Page 160 of The Scandal You Started
It was a falsehood. Another life that no longer existed. A man he had been or might have been, but it wasn’t him anymore.
Dominic was hers. Not this Claire lady’s. Never. His heart was all Rayna’s. Only hers.
But her face was pale, only a slight colour of hurt shading her cheekbones. Her stare was distant. She was moving far away from him. Her hope was breaking. He was losing her.
“Rayna,” he whispered, his voice thick with distress. “It is not true.”
George cleared his throat. “What year is it dated?”
“Six-three-six,” Rayna said, her voice barely audible.
Dominic had arrived in the future from mid-May 635 PR.
The man history had written him to be would have married a year later.
But that wasn’t him! It couldn’t be. It wouldn’t be. He loved Rayna!
“I think we should give you two a minute to speak,” Kelly mumbled, uncrossing her legs and dropping her feet to the floor.
Without another word, Kelly, River, Erin, and George stood and headed towards the stairs. As Kelly passed him, she squeezed his shoulder, offering him a faint smile.
The moment the four of them had disappeared up the stairs, Dominic fell to his knees and scrambled across the thin rug to Rayna. He grabbed the paper and threw it aside like it was on fire, then wrapped his arms around her, forcing his way between her knees.
“It is not true,” he said quickly, desperately. “It’s not. That is not me. It is not. It’s not, Rayna.” He placed his face right under hers. “Rayna,please. Look at me. Tell me you believe me.”
Her lashes drew up, and the cracks in her resigned stare slashed the same paths across his heart. “You have a wife, Dominic,” she mumbled, her voice empty.
He shook his head rapidly. “I do not. That is not me. I would never marry anyone other than you.”
Anger flashed across her expression. “But you do. This is who you were meant to be. You can’t pretend it’s not true. That it wasn’t meant to happen.”
“I’m not pretending it is not true. But it is still false, because that is not who I am anymore.” He took her wrist and pressed her palm to his unshaven jaw. “This is who I am now. I am yours. I loveyou. You are who I wish to marry. You are who I want to spend the rest of my life with. You are my heart, my breath, my every hope and dream. I am not who I was before I met you, nor do I wish to be. That man on the certificate isn’t me.”
Her twisted face blurred as liquid cast over his vision. “I am yours, Rayna. Please believe me. Trust me. Do not let go of me. I beg of you.” He nuzzled against her hand. “Do not give up on us. Do not lose hope, my love.Please.”
She cupped his face in her hand, curling towards him. “I’m trying, Dominic. I’m trying so hard not to. But we’re struggling.”
“We’re not. We are learning, Rayna. And I know it is hard to hear about the man history said I was, but do not compare me to him. That is not me anymore. I belong with you.”
Rayna plastered her mouth over his, and a sound of relief broke out of him. He cinched his arms around her and drank eagerly from her lips as if her kiss had saved him from his deathbed. But the promise of trust she bruised his lips with did truly save him from dying.
Dominic took that vow and tied it around them as tightly as he could. He swore to himself he’d hold on to it. Even if the rope burned his hands, he would never let go.
He just hoped the next thing they found didn’t end up convincing Rayna to cut it and break the fragile tether keeping them together.
Rayna
Two days later, Rayna had to go to the lab to sign off on Dominic’s Study case as she would’ve done with another. It wasn’t a time-consuming task, but both Dominic and Victor insisted on accompanying her with worried expressions.
“I’ll be fine,” she told them. “I’ll be in and out of Monty’s office, it won’t take long. You need to go with River anyway, Dominic. And Kelly, Erin, and George need you, V.”
The two men relented, and she left to fill in the final form in Monty’s office.
“There you go,” Rayna said, handing the older black man the stapled papers as she clicked on the pen, retracting the nib.
“Thank you,” he said, taking it from her on the other side of his white laminate desk. “I know you must be busy, so I appreciate you coming in for this.” He swallowed, his gaze dipping hesitantly. “May I ask how it’s going?”
“It’s…going,” she answered through an exhale and tried to smile, but her mouth felt stiff.
