Page 44 of Between Love & Ruin

“So, why are you still with him? You are young, beautiful and so fucking smart, and I am not saying that to butter you up—I don’t do that bullshit. Any man would be lucky to be with you.”

“I don’t know about that,” I say, shaking my head. After being with Mark, my perception of relationships has changed drastically. “I’ve been with him for most of my adult life. We got together in college, and that creates a different kind of attachment. But I do realize that sooner or later, I’ll have to just… do it. I don’t think I have a future with a guy like him. He doesn’t suck completely. He’s just not what I need or want.”

“What do you want, Sienna Hayes?”

I let his question sink in for a moment as I think about it.

What do I want?

For the longest time, I didn’t acknowledge what I wanted. I thought that what I wanted didn’t exist in real life. But I am not stupid. Nor am I blind. I see the kind of love I want around me all the time. In Aisha and Reyansh. In Laura and Kayla.

And even in Summer and Keith.

“I want to be in a love story like the ones in books. The kind where your soul sets on fire, where there is care, gentleness, and affection. Where neither I nor my partner hesitates to express our love. The kind of love that gives you butterflies and makes life feel worth living. A love where we truly prioritize each other.”

“That’s possible,” he says, and I chuckle.

“You think?”

“Of course. I feel like if you let love like that find you, you can totally get it. You just have to let go.”

I stare at him then only to realize that he is looking at me.

“That was sort of poetic.”

“I have to be a little poetic when I am with you. Maybe that would impress you.”

I shake my head, done with him when I realize that we have reached the location Mark had texted me.

Dread coils up in my chest just thinking that I have to go through this with him.

* * *

Dominic thought, in that pretty little head of his, that it was the best decision in the world to “crash” my lunch date, or whatever you’d call it, with Mark.

He said, and I quote, “I am starving, cara mia. It’s not nice to keep someone away from food, now is it? Plus, I could bond with your soon-to-be ex-boyfriend.”

I know it has less to do with his appetite and more to do with the fact that he loves to spite Mark for fun, as I gathered from yesterday’s events.

He is the kind of man who never boasts about the power and connections he has but won’t hesitate in subtly shoving it in your face.

And Mark already gets triggered by even his name. I don’t think it has anything to do with me. Because I know the kind of man Mark is. He has never gotten jealous in the few years we have been together.

But he gets threatened when someone does better than him.

And I so happen to have a deal with the kind of man he can only pray about.

“I didn’t know this was going to be a business meeting,” Mark utters sarcastically, but I don’t find it amusing. I am not happy about whatever is going on right now.

Dominic studies me and Mark with a steady gaze as he sits across us. When we arrived, Mark very conveniently switched seats from across me to beside me. I had to fight the urge to laugh at his stupidity.

Men are so vulnerable when it comes to their stupid ego.

“My business meetings are not nearly this relaxed, I can assure you of that, Mr. Thomas,” Dominic says casually.

He looks so out of character right now. Or maybe this is who he really is around other people, and the version of him I’ve met is simply a little more laid-back, a little softer around the edges.

“Mark is fine, Dominic,” Mark says, and I scrunch up my nose. I don’t think they are supposed to be on a first-name basis considering how they are looking at each other.