Chapter 165
Dominic
I hurry back home as I’m so eager to find out what’s going on with Vanessa and as soon as I open the front doors and take a few steps in, I slow down in my tracks at the sight of my entire family, including my father-in-law gathered in the living room.
As I get closer and make eye contact with my siblings, they shoot me glares, just like they’ve been doing. We haven’t spoken since the day I told them the whole truth.
My mother sits beside Vanessa while frowning at me, feeding her some snacks even though she can do it on her own. She’s been very supportive but has barely spoken to my wife about what happened.
My father-in-law sits right next to my father and he’s the only one who smiles a little, but I know it’s not because he’s happy to see me.
And then there’s my father, who just sits there with a blank expression, like he’s here for a business meeting.
To break the ice, I say, “I’m surprised to see everyone here.”
To my disappointment, no one responds. Jake even pokes his cheek.
I clench my fist, realizing things are exactly as they were a few days ago.
Giving up, I approach Vanessa and sit next to her as I say, “I should have known that this was why you wanted me to come back home. What’s going on?”
Before she speaks, she tightly holds my hand and smiles at me. What is she up to?
“Now that everyone’s here, I can finally speak since I’m the one who personally called for everyone to meet here,” she says. “What happened a few days ago could have claimed the life of my unborn child and I understand that you’re all disappointed in my husband and don’t even want to talk to him. But there’s more to this.”
I sense head movements all around as they look right at Vanessa attentively, wondering what she’s about to say and I’m just as curious.
“My husband wasn’t the only one at fault. When I met him at that hotel, he told me what was expected of me as his wife while he continued his relationship with Carmella and I agreed to it. I had the option to say no, but I chose to get married to him. It’s because I wanted to do whatever I could for my dad so his company wouldn’t close down. Dominic didn’t force me into anything, so you shouldn’t only put the blame on him.”
My mouth hangs open, speechless as I keep my eyes on her and it seems she’s not yet finished as she looks right into my eyes while talking to everyone.
“Remember my speech up on that stage? I meant every word I said. I love my husband and I’ve felt this way for a while now. Seeing him go through all this alone breaks my heart because I had a role to play. Please find it in your hearts to forgive us.” She then turns her head to my mother and holds her hand.
“Do you remember the time you came here and found Carmella? I lied to you about the reason she was here because I was obviously fine with everything that was going on. Do you still think Dominic is the only one who deserves to be treated like this? I ask that you all please think about it.”
After her speech, no one says a word and my heart starts racing as I tighten my grip on her hand. The way she came to my defense and spoke out to point out her own part in all this brings a smile to my face. She gives me a nod and I just want to kiss her and make love to her right now, but it’s not yet time.
Seeing how she took accountability,
I say, “Since no one is ready to
speak, I have something to say. The launch was successful but the events that followed overshadowed it. We’ve been doing everything we can to keep the truth from coming out but there’s still rumors that Vanessa was attacked. I’ve decided to go public with this and tell the world that I was the billionaire in all those articles. I’ll do everything I can to show you all that-”
“Enough,” my father says, the room falling silent again as we all wait for him to speak since he hasn’t said a word to me, just like everyone else. “There’s no need for you to go public with this. We’ll handle that part You should be grateful that you have someone like Vanessa as your wife, who stands by you no matter what. After what she’s said, I’ve realized she’s right. She was in on this the whole time with you, so you don’t deserve all this alone.”
Vanessa frowns and lowers her head.
“But…” He continues, making her raise her head again, “How could I behave this way towards my daughter-in-law when she’s carrying my grandchild? Son, it’ll take a while for me to get over this and that’s why I’m punishing you severely. You’re still not taking over the
company. You have a long way to go before I can even think of doing that again.”
My father’s words hurt, but I nod in understanding
“Well,” Jake says, loudly clapping his hands once to grab everyone’s attention with his eyes on Vanessa. “I just want to be mad at you, but I can’t, even though you were part of this. And you’re right, my brother’s not the only one to blame now that I think about it. I’m just mad that he deceived all of us.”
“I feel the same way,” Sophie pouts, facing the other direction and it makes me chuckle softly.
This is the most progress I’ve made in a while and even though it doesn’t mean they’ve forgiven me just yet, it makes me smile.
“I’ll make it up to you guys,” I say to them.
“You better!” They both say to me.
“Mom, I’m sorry. I really am.”
She faces the ceiling as her eyes get teary and I get closer, her hands wrapping around my legs as soon as I’m within her reach. My heart is instantly filled with joy and I gently rub her back.
“I’m still mad at you,” she sniffles.
“I know and you have every right to be.”
While hugging her, I look right at my father-in-law, who seems sad and deep in thought.
With strain in his voice, he suddenly says, “I’m to blame for this as well.”