Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Dominic

Before I can

an even

descend from the limousine, Carmella charges at my window with clenched fists.

It takes everything in me to stay calm. Since I’m on my way to see the children, I don’t need anyone ruining my mood.

When I step

ep out and close my door, I glance inside to speak to Vanessa

“Stay here and keep your mouth shut.”

She nonchalantly nods and looks down at her phone.

“Are you kidding me right now? Even when I’m right in front of you, you’re still ignoring me?” Carmella yells as she grabs onto the back of my jacket, pulling it so I can face the other direction.

Again it takes everything in me to stay composed, but as soon as I face her, I hold onto her wrist and drag her away from the limousine

“Let me go!” She frantically attempts to pull away. “I said let me go!”

I ignore her demand for just a few more seconds. Once we’re at a distance, I let her go and she crosses her arms with a pout as she faces the other side, her oversized shirt not even well aligned with her shoulders.

“What’s the meaning of this?” I rest my hands on the sides of my waist.

“Do

men

have to ask?” She chuckles bitterly with her dry lips. “What did you expect me to do? You won’t pick up my calls and reply to my

What other choice did I have?”

Her eyes are wide open and that only makes me notice the dark circles around her eyes. That along with her messy hair makes me wonder if this is really because of me.

My expression is evident of just how much I disapprove of her actions. “You’re not supposed to come here. We talked about this.”

“I know we did, but like I said to you, I had no other choice.”

“And you expect me to talk to you after what you’ve just done here?” I slightly raise my voice at her.

She instantly softens up, dropping her hands and approaching me with a frantic gaze. It’s almost like she hasn’t been sleeping

“Babe, I’m sorry. How many times must I apologize? Isn’t this already enough?”

I’m in disbelief at how she’s talking about this right now.

She grabs one to the lapels of my jacket and I’m so disappointed that I don’t even have the strength in me to move away.

Even if I want to lash out, nothing should ruin my mood.

Then, I remember that I’m right outside my home and should anyone see this, it’ll be a huge scandal.

I hold onto wrists to make her loosen her grip on my lapels, but she holds on tightly. There’s only one way to deal with this situation.

“Babe.” My voice is gentle.

“Hmm?” She smiles a little and instantly lets go.

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Chapter 23

I shove my hands in my pocket and take a step back as I look around. Luckily, there’s no one else in sight, but I spot her car, which is parked a few feet away from the limousine.

Looking back at her again, I say, “We’ll talk about this when I get back.”

“Where are you going?”

“To the children’s hospital.”

It’s only for a second, but I see her annoyance. Right now, it doesn’t matter. I just want to go.

“I promise we’ll talk afterwards, alright?”

“You really promise?” She pouts.

Now that I think about it, the longer I take to speak to her, the higher the chances of frequently seeing her here.

“Yes, I promise. Now go home and freshen up. I want you to look sexy for me.”

She giggles, her dry lips only turning white the more she stretches them while smiling.

“Are you going with that bitch? I saw her inside.”

“You know this is our first public appearance together and I need this to score points with my father.”

“Whatever, I don’t want to hear anything more about her.” She rolls her eyes.

“Here’s what I want you to do for me. You’re going to get in your car and go home, alright? I promise that I’ll come over afterwards”

“I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Of course.” I nod

my neck for a qui

a quick kiss but I look to the side,

She wraps her arms a

around my

“Babe, no.” I push her arms away and step back,

“You don’t want to kiss me?” She narrows her eyes at me,

“Remember where we are right now.”

tuffs “Fine”

She huffs.

When she turns around and flips her messy hair as she walks back to her car with delight, it takes me a moment to compose myself as I think

about just how crazy she looks.

The ride to the toy store is mostly silent, until bring up something I haven’t yet mentioned to Vanessa.

“We’re first stopping by the

e toy store, the one run by my

my Aunt Patricia.”

“I remember her from the wedding. She’s so sweet.”

“I don’t remember asking you to describe your experience with her,”

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Chapter 23

She rolls her eyes as she crosses her arms. “Fine. Go on.

“It might take a while before we leave the store. I still don’t know what to get for Penelope.”

“Leave that to me.”

“What do you know about toys?”

“Something you obviously don’t.”

I rest the back of my head against my seat with a clenched jaw as I glare at her. “You better watch the way you speak to me.”

She only manages to clear her throat.

“That’s what I thought,” I say to her.

When we arrive, security’s already tight outside and one of the guards opens the door for me.

I can’t help but poke my

Vanessa.

cheek for a moment because it’s time to act like I love and care about my fucking wife, and the same goes for

After I descend from the limousine, I turn around, lean forward and hold out my hand for her.

She smiles as she moves closer to the edge until finally, she places her hand in mine.

The moment she steps foot on the ground, we intertwine our fingers and walk up t

I hate that I’ll have to do this every time I’m out in public with her.

up the stairs with security around us.

Once we’re inside the building, the staff’s already lined up to welcome us and they acknowledge Vanessa so much that I want to roll my eyes. Of course, she’s part of the Richards family, but she doesn’t deserve any of this.

To my irritation, she actually seems to enjoy the attention she’s getting. She keeps smiling at everyone, responding to their compliments and greetings, something I never even do.

Each floor is filled with so much activity as everyone is in the middle of buying their preferred toys.

I know exactly where I have to go to

find Aunt

Patricia so I lead Vanessa there.

The whole time we’re holding hands, a few people take pictures. When I take note of that, I smile a bit more, which is different from Vanessa. She’s been smiling the entire time. She’s enjoying this a little bit too much but still, it helps me score points. I just want to take over my father’s company in the end.

a certain floor to get to Aunt Patricia’s office, security opens the door for us.

When we

e get to a

As soon as she sees Vanessa, she rises to her feet,

to her feet, her face

face beaming with excitement.

“There she is! Oh, my y dear Vanessal”

Vanessa instantly pulls away from

hand, rushing to my

ching to my Aunt Patricia.

As they share a warm embrace, I raise my eyebrows at the situation. It’s almost like I’m not even here right now.

“How

w do you fe

feel, my dear?” Aunt Patricia gently holds onto Vanessa’s shoulders.

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Chapter 23

“I feel great, as you can see,” Vanessa looks down at her leg.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come over to check on you. I’ve been so busy with the store.”

“It’s alright, My husband took good care of me.”

“Of course he did.”

It’s only when Vanessa mentions me that Aunt Patricia pays attention and faces my direction.

“You look dashing.”

“Hello, Aunt.” My lips curve into a smile.

“I thought you two would never make it. You took a little bit longer than I expected.” She tilts her head at me.

I instantly think back to Carmella but quickly, I block her out of my thoughts.

“Is this your first time in my store, dear?”

Just like that, her attention is back to Vanessa.

“Yes, it is. We’re here looking for something specific.”

“Don’t hesitate to c

“Of course.”

call me if you need anything. I just have a lot of work to do right now.”

They share another warm embrace and I just stand there with my hands shoved in my pockets.

All this love for someone I’m going to divorce? What a joke.

When we return to one of the floors with the toys, there are so many aisles that I still don’t know what to get Penelope.

But just like Vanessa said, she’ll take care of it so I leave it up to her.

We hold hands the entire time again as we look through different aisles but suddenly, she stops at a certain aisle as she looks around.

“Can you give me a moment?” Her fake smile fades and I wonder why.

“What is it?”

“Just give me a moment alone, please.”

“Fine.”

I set her hand loose and head to another aisle, just aimlessly looking around. I then come across different types of balls with interesting graphics and it makes me think of Jimmy’s recovery. I can’t wait to get him one of these. I might even have a game with him just to cheer him up, but of course, it’ll take a while.

When I feel I’ve waited too long, I make my way back to Vanessa.

As soon as I see the vie