Chapter 4 - The Silence in the Black Mercedes
The ride back to the Lake Forest estate was a masterclass in psychological torture.
The black armored Mercedes glided through the snow-slicked streets of Chicago at eighty miles per hour, driven by Marco, Dominic’s primary enforcer, who kept his eyes rigidly fixed on the road ahead and his mouth sealed shut.
In the back seat, Dominic and I sat on opposite ends of the leather bench.
He hadn't spoken a single word since I climbed into the car. He had simply opened the door, watched me slide across the leather, and slammed it shut behind me. Now, he sat in the darkness, his long legs stretched out, his jaw clenched, staring out the window at the blurred amber lights of the highway.
The silence between us was heavy, vibrating with things unsaid.
"You made a spectacle of yourself," Dominic finally said, his voice cutting through the quiet like a dull knife.
I didn't turn my head. I kept my gaze fixed on the rain-streaked window, watching my own distorted reflection stare back at me. "I made a spectacle? You're the one who chased me across the city like a wounded animal protecting a territory."
"You walked into Adrian Cross's house wearing a dress you knew he hated," Dominic shot back, turning his head sharply to look at me. The amber light from a passing overhead streetlamp illuminated the dark, volcanic fury in his eyes. "You went straight to my worst enemy to prove a point."
"I went to find someone who didn't look at me like an unpaid invoice!" I snapped, finally turning to face him, the control I had maintained all evening finally shattering. "What did you expect me to do, Dominic? Sit in the master suite and wait for you to finish your paperwork? Eat the risotto by myself while you pretended I didn't exist?"
"I gave you everything you needed!" he roared—not shouting at the driver, but projecting a raw, suppressed rage that made the interior of the car feel impossibly small. "A name, a bank account, protection from your father’s creditors, an estate where nobody can ever touch you! What more do you want from me, Claire?!"
"I wanted a husband!" I screamed back, hot tears finally spilling over my lower lashes, burning tracks down my cheeks. "I wanted someone who looked at me when he walked through the door! I wanted someone who didn't marry me because his ledger told him to!"
The car jerked violently.
Marco hit the brakes, sliding the massive Mercedes onto the snowy shoulder of the highway, bringing the vehicle to a screeching halt amidst the swirling snow flurries.
Marco didn't turn around. He immediately pressed a button on the dash, rolling up the privacy partition between the front and back seats with a mechanical whir.
We were alone in the dark, insulated cabin.
Dominic sat frozen for three seconds. Then, with a low, desperate growm, he lunged across the space between us.
May you like
Before I could breathe, his large, warm hands caught my face, his thumbs wiping away the tears with a fierce, trembling urgency that completely contradicted his words.
"You think this is easy for me?" Dominic whispered against my mouth, his breath hot and ragged against my skin. "You think I don't see you every single day walking through my house like a ghost I'm terrified of breaking?"
