Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Vanessa

As the hotel tea burns Carmella, she attempts to scramble to her feet while screaming in agony but doesn’t even manage to get out of her chair. Instead, it falls backwards and she falls along with it, the staff instantly rushing to her.

I’m so taken by surprise that I’m unable to focus on Mia until she speaks.

“Vanessa? What’s going on there?”

‘Til call you back,” I say to her, quickly ending the call

Just as the others try to help Carmella, she aggressively pushes them away and yells, “Don’t touch me! All of you stay away from me!

“Calm down. They’re just trying to help, I step in

She shoots me a glare while trying to deal with the burning sensation. “If it’s you, just mind your own business because you did this to me!

“What? Me?” My jaw drops.

“Yes, you did this on purpose!”

“You can’t be serious right now. I don’t even know what you’re talking about.

“I fucking hate this right now!” She tries to get off the floor, her breaths quick and short.

Once again, they try to help her but she pushes everyone away

“Just bring me some cold water from the fucking table!”

At this point, I don’t even want to deal with her madness, so I call Mia back.

“Hey, what was that about?” she asks with curiosity.

“Nothing to worry about. It was just someone who’s staying over. Now, as I was saying, I met Patrick Kentworth yesterday. You won’t believe what he told me.”

As I start walking out, I notice Carmella trying to get up while elongating her neck in my direction. What the hell is going on with her?

I might’ve felt bad for her but on second thought, she deserved it. I wonder how she was so careless. And what part did I have to play in this when she said it was my fault? At this point, I’m certain she’s crazy. That’s why I shouldn’t pay her any

attention.

After my call with Mia is cut short because she has something important to take care of get myself ready to work on the business ideas I came up with after being inspired at the women’s conference.

I make rough drafts on some papers, then look up a few possible business directions online and when I look at the time, it’s already two hours.

While I’m in the living room, one of the butlers tells me that Carmella’s been in her bedroom ever since she got burned and she keeps screaming at everyone who attends to her.

As I hold up one of the documents I printed out, Dominic finally returns home and he actually looks exhausted.

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“Hey,” I say to him but instantly press my lips together. Since when did I sound so enthusiastic when talking to him first?

He seems so at ease that I’m assuming he doesn’t yet know what happened with Carmella.

He doesn’t even go upstairs right away but drops himself on the other couch, looking at the ceiling. He then sighs heavily as he loosens his necktie. I’ve never seen him like this after coming back from work and I actually get a little concerned.

“Is everything okay?” Lask.

“Not yet. What’s that?” He looks down at the documents.

“Oh, it’s just something I’m trying to work on regarding the business ideas I have.”

“And what do you know about that stuff?” He tilts his head.

“Well, I’m trying to learn.”

“Give me that.” He holds out his hand.

As soon as I hand him the documents, he goes through all of them quickly while shaking his head.

“Where did you get this information? It’s all wrong”

I roll my eyes. “Of course you’d say that. My mother–in–law says you’re good at this stuff.

“Why do you think I just said it’s all wrong? Put this aside for now because it’s not even what you should be focusing tell you exactly what you need but that’ll be later.”

“You’re really going to help me?” I ask, pleasantly surprised.

“As long as it makes me look good, yes.”

“Of course. I should ve seen that coming

“Where’s Carmella?”

“I don’t know. I’m not her babysitter.

“Why the hell did I even ask? Forget I did. Now, tell me about your time at the orphanage.”

חיד

As soon as he asks, 1 begin explaining to him all the beautiful things that happened. Despite his expression when he first walked in, his face brightens up with each description I give of the children and how they couldn’t stop asking about him.

“Wow, I really need to go there soon.” He chuckles. “Anything else?”

It takes me a moment as I think about how Carmella got to Domenic first and fabricated a story about what happened with Billy.

Though I don’t yet have proof, I attempt to talk to him about it

“Billy was-”

I know about that part. No need to tell me. I even sorted it out.”

I sigh deeply, thinking about the moment I’ll actually expose her lies. My words won’t be enough.

“Did you take any pictures?” he asks, grabbing my attention again.

“Yes, I did.”

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“Show me.” He sounds extremely enthusiastic and even sits up more.

Dominic

I hate to admit this to myself, but I expected nothing less from Vanessa when it comes to her love for the children. The way they all behave when she’s around tells no lies. I see their happiness in all these pictures and clips she took using her phone.

“By the way,” she says, “there was this one boy who wouldn’t stop crying and I had to show him your pictures just so he’d

calm down.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you should really visit them soon.”

I’m so busy lately, but I definitely will. Speaking of children. I trail off, hoping she gets where I’m going with this.

She clears her throat and looks away as she says, “I know. Not ye

I nod, understanding what she’s trying to say, “You better tell me as soon as it’s time.”

“I know.”

Just as I’m about to hand her back her phone so I can freshen up and spend time with my babe, Vanessa receives a call from Mia and I give her the phone faster.

As she starts talking to Mia, I rise to my feet and I’m about to head to the elevator but pause when she mentions a guy named Patrick. She met with a guy while at the orphanage? What? Her ex–boyfriend?

I don’t know how to explain it, but hearing all this actually gets me more curious and a little upset. I don’t want to look like I’m eavesdropping, so I head to the elevator but very slowly.

To my disappointment, I don’t even hear much more as she heads in the other direction while still talking to Mia. Shit. Why am I so curious!

Even while I’m in the elevator, I’m bothered by what Vanessa said but I tell myself to stop thinking about it and only focus on spending time with my babe. There was too much going on at work that I needed a clear and focused mind. That’s why when my phone shut down, I didn’t bother charging it.

Since she’s here, I also feel like this is the perfect opportunity to tell her the truth. The sooner the better.

The moment I walk into her bedroom, I find her curled up while she’s in a loose black dress.

To gently wake her up, I kiss her forehead but as soon as I place my hand on her thigh, she screams with wide eyes and pushes me away.

Though I almost lose my balance, I regain my footing, shocked by her reaction..

“What the hell was that?” I say to her.

“Babe, it’s just you. Ugh! I’m sorry I didn’t mean to do that. It just hurts a lot.”

“What hurts?”

got burned two hours ago while having breakfast.” She lifts her dress and shows me her thighs.

“What happened?” I get closer and sit beside her, hating how this happened while I was away.

“It’s all because of your fucking wife.”

“What? She did this to you? Tell me what happened.” I clench my fists, ready to lash out and Vanessa

“Well, she was talking on the phone…”

“And then what happened?”

“And then I got burned.”

“What?” I furrow my eyebrows. “I don’t understand. If that’s what happened, how is Vanessa the one to blame for this?”

“Look, it just happened that way, okay?”

“Did she pour the tea on you?”

“No, she was walking away.”

“Then how is she at fault?”

“Why are you taking her side? You know what? Forget I told you any of this. I’ll be fine anyw

“But how did you get burned? That’s what I want to know.”

“My mug slipped, okay?”

“So then, it wasn’t Vanessa’s fault?”

“Can we talk about something else?”

“Babe?” I shake my head, not wanting to let it go.

“I’ll be fine. She reaches for my hand. “I’ve been trying to call you since last night. Tell me about the emergency meeting and all that happened.”

I sigh, giving it a rest. “I was so busy. There was a lot to do.”

While I explain to her bits of information, I find myself thinking about how much work I had to do and how my father actually made sure that everyone reported to me. During that moment, I felt even more motivated to give him his grandchildren. Even the board members who were present seemed to be in support of my decisions. That’s why I can’t mess. this up

“Babe, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about and it can’t wait,” I say to her, firmly holding both of her

hands.

I prefer telling her now as compared to the day when I’ll actually be in bed with Vanessa

“What is it?” she asks.

“My plans to divorce Vanessa have changed.”

Really?” Her face beams with excitement. “Will you be divorcing her much sooner?”

“No, it’s actually the opposite. She’ll be my wife for a much longer period of time as I need to start a family with her.”

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