Tainted Hearts

21 | Fallout

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DOMINIC

After getting into a heated fight with his father, Dominic brought Claudia back to the estate so he could talk to his men privately about business. To figure out how to get out of this mess, he called them all ten miles away to their hideout. Now, not only was his life in danger, but so was Claudia's. This was their fallout.

All of their enemies and families who were originally against them would soon find out about their fake wedding. People will chase after them.

There was a large audience in the room with Dominic, all eyes on him. He wouldn't feel jealous if he were anyone else in the crowd. However, he was born this way, and there was nothing he could do to change that. He had to make the best of this situation. He drove himself here on his own. Just him. He was the one who thought it would be a good idea to create such an awful contract. He should have been wiser. He should have been able to see through this nonsense and laugh at how ridiculous it was.

Was it too much to think he'd have to marry someone he didn't love? Should he have made this marriage to Irene happen?

He groaned.

Both of those were really stupid questions. He now knew better than to try to put out a fire with another fire. It was a simple idea, but it was right on the money. Using fire to fight fire would, at best, destroy a home. Someone he cared about and even loved was staying at his property. And that might have been the worst part of everything. He kept thinking about Claudia because she was the one he had dragged into this. He couldn't care less about himself at the moment. Dominic's only goal was to make sure she was safe.

"All right," he addressed the group of guys in the room. "As I told you before, I've brought you all here today to take responsibility for what happened. Only some of you knew about Claudia and our fake wedding."

Emiliano, Dominic's newest guard, said, "It's okay, boss," from the back. "Let us help you."

Dominic gritted his teeth in frustration at being interrupted. This was his chance to set the record straight and make things right. He asked the person who had spoken, "Did I tell you to speak?"

Blinking and shaking his head, Emiliano reacted. "No, sir."

"I don't like it when people talk over me, and that's something you should know. Do you understand?"

The guard stood up straight and gave a small nod. "Yes, sir."

Dominic turned back to the group. He folded his hands in his lap, took a big breath, and looked across the room. "I won't say I didn't do it or try to hide it. I did what was necessary. I did not like Irene Guarini enough to want to marry her. No one has the right to force us to marry. And I think it's a load of crap that my dad wants me to do that. So, against my better judgment, I agreed to work with Claudia and signed a contract. I talked her into coming to live with me and acting like she was going to be my wife. It was a bad idea, but I had to leave an unfavorable union with someone I couldn't stand."

Dominic kept going while watching his guards.

"I take full responsibility for everything that has gone wrong. We must decide what to do next now that everything's over. We're going to do exactly that. You only need to think about yourself. Always keep an eye out. You should trust your intuition if you suspect someone is being shady. Now is not the time to keep your mouth shut. This is no time to relax. Nobody should have to marry to combine households. I still believe that. Yes, we're fighting the other family, but that's life. Is everyone understanding me? We must take their threats seriously."

It was intimidating to lecture a group of outlaws. Most of them bore firm looks. They never got rid of that empty expression. In their culture, this was how they lived. They were not meant to feel anything. They had to stay quiet, do their jobs, and keep their feelings in check, or they would blow up. Dominic stood at his desk alone once everyone else left.