Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Dominic
After being in the office for a few hours, sat in a mind-numbing meeting, I make my way home around midday. It's later than I'd originally planned to go and check on Alicia, and that thought has my stomach clenching.
As soon as the elevator doors open, I hastily walk into the apartment, slip my shoes off, and walk into the kitchen to get a glass of water for her.
I can imagine she's probably likely to throw it at my head as soon as she gets her hands on it, and with the way I've been feeling all morning, I wouldn't even try to stop her.
My feet pause as I enter the kitchen, greeted by the pair of broken handcuffs on the island in the centre of the room, with a bent screwdriver beside them.
Shit.
My heart almost leaps out of my chest as I turn around, rushing through the apartment and bounding up the stairs. I bypass my office door and the spare bedroom until my feet are planted outside Alicia's room.
If she's not in here, I might actually lose my mind.
I didn't think about the possibility of her getting out of the cuffs, so I didn't think to have anyone watch the apartment.
What a fucking idiot.
My rapid breaths are loud, along with the sound of my pulse beating in my ears, and I hungrily suck in lungfuls of air as I reach for her door handle, twisting it.
When the door doesn't push open, I nudge my body against it, thinking at first it's stiff, but when it still doesn't budge, I scoff in realisation.
She's locked herself in her room.
"Vete al cuerno!" she shouts.
My heart slows, and my muscles slacken at the sound of her voice, relieved she's still here and hasn't made a run for it. I hang my head, resting it against her door, and let my eyes fall shut as I sigh.
I should be happy she's locked herself away. I should go back to the office, focus on work, maybe even go into my office at home and sort out the final details for the shipment coming in a couple of days, but knowing she's angry with me, and has a valid reason for it, makes me feel sick.
Leaving her last night devastated me as much as her, but I panicked, and then somehow convinced myself it was for the best.
"Alicia, unlock the door."
Her response is a barrage of what I assume to be foreign curse words.
"Please, little viper," I plead.
I shouldn't want to see her, because I know I won't have the willpower to keep myself away from her and not take her into my arms, but I just want to make sure she's okay.
The crestfallen look on her face last night as I backed away from the bed is engraved in my mind, haunting me.
I'm met with silence for a few minutes, and as I start to think about leaving, I hear movement from the other side of the door, then the distinct sound of the lock disengaging.
Removing my head from the door, my heart picks up its pace again, and my lips tug upwards as the handle twists.
She pulls the door open, and before I have the chance to react, her fist is flying at my face, her knuckles hitting me square in the jaw so hard I stumble back.
"In case you didn't understand before, I told you to get lost," she sneers, turning her nose up at me before slamming the door in my face. "Asshole!"
Shaking my head, I sigh again and rub at my jaw as I turn away from her room, walking back down the stairs with slumped shoulders.
I think it's fair to say she's still mad.
When I get back to the office, I walk straight into the small break room we have, opening the freezer and grabbing the bag of ice, needing it for my already bruised jaw.
The little viper has a powerful right hand.
Wrapping some ice in a few paper towels, I press it against my jaw and slump down on the two-seater sofa in the middle of the room, sighing.
My silence is interrupted moments later when the door slams open, and Jaylen storms into the room, his blond hair in disarray from running his hands through it—a move he does when he's stressed or confused—and his crystal blue eyes brightly lit with fury.
"What the fuck has gotten into you, Dom?"
Scrunching my face in confusion, I shrug.
"I'm not sure what you're on about, Jay. Mind elaborating?"
He scoffs.
"You're acting like Kaleb, for God's sake!"
Cocking a brow at him, I lean forward, remove the ice from my jaw, and lean my elbows on my knees as I wait for him to give me a further explanation.
"You're being a dickhead—more than usual. And not only that, you've handcuffed your wife to the bed. Twice! Like, what the fuck is that about, Dom? Seriously, what the fuck is going on with you?"
"Hold on, how do you know it's been twice?" I ask, standing from the sofa.
He looks at me in disbelief, stepping forward so he can shove me backwards onto the sofa.
"I know you've done it twice now because the poor woman dislocated her own fucking thumb to get out of the handcuffs. She had to call Aurora to help her out because she was in so much pain!"
My brows raise in surprise, and my heart drops.
She did what?
Holy shit.
She dislocated her thumb and then still had the strength to punch me in the face afterwards.
Fuck, she must be in so much pain after that.
"Is she okay?"
"Do you even care?" he shouts, looking at me with disgust.
His words infuriate me, and in seconds, I have my hands twisted in his shirt and his body shoved against the wall.
"How dare you ask me that?" I spit, digging my knuckles into his chest. "Of course, I fucking care about her."
"Well, maybe you should learn to show it, Dom!"
"I can't!" I shout, my grip loosening as I take a step back and shake my head. "I can't show her how I feel, Jay."
Our heaving breaths fill the silent room, and the fury from his face slowly falls away as a look of sadness replaces it.
"You're trying to push her away," he says, a level of understanding in his tone.
Sighing, I turn away from him and begin pacing the room. He pulls himself away from the wall and smooths his clothes back out.
"I have to."
"No, you don't," he retorts.
"I do. This was an arrangement, Jay. One I wasn't happy with, but as soon as I saw her, I knew it'd be a constant struggle for me. It's why I was somewhat glad when she opened her mouth and threw some sass at me—it gave me a reason to dislike her."
Rubbing my hand along my aching jaw, beard prickling my fingers, I huff.
"If I'm being honest with myself, I like everything about her.
Not only the way she looks, but the way she acts, and the way she carries herself.
She has a response to everything, and if I wasn't so mad at her, I'd probably laugh at the things she says.
She's feisty, but also emotional, and caring—she just keeps it hidden. "
"Like you do," Jaylen says, interrupting me as he watches me with intrigue.
"Yeah, like me," I admit. "No matter what she says or does, I still find her enchanting. All her strengths, all her flaws, they're all a part of her, and I'd be lying if I said I hated any of them."
"So why, exactly, are you pushing her away?"
"Loving someone is a weakness. We all know that, Jay.
She's all-consuming, and I have so many things to focus on right now.
I have to prove myself, and I have to appear strong.
I've only just taken over the King organisation, and I'm still trying hard to successfully integrate everyone who was loyal to the Rossi's.
If people see anything they think might make me weak, they'd use it against me. "
He moves over to me, clapping his hand on my shoulder.
"Unfortunately, Dom, that's going to be a worry for you for the rest of your life now.
It's a worry for us all, even Kaleb, who claims he's retired.
We can't allow it to scare us away from people who can make us happy, though.
We just have to make sure we're strong enough to deal with the repercussions if they come.
We have to be ready to protect the people we care about with our lives…
I think you need to get out of your own head, throw caution to the wind for once, take a leap, and do something for you.
Something that is out of your control, something that may make you happier in life. You deserve it, man. So does Alicia."
He squeezes my shoulder and then steps away from me, offering me a smile.
"Just think about it, okay? And stop being such a harsh bastard towards her. She doesn't deserve it, Dom. Stop being this cruel person just because you're scared. Be yourself, let her in, and try to make things work."