I rushed to Dominic’s office, kicking the door open. When I asked him for his help with Judy, I didn’t expect him to make her get into an accident. It was far from what I wanted, why would he do that?“What did you do?” I said the moment I entered his office.He calmly looked up from the document he was reading, “Nothing that shouldn’t be done,” he simply said, and that infuriated me.“So getting Judy and my daughter involved in an accident is something that should be done?” I glared at him angrily, hands on my waist.His brows furrowed and he straightened his back, “Mira was in an accident?”“I don’t know!” I sighed in exasperation, sliding my hand down my face, “Francis called me that Judy was in an accident and he isn’t sure if she’ll make it,”“I didn’t do it.” “Dominic, please take me to the hospi
CHAPTER THIRTY FOURSOPHIEI rushed home as fast as I could, slamming the door behind me as I stormed into the living room and ran up the stairs, taking two at a time. I had to speak with Dominic and I knew exactly where to find him.I pushed open his office door and there he was, sitting behind his desk, with his phone on his ear. He looked at me, then back to the document on his table.“Dom…please, we need to talk,” I said, ignoring the fact that he was on a call.“Yeah, prepare everything and send it to my email,” he hung up, rested his arms on the desk and looked up at me. “What is it?” He asked calmly.“Uhm,” I swallowed hard, my heart racing,” I know you may be mad about what happened last night and—““I’m not mad,” he cut me off, staring right at me.“Oh,” I coughed awkwardly, “Okay, but I still want to apologize for not telling you earlier and keeping you in the dark. It was never my intention and like I said before, I was scared and—““Is this what you want to discuss with me
CHAPTER THIRTY THREESOPHIE “Is Mira your daughter, Sophie?”“I…I,” I swallowed hard, unable to get the words out of my mouth. He’d caught me, it was clear he’d found out about everything.When Judy told me he was on to her, I should have known. This was Dominic we were talking about after all, a powerful and calculative businessman.He turned to the door, ready to leave, but I stopped him before he could. “Yes,” I blurted out, “Yes, Dominic. She’s my daughter.” I swallowed hard to contain my emotions, running my fingers through my hair in frustration, “I had her in jail.”He paused and slowly turned to face me. I expected anger and unrestrained rage but he was calm, too calm for someone who just found out the truth, “Why didn’t you tell me?”“Because I was scared!” I yelled, not out of anger, but of frustration. I took a deep breath and wiped the tears that had spilled, trying to calm my racing heart, “I was scared, okay? And that was why I gave her to Judy.”“What are you scared o
CHAPTER THIRTY TWOSOPHIE“Once she’s stable, we’ll both be relocating.” Judy said seriously.“What? Why? W..What do you mean by relocating?” I was flabbergasted beyond words and I could barely make up a proper sentence.“You heard me right, Sophie. Don’t play deaf.” She scowled, then glanced left and right before she continued, “I discovered that Francis..” she paused, “My husband has been cheating on me, so I can no longer continue with the marriage.”It was weird that Judy was telling me this because we’d never been that close. I was sorry for her broken marriage but my daughter was of utmost importance.“And you’re just letting me know now?” I asked, almost dumbfounded.“I don’t answer to you, Sophie!” She declared.I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration, trying to find a way to convince her, “Must you go with her? You can leave Mira with me. You’re going to a new country, I can take care of her.” “Don’t try to play smart with me,” she said, “you can’t change my mind, th
CHAPTER THIRTY ONESOPHIE“Mira collapsed?!”For a moment, everything around me came to an abrupt halt as I tried to make sense of what I just heard.“Sophie?” Dominic lightly shook my shoulders, “Are you okay?”“Dominic” I swallowed hard, staring at him with wide eyes, “Take me to the hospital, please.”His eyes quickly scanned my body, checking if I was hurt, “Are you hurt? What’s—““Hospital, now!” I yelled, already rushing towards the vehicle and Dominic knew better than to keep asking questions.If I was in the right frame of mind, I’d have appreciated how fast he drove but all I could think about at that moment was Mira, my daughter.Judy had never called me about Mira’s health so the fact that she was calling me now, made the hairs on my skin stand.Nothing could happen to Mira. She had to be fine. She was my only hope, my only reason to survive.“Drive faster!” I choked out, admist the tears.Dominic didn’t answer, he just stepped on the accelerator. The second we drove into t
CHAPTER THIRTYSOPHIEThe house was quiet. I slowly walked down the stairs, still thinking about the fire from last night. The smell of smoke hadn’t left my mind, and neither had the way Dominic stood there silently as he watched it all burn to the ground.When I stepped into the dining room, I stopped. He was there, sitting calmly with a cup of tea in his hand like it was just another normal morning.I swallowed hard and blinked. “I thought you’d be at work.”He looked up at me with an unreadable on his face. “I’m not.”That was all. No further explanation and tone. I slowly took a seat. The maid appeared and set a plate in front of me, scrambled eggs, toast, some fruit on the side. I mumbled a thanks, more out of habit than anything else then we ate in silence.Dominic didn’t seem angry, but there was something bubbling just beneath the surface. I couldn’t tell what. He looked… calm but it was the kind of calm that made me more nervous than if he had been yelling.I pushed a piece
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