Chapter 106
Dominic
Vanessa just keeps staring at me and parts her lips to speak, but it seems she can’t find her words.
“Hey, tell me what happened.” My voice is urgent.
Shutting her eyes, she says, “I was in the ladies’ room and Carmella passed by the bodyguards only because she was in disguise and I was the only one who could identify her.”
Disappointed in the bodyguards, I say, “Then what’s the point of having bodyguards if-”
“I’m not finished,” she cuts me off, her tone a little harsh. “There was a moment where I thought she was going to attack me with an object or whatever because she lowered her hand and in the pocket of her coat, but she chose not to do so. She said it was because she had something else that would hurt even more.”
“And what was that?” I cross my arms.
Opening her eyes, she says, “She had something to say.”
I shake my head dismissively and raise my eyebrows. “What could she possibly have said that would hurt you?”
As I get closer to her, she takes a few steps back. She clearly doesn’t want me near her.
With a painful smile, she says, “She told me that even before we got married, you planned to divorce me in a few months.”
My heart instantly starts racing as I uncross my arms, my eyes going round a little in panic. Shit!
“Is it true?” she asks.
“Whatever Carmella-”
“Just answer my question,” she cuts me off.
Failing to meet her gaze, I say, “Yes.”
“Your only interest was to take over the company and then you would have no use for me.” Her voice trembles a little. “You planned to divorce me so you could marry her.” With a regretful sigh as I feel my body temperature rising, I say, “Vanessa-”
“I know that you two aren’t together anymore, so I can’t say for sure what your plans are now. But it was shocking to find out that those were your plans before. When I was getting into this marriage, it was supposed to be for the rest of our lives even when you told me on our first meeting that you had no choice but to accept this. Now I wonder how many times you looked at me, counting down to the moment when you would serve me those divorce papers.”
She looks away again with a chuckle that sounds so sad.
“You know what? That’s okay,” she says. “I still know what I’m here for.”
I know she’s lying to me. She’s clearly hurt by this and it’s to be expected.
Just as I attempt to explain myself, she says, “Anyway, Mike should be expecting us soon. We should get ready and go.”
“Vanessa-”
“I should’ve started getting ready by now because I take longer than you do.” She walks away in a hurry to the elevator, her voice trembling. “I’ll be quick.”
I attempt to call her name again but stop myself when she covers her mouth and lowers her head, like she’s trying to hold back her emotions.
I clench my jaw in frustration, hating that she found out about this.
I even pace a few times, giving it a few minutes before I head to the elevator.
Even as I get ready, I can’t stop thinking about what happened. If only the bodyguards had done their job, Carmella wouldn’t have gotten the chance to get close to Vanessa but on the other hand, she was in disguise.
Putting on my necktie turns into a struggle as I can’t seem to just focus on it. Irritated, I take it off and slam it on the floor, thinking about the expression in Vanessa’s eyes and the tone of her voice when I was in the living room with her. Why do I actually feel awful about this?
Composing myself with a few deep breaths, I pick up my necktie, then try again.
It only takes me a few seconds this time but not even finally doing it right can get rid of the scowl on my face. I have the urge to call Carmella and ask her why she did it, but that would just be what she wants – to have my attention and I don’t want to give it to her.
Though I’m all dressed up and ready to leave, I can’t seem to just walk out and get to Vanessa’s bedroom door. Right now, it feels like one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. It must be because I’m filled with so much guilt.
Standing in front of my mirror, I try out a few lines of what I could say when I get to her door, but nothing comes out right and I ruffle my perfectly styled hair, making me style it again.
It takes 45 minutes for me to feel like I’m ready to speak to her with all this guilt, so I finally get to her door and knock on it, with a small delay between that and when I speak.
“Hey, I hope you’re almost ready. I know how long you always take. I don’t want to be late for this.”
“Keep waiting,” she says, her tone unwelcoming.
I smack my lips, taking a few steps back and leaning against the wall on the other side. She’s mad at me and doesn’t even have to say it. I make myself believe that with time, things will get better, so I wait righ in the same spot, thinking of all the ways I can explain myself to her. It might not be right now but I feel the need to do it.
A few minutes later, I hear her coming closer to the door and that makes me fix my posture as I step away from the wall.
She opens the door and as usual, she looks sexy. She’s in a short purple dress with a thigh slit, some smoky eyeshadow and a glossy nude lipstick. She doesn’t even look at me as she closes the door, flipping her hair styled in loose waves.
I can already feel the tension between us and to break the ice, I smirk and say. “Glossy lipstick looks great on you as well.”
“Let’s go.” She leads the way to the elevator without saying anything about my compliment.
I press my lips together, accepting the fact that it’ll take a while to see her smile at me again.
Walking behind her gives me the view of her sexy figure from the back and her heels only make her legs look even sexier, but no matter how attractive she looks right now, I feel so awful that I can’t really focus on anything else.
The silence in the elevator only adds to my guilt and once again, I think of saying something, my tone a little enthusiastic as I glance at her on my left. “Mike mentioned that the nightclub we’re going to has some pretty comfy bedrooms, so in case you want to rest at any point, you have free access.” “Cool,” she says quietly.
At this point, I might as well give it a few more hours before I try to sound so friendly with her. She’s clearly not interested and has every right.
As we’re out of the elevator, she leads the way, widening the gap between us as if she actually just wants to get away from me.
The bodyguards for this evening are waiting for us, all of them standing around the limousine as we get inside.
She sits on the opposite end and right on the seat closest to the window just so the gap between us is as wide as it can be. This isn’t the first time we’ve had this type of sitting arrangement, yet I feel like this is the farthest she’s ever been for me.
She keeps looking down at her phone, not looking in my direction even once.
Suddenly, it rings and she quickly picks up, placing it against her ear.
“Hey, Patrick!” She smiles. “You know, I’ve just had a very busy and interesting day. I’ll tell you all about it later. Are you ready for Monday? I’m glad you’re excited.” She chuckles. “I’ll talk to you later.”
As soon as the call ends, I assume that this is the opportunity I’ve been looking for since she sounds to be in a better mood. Now taking my shot, I decide to break the ice between us once again. “I sent you the video. Did you watch it?” I ask.
“No. Later.” Her tone is cold as she keeps looking down at her phone with a blank face.
I sigh quietly with defeat. Seeing and hearing her sound so friendly with Patrick made me believe everything was alright, but it’s not. I’m the one person who won’t be given the same type of treatment and if I’m being honest, I can’t stand it. It’s still too early to hope for a change but I’m already impatient.
The last thing I want is for her to hate me. I don’t want to mess up what I believe is the best relationship we’ve had so far. It’s my fault and I know that, but how can I fix this if she doesn’t warm up to me again?