Chapter 164
Ellie POV
Dominic and I step back into the late afternoon light.
And for some reason, the air feels thinner out here.
Like the prison swallowed all the oxygen inside its walls and forgot to give it back.
I walk ahead of him toward the car.
My heels strike against the pavement, each step sharp and deliberate.
I don’t look back.
Because if I look at him, I’m not sure what I’ll do.
I might yell.
Or worse…
I might not.
And somehow, that feels even more dangerous.
The moment the glass doors close behind us, I speak.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
Dominic unlocks the car.
A quiet click.
He tosses the keys into his hand like this is nothing more than another problem to solve.
“I told you to stay,” I continue. “I said I’d handle it.”
He opens the car door.
“She doesn’t need anything right now except reassurance.”
His voice is calm.
Steady.
“We’re supposed to be a perfect couple, remember?”
He looks at me.
“She needed that.”
My jaw tightens.
“I was going to tell her on my terms.”
I turn around.
“And it’s not even the…”
The words catch.
“The truth.”
Dominic studies me.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Just watching.
Like he’s trying to figure out the answer to a question I don’t even understand.
“Are you mad that I said it?”
His voice is quiet.
“Or are you mad that we lied?”
I freeze.
“Both.”
The answer comes too quickly.
He only raises an eyebrow.
“What was your plan then?”
I say nothing.
“When you walked in there.”
His eyes stay on mine.
“Were you going to lie?”
A pause.
“Or tell her the truth?”
My gaze drops to the concrete.
Because I don’t have an answer.
And he knows it.
“Oh.”
The single word annoys me immediately.
“You had no plan.”
My head snaps up.
“So?”
My voice rises.
“She’s my mom, Dominic!”
My hands clench.
“I just wanted to see how I felt first.”
For once, he doesn’t argue.
He just shrugs.
“Okay?”
I stare at him.
“Okay?”
“Yes.”
He closes the distance slightly.
“Then we did the right thing.”
I shake my head.
“She doesn’t need the complicated version.”
His voice softens.
“She needs something solid to hold onto.”
He pauses.
“Hope isn’t a crime, Ellie.”
I fold my arms tightly.
“Next time, let me decide what my mother can handle.”
My tone is sharper now.
“And if I say stay, and you say you will…”
I look directly at him.
“Then stay.”
Something flickers in his eyes.
Not anger.
Something else.
Like he’s testing whether I really mean it.
“Fine.”
The word comes after a moment.
“But I don’t move without reason.”
His voice lowers.
“I was happy about our wedding.”
My breath catches slightly.
“Happy enough to say it out loud, Ellie.”
I hate that those words hit harder than they should.
Before I can respond, he steps forward.
He opens my door.
A quiet challenge.
A quiet surrender.
I hesitate.
Just for a second.
Then I get inside.
Not because I’m giving in.
That’s what I tell myself.
The door shuts harder than necessary.
The drive back is silent.
Dominic keeps both hands on the wheel.
His eyes stay focused ahead.
I stare out the window.
Watching the prison disappear in the side mirror.
He wasn’t wrong.
My mom deserved hope.
She deserved to believe I was happy.
That I was safe.
That I chose this.
That has to be good.
Right?
She’ll sleep better tonight.
She’ll smile more easily.
She’ll believe her daughter’s future is secure.
So why does it feel like I just handed over another small piece of myself?
Vivian POV
I’m halfway through choosing a new celebration dress when my father slams the front door hard enough to shake the chandelier.
For a moment, I smile.
He only makes an entrance like that when he’s either furious…
Or victorious.
And considering how beautifully everything has been falling into place lately, I assumed it was the second.
Ellie was in the hospital.
Barely holding herself together.
My stepmother conveniently got out of the way.
My father is free to negotiate without unnecessary emotional complications.
Everything had been unfolding perfectly.
Almost poetically.
Then something crashes in the living room.
Not a celebration.
Glass.
I sigh.
Honestly.
Can nobody in this household hold themselves together for five minutes?
I step into the hallway just as a crystal decanter shatters against the wall.
My father is pacing.
Not like a victorious man.
Like someone who just found out the crown had been handed to someone else.
Papers are scattered across the floor.
A framed photograph lies broken against the marble.
“She managed what?”
He’s shouting into his phone.
“With whose backing?”
I lean against the doorway, arms crossed.
Maybe she finally died.
That would make things simpler.
Then I hear it.
“She’s engaged?”
A pause.
“To Dominic?”
Everything inside me stops.
Engaged.
To Dominic.
My jaw tightens.
Ellie.
You—
I close my eyes briefly.
She said she didn’t want him.
She said she would rather die.
And now she’s suddenly his bride?
The hypocrisy would almost be impressive if it wasn’t so irritating.
My father throws his phone onto the couch.
“She tied herself to the Alpha family…”
He runs a hand through his hair.
“The investigations…”
My attention sharpens.
Investigations?
The Alpha family isn’t just protecting her.
They’re coming after him.
Interesting.
Ellie didn’t just survive.
She found a shield.
Dominic.
My nails press into my palm.
That little fraud.
All that stubborn pride.
All that pretending she wanted nothing from anyone.
And the moment things got serious, she ran straight into Dominic’s arms.
I take a slow breath.
Then I smooth my expression.
By the time I step forward, I’m the perfect daughter.
“Daddy?”
He looks up.
His face is still burning with rage.
“Vivian…”
“Is it true?”
I tilt my head slightly.
“About Ellie?”
“The girl played us,” he snaps.
His anger spills over.
“She tied herself to Dominic before I could—”
He stops.
Interesting.
Before he could what?
I keep my face soft.
Concerned.
A little hurt.
Inside, my mind is already moving.
If the Alpha family is investigating him…
And if he’s guilty…
Then I need to become untouchable.
The supportive daughter.
The harmless socialite.
The innocent party caught in the middle.
Distance.
That’s the key.
When he storms upstairs, leaving broken glass and humiliation behind him, I kneel gracefully.
I begin picking up the pieces.
They glitter between my fingers.
Expensive.
Fragile.
Replaceable.
Just like reputations.
A sharp sting spreads across my palm as a shard cuts me.
I don’t drop it.
Instead…
I squeeze.