Chapter 100

It was odd to meet him here. I’d been to nicer restaurants. Yes, that was a recent development, but this didn't feel like a place Dominic would usually frequent. There was something about this one. It was tucked off a quiet cliffside highway and hidden behind high hedges and valet-only parking. The air was colder here, more remote, but heavier too. Thicker.

The hostess led me to the private room with a smile too sweet to be sincere, and I stepped through the double doors with a tight breath.

Dominic was already there, standing at the window with the lights dimmed low behind him. He was wearing all black, of course. A button-down shirt open at the collar, sleeves rolled to the elbows. His shoulders were tense, his jaw sharp in profile. I’d expected his usual confidence, maybe even a bit of charm.

Instead, all I felt was pain. All I saw in him was this bone deep agony that he was just choosing to push through. It hit me before he even turned around. A pressure, an ache, like the walls of the room were closing in around him. Like he’d swallowed something sharp and it was tearing him up from the inside out.

There was a tumbler of of something amber in front of him, but I couldn't tell if he'd been sipping it or if it was just there. He was just… staring at it.

He turned to face me. His expression didn’t show it. Not completely. He even managed a faint smile when his gaze landed on me.

“You look…” He didn’t finish the thought, rising to his feet and stepping closer. He led me to the table. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course,” I said, smoothing down my dress. I’d worn something sleek and simple, classic black with an open back and soft satin skirt. Not flashy, but elegant. Enough to show I knew this wasn’t just dinner. It was something more. Maybe a turning point. Arielle had hated my choice, but she let me have it in exchange for her doing my make up and picking my shoes. “I thought you might’ve wanted to meet somewhere more casual.”

“I needed the privacy,” he replied, glancing toward the door as if confirming it was still shut. Then he added, “I’m not drinking.”

I glanced at the tumbler. "Apple juice?"

"Mock Sidecar, actually."

“Okay…” I blinked and nodded. “Do you want to eat?”

He shook his head. “Later.”

“Dominic…” I stepped closer. “Are you alright?”

Instead of answering, he held out his hand. “Dance with me?”

I blinked again, thrown off balance, but I took his hand.

His palm was warm. Calloused. Familiar.

He led me to the center of the room where the speakers whispered a slow, instrumental piece. The sound system here was luxurious, and the music filled the air like incense, soft and thick and bittersweet.

He held me close. One hand at the small of my back, the other clasping mine gently. Our bodies moved in sync before either of us consciously thought to match rhythm. There wasn’t room for words, not with his heart so close to mine. Not with my cheek brushing against his chest. The silence wasn’t empty. It hummed.

His aura pulsed with something tight and caged. Pain. Grief. Guilt. His face, pressed against my temple, didn’t give it away. The more we dance, the longer we were this close, the more I felt it in my bones. He was holding himself together by sheer force of will.

We swayed through another song, and then another.

Finally, he whispered, “How are you?”

I closed my eyes. “Still a little numb…. I feel terrible for that woman, TM. She seemed… devastated.”

He nodded like he understood. "Arielle is incredibly thorough… and what a curveball at the end."

I shuddered. “I feel like… I should be more excited. I should be angry or smug or whatever it is people expect me to feel when they see Tyler and Vivian get dragged through the mud. But I’m just tired.”

“That’s fair.”

“And sad,” I added.

Dominic’s hand tightened at my back.

“I don’t want to be,” I admitted. “I want to feel victorious. Like I’ve won. But watching them fall apart felt more like watching a slow-motion car crash than a victory parade… hearing all the details… I 'm not sure if it did more harm than good.”

Honestly, I still wanted to just be angry, but more and more I can't help but wonder had Tyler thrown me off the yacht because of some compulsion he was under? What had happened to Maya in that timeline? What would happen to her now?

“It's natural. You have a kind heart,” he said softly. “Even to people who don't necessarily deserve it… Also, watching you handle that idiot was incredible satisfying."

That made me smile, if only briefly.

“I’m proud of you,” he added after a beat. “You kept your composure well, Renee. Many wouldn't have."

In this life, I had the benefit of already having distance from those emotions. All the grief and turmoil, but had I been that same girl as before, I know I'd be in tears just like TM had been.

"Thanks… are we going to talk about how you're feeling now?"

We stopped moving. I looked up at him, sensing the mask starting to slip.

He was holding everything back. I could feel it in the way his muscles stayed coiled, in the small flinch behind his eyes when I cupped his face.

“Dominic…” I touched his chest lightly. “Talk to me. Please.”

He stared down at me for a moment like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to. Like maybe holding it all inside would be safer. But then he let out a shaky breath and stepped back, running a hand through his hair.

“I dropped Vivian off at the shelter tonight,” he said.

I stilled.

“I tried to stay calm. I tried to be compassionate.” He lowered his head, resting his forehead against mine. “But she screamed at me. She told me I’d regret it. She said I couldn’t have kids. That I was shooting blanks. She—”

He shut his mouth and turned, shutting his eyes, shame coloring his face.

“She knew she wasn’t mine,” he said after a moment. “She’s known for a year. Found Hazel’s diaries. She lied about shifting, lied about everything. And when I looked at her tonight, I saw Hazel. Not the woman I loved, not my late wife, my daughter, her mother, but all the ugly cruelty that I had ignored. It was… the first time I ever thought of her as not mine.”

I didn’t know what to say. Any satisfaction I might’ve felt about Vivian’s downfall evaporated.

Dominic didn’t deserve this.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he murmured. “I just… needed to tell… someone.”

I wrapped my arms around him. He didn’t move at first. But then he exhaled like he’d been holding his breath for years, and his arms came around me, crushing me to his chest, burying his face in my neck.

“I wish there was a way for her to be punished without hurting you,” I whispered, stroking his hair. "I wish… I'm so sorry, Dominic."

And now I knew what had happened before because if this wasn't it, I couldn't imagine what.

I could’ve stayed like that forever, wrapped in quiet pain and quiet comfort. But eventually, I had to let go. The waiters were bringing dinner. We ate before heading out, he draped his jacket over my shoulders and walked me down to where the car was.

He started to pull back, but I didn’t let him go just yet. I tilted my head, meeting his eyes.

“Would you… like to come home with me tonight?”

His eyes searched mine, flickering with heat, with longing but also with restraint.

“Renee…”

“It’s just a question,” I said quickly, flustered. “I mean—it doesn’t have to mean anything. It could just mean that I don’t want you to be alone. That I don’t want to be alone. That we could…”

He raised a brow.

“Okay, maybe I’m not helping.”

He smiled faintly.

“I’m not asking for anything you’re not ready to give,” I said, more seriously this time. “But I want you to know that I want you there. I want to be with you, and I know this is all …”

The mask cracked completely then, and what I saw underneath was real and raw and entirely vulnerable.

He stepped in and brushed his lips against mine, light and careful. And then he kissed me like it might be the last time. A jolt of fear went through me. There was something dark and melancholic in him. I could feel it beating at my chest. A warning whisper from somewhere in my soul. I dug my fingers into his shoulders, wanting to hold on to him.

When we pulled apart, I didn’t press the question again.

He exhaled against my mouth. “You’re tempting me.”

"… is that a yes?"