Page 44 of Texting the Possessive CEO
“Not in an insane way… or maybe there’s more of that than I’d like to admit.” He laughs gruffly. Together, we look across the street at an employee preparing a café’s seating area. “But it’s not just that I hear his voice. It’s his presence, his memory. It never leaves me.”
“Okay…”
He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “My father loved my mother. I have to believe that. I saw them together. They danced all the time. He could always make her laugh. Even when Sebastian Goodfellow came along, and things got tough, they always had each other. But as he was dying, he told me something. Something that shattered how I saw him. But I can’t hate him, even if I hate what he did.”
I wait, my heart thundering, daring to believe there might be an explanation for this that won’t break me completely.
Dom turns to me, his expression bleak. “The woman you saw was my father’s mistress. The little boy, Liam, is his son.”
I gasp.
“On my father’s deathbed, he told me about Jennifer. He told me she’d had his baby. He told me I could never, ever share this with anyone because it would break my mother’s heart. And after Mom passed, I kept the secret. Out of habit, maybe, or perhapsmy father’s word goes far beyond the grave. Jennifer hasn’t even told her current husband who the father is. That’s the kind of power my father commanded.”
“He’s your little brother,” I murmur.
Dom nods. “He’s a great kid. Funny, enthusiastic, happy. They have a great life. But every time I look at him… Ihatewhat brought him into this world, cheating, Izzy. That’s one thing you’ll never have to worry about with me. No matter what, I’ll never cheat on you. I’d die before I did that.”
“You’re reminded of it,” I murmur, finishing his unfinished thought. “Every time you look at him.”
Dom sighs heavily. “Yeah, I am. And it’s sick, because it’s not his fault.”
“It’s okay,” I murmur. “If I’ve learned one thing as I’ve gotten older, it’s that life is never that simple.”
Dom takes my hand, bringing it to his mouth and kissing my knuckles softly. “I’ve never told anyone about Liam,” he says. “Not even Ethan. He’s completely separate from my life, a reminder of what my father did to my mother. The way my father told it, he cheated on her for years. I hate Jennifer, even, but she’s my brother’s mother. What am I supposed to do?”
“It’s complicated,” I say, squeezing his hand. Offering some comfort, I hope. “Sometimes people have good reasons for doing bad things.”
He tilts his head at me. “What good reason is there to cheat?”
“Well, not that,” I admit.
“What, then?” he asks.
This is my big moment. We’ve bonded. We’re closer than we have any right to be, considering the timeframe.
“Nothing,” I say, cowardly.I’m a fucking joke.
There’s a long pause, then I say, “Do you see him often?”
“I do right by them,” he says, as if convincing himself. “Liam has wanted for nothing because of me. Despite that, it doesn’t feel like enough. I don’t think I need to visit him every damn day to help, do I?”
“No,” I agree.
“Sometimes, it feels like that,” he says. “Jennifer, she’s a good mom, but as a person?” He shakes his head. “She can be demanding. Asking for more money, even if she’s married now. Perhaps she thinks she’s got me fooled. Or maybe she knows that blood is thicker than water. I know they don’tneedthe extra money. It’s for trips, renovations, and stuff for her other than my brother. But still, I pay.”
I rest my head against his arm, hugging him, offering what relief I can. “I’m sure you’re doing an excellent job,” I murmur.
He wraps his arm around me and kisses the top of my head. “Thank you. I’m doing my best. And I’m sorry for worrying you. I know you must’ve been wondering when you saw the FaceTime call…”
“I thought it might be a second family,” I admit.
“Not me, Izzy. My father, sure. But never me. I wouldn’t betray you like that.”
I cling tightly to him, his words bouncing painfully around my head.
No, sir,youwould never betraymelike that. But what about the other way around?
It’s halfway through the workday, and things are going well. Dom and I are doing a good job of pretending we don’t want to tear each other’s clothes off every chance we get. When I deliver some documents to his office during a meeting, I feel his eyes on me, burning, hungry, but only for a moment.
