Page 159 of Vita Mia

The rejection felt so cold and final she wasn’t sure how to respond. He’d been hot and cold since Giovanni’s arrest, but each day it got worse. And now Zia was sick and Domi didn’t even blink. Catalina started toward the door. She realized that if she walked out of it, it would be even harder to walk back in. Dominic was fixated on the computer screen. He didn’t seem to know she was still with him. She walked over to the door and locked it. The office was toward the left side of the estate. And there were plenty of windows. She walked around the office drawing the drapes and closing the shutters. Since the war of the clans consumed the Campania most of their men were relocated to Sicily. She had at least fifty staying on the Mancini land and even more in the neighboring hamlets. Privacy only came when windows were closed to rooms on the lower floor. And she wanted privacy.

When she turned from the last window she caught him staring. His dark gaze swept over her and sharpened. It cut her bare. She felt exposed under his assessing judgement. Now she had his attention what could she do to keep it?

“Are you done working? Because I can wait,” she said. They had never spoken about the argument they had over Dr. Sera Marchetti. However, she’d spent countless hours thinking about it. If he had another lover, no matter the choice, she’d accept it. But had his desires changed because of her physical appearance or was it still the same argument over her love affair with Armando? She knew hers had.

Dominic leaned back in his chair. He loosened his tie and smoothed down the front of it with his hand. She’d grown to understand his subtle cues. For one the tie represented the tension in him. And he didn’t make an attempt to release it they’d just fight more. His hand smoothly going down his chest indicated he’d relaxed enough for her to talk to him. It didn’t mean he understood or forgave her mistakes. It did mean however, he wouldn’t punish her with his barbed tongue if she made more.

This version of Domi was different. He wasn’t so needy for her attention or affection. He wasn’t so buried in his own self-loathing. As she stood before him staring into his eyes she saw him differently.

He was clean shaven and dressed like the men who ran empires as big as the Palermo Mafia. Two years ago, he looked mostly average standing next to titans like her brother and Lorenzo. Not anymore. This version of Domi was downright infuriatingly self-aware. In fact, he was so attractive to her this way, her knees softened and stomach trembled when he stared at her and didn’t speak for long periods of time. Perhaps, the reason was because of the violent retaliation he’d taken since Giovanni’s arrest.

Mirabella was busy trying to free her husband, and Nico was at her side trying to keep her safe. Neither had taken much notice to the war Dominic had been waging from Palermo. She first learned of it by accident. A young man, bloody and beaten unconscious was dragged into their home in the middle of the night. Catalina had listened from the top of the stairs. The men told a wild tale of kidnapping and burning alive the men on Dominic’s hit list. One of them was caught in a blast from the bombs they left in a carabinieri known hang out. Catalina couldn’t believe the ruthlessness. She knew Dominic was pissed over his arrest but to retaliate with violence to the police was not his style. It was a risk neither Giovanni nor Armando would take. Curious about what the news reports were saying about the fire bombings and shootings she began to do her own digging. After listening in on a few of his calls, she heard Dominic order hit after hit, on people young and old tied to the Puglia’s and other clans that betrayed Giovanni. He was consumed by his vengeance now and enjoying it.

“I’m thinking you need to take a break,” she said to him.

Dominic’s expression was one of total indifference.

“I’m thinking we both need a break,” she added this time with a smile.

He rewarded her with a quirk of his left eyebrow. Her knees grew weaker. He cocked his head to the side as if noticing something different about her. Flirting was hard to do with him now. He’d say something so mean or dismissive she’d lose the taste for it. She pressed her lips together and approached his chair. She had lost a few pounds after the birth of her son but she still carried the weight in her breasts and hips. His eyes tracked her as she went around the back of his chair but his head did not move. She placed both hands on his shoulders and began to massage.

“You really are tense,” she said.

There was no label to put on his reaction. It made her heart ache that the tension remained. In the past if she even hinted at desiring him, let alone touch him, he’d have her pressed against any wall or down on any flat surface fucking her wildly. She massaged his shoulders but he didn’t move or position himself to make her reach easy for her. Discouraged she gave up on the task.

Catalina walked back around to face him. She sat on the edge of the desk.

“Do you hate me?” she asked.

“No,” he replied.

“Do you still love me?” she asked.

“I thought I did.”

Catalina flinched.

“You thought you did?”

Dominic leaned forward. He stared directly up into her face.

“When you were with him I went insane believing I did. Even claimed your baby before you gave birth to him. I was consumed with loving you. But that wasn’t love. Was it? I know that now.”

“It’s our baby,” she mumbled.

He didn’t correct himself.

“Then I moved into your life, claimed his son, took over his home, his business, his legacy. It belongs to me now.”

“This is never meant to permanent. When Gio gets out of jail he will run everything. Like before,” she reasoned.

Dominic smirked.

“So, this is about Armando?” she asked. The twisting knots in her stomach were tightening her dread.

“This is about me,” he said. “Who I am. What I am. It’s all about me.”

“Who are you?” she asked.

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