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“I’ll get out of your hair,” I interject.
“Wait—”
I’m already out the door.
Chapter 34
Dominic
She is not in my bed when I return home.
Nor the day after that, nor the day after that.
Guilt weighs heavily on my chest as I mull our argument over, absolutely hating the look on her face when I said she was being dramatic. They were words spoken out of turn, without thought. I didn’t mean them, but my brain didn’t kick in in time to keep my mouth from running.
I need to apologize. I know I should. Not just for the way I spoke to her, but for my absence as of late. Arin’s right. I’ve been so consumed with work that I’ve unintentionally neglected my wife and daughter.
Wait? Did I say wife?
Man, I reallyamtired.
But now that the word is in my head, I can’t stop thinking about it.
Wife, wife,wife.
On the sixth night that I return home to find my bed empty, I dare to venture into the other half of the apartment. Nerves and anxiety don’t suit me, yet my palms get clammy and my heart thuds loudly in my chest as I wander down the hall into what can only be described as Arin and Felicia’s side of our home.
Shit. Maybe Arin’s right.
I’ve been so adamant about keeping business and personal separate that I’ve accidentally drawn an invisible line straight through the center of the apartment. Hers and mine. Cut off from one another, even though that was never my intention. Time just… got away from me a little.
I pop in to check on my daughter first.
She’s fast asleep, already tucked in and sleeping soundly. Her night light glows softly from one corner of the room, a beacon of safety in the darkness. The toys and books I purchased for her lie about the space, clearly well-loved and adored. It fills me with pride knowing I can afford to give her a life free of want.
And you really think that’s enough?
“Daddy?” Felicia stirs, slowly propping herself up on her elbows as she rubs the sleep from her eyes. “Daddy?”
“I’m sorry, principessa,” I whisper, stepping quickly to her bedside. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Had a bad dream.” She holds her arms out and grabs onto me, hugging me with such strength that I marvel.
“It’s okay, little one,” I murmur, gently rubbing her back while pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I’ve got you, you’re safe. Why don’t you lie back down and—”
“Don’t go!” she whines, clinging to my shirt with her tiny fists. “Stay here.”
I’m not the kind of man who knows what it’s like to have their heart melt, but Felicia’s plea makes me fold like a shaky house of cards on a windy day. How could I possibly deny her something so simple?
I have her carefully balanced on my lap with her cheek resting against my shoulder as I carefully wrap her in her blanket. Once safe in her little cocoon, Felicia quickly starts to nod off, her eyes fluttering closed as she yawns deep and wide. I take a moment to admire just how much she looks like her mother. From her cute button nose to the shape of her little ears and the curl of her long lashes. There’s no doubt in my mind that Felicia’s going to grow up to be just as gorgeous as Arin.
Once I’m sure she’s sound asleep and no longer plagued by remnants of her nightmare, I lay Felicia down and tuck her in. I kiss her on the top of her head before leaving her room, the door shutting with the softest of clicks.
When I turn, I find myself staring at Arin’s room just on the other side of the hall. I don’t hear her sewing machine, but I can detect the faintest light seeping out from beneath the crack in the door frame.
We haven’t spoken in almost a week. Knowing she’s upset with me makes my chest uncomfortably tight. My gut tells me to go in there and apologize, but…
Shit. I’ve never had to do this before. I don’t apologize foranything. I’m a negotiator through and through. If there’s a deal I can’t strike, that’s when I brute force my way into getting what I want. That’s just the world I live in. Take what you can and leave your feelings and morality at the door.
