The knock at the door came just as I finished tucking Diana into bed for her afternoon nap. My heart immediately sank to my stomach. I knew it was him. Dominic.
I hesitated, my hand hovering over the doorknob as I tried to calm myself. Last night, I hated that he stayed with Olivia, that he was with her, it reminded me of the past, that I had been working so hard to forget, but every time I saw them together, it all came rushing back. I did not know what happened to them that night, nor did I want to know what they did. That should be none of my business already, but it never left my mind since this morning. Dominic had been relentless in pursuing me, wanting me back in his life, but I could not shake the fact that Olivia was still hanging around him, and I did not want that because it made me question his loyalty. I could not fully trust him.
I opened the door, and there he was, standing tall, broad, and imposing with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, as though he was restraining himself from reaching out. The sunlight caught in his dark hair, and for a brief moment, I was reminded of the man I had once fallen in love with, the man who had been both my greatest joy and my deepest pain.
He was not wearing the intimidating mask of an Alpha this time, though. Instead, he looked... tired, regretful even.
“Samantha,” he uttered, like a whisper that only we could hear.
“Dominic,” I replied, gripping the edge of the door tighter than I needed to. “What do you want?”
He let out a slow breath, his gaze flicking to the side before coming back to me. “Can we talk? Just us.”
I did not want to let him in. Every instinct screamed at me to protect myself, to protect the fragile peace I had built in the years since I had left him. But there was something in his eyes, a vulnerability I was not used to seeing. Against my better judgment, I stepped aside.
“Make it quick,” I said, closing the door behind him as he entered.
He paused in the living room, glancing around like he was searching for something, or someone. I knew he wanted to see the twins, but I was not ready for that. Not yet.
“I am not letting you see them.” I said bluntly, folding my arms across my chest.
His jaw tightened, but he nodded. “I understand. I didn’t come here to force anything. I just...” He trailed off, running a hand through his hair, a gesture I remembered all too well. “I needed to see you. To talk.”
He turned to face me fully, and for a moment, his gaze made it hard to breathe.
“I’m sorry,” he said. I had heard it so many times already. But I still could not get my heart to forget everything he had done in the past. “For everything. For the way I treated you. For not being the man you deserved. For pushing you away when all you ever wanted was to be close to me.”
I blinked, caught off guard by the raw honesty in his voice. We had been here before, but I knew that this time, we were getting closer to what we were if I would allow us to be.
“I was a fool,” he continued, stepping closer. “I was so consumed by my responsibilities, by my own insecurities, that I did not see what I was doing to you. I did not see how much I was hurting you until it was too late.”
“Why now?” I asked, my voice shaking despite my efforts to keep it steady. “Why are you saying all of this now, Dominic?”
“Because I’ve had time to think. To reflect. And I realized I made the biggest mistake of my life by letting you go.” His voice cracked, and for a moment, he looked like he was battling his own emotions. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, Samantha. I don’t deserve it. But I need you to know that I am sorry. That I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you if you will let me.”
His words hit me like a tidal wave, stirring emotions I’d buried long ago. Anger, sadness, love, they all swirled together in a chaotic storm.
“I loved you, Dominic,” I uttered, barely above a whisper. “I loved you so much it hurt. And all I ever wanted was for you to love me back. But you didn’t. You ignored me, pushed me aside, and let Olivia...” I could not even finish the sentence.
He flinched at her name, guilt flashing across his face. “I know. And I hate myself for it. I let her get too close, let her poison what we had. But I swear to you, Samantha, it was never because I did not care about you. I cared. I just did not know how to show it.”
I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. “That’s not good enough, Dominic. Caring is not enough. Not when you made me feel like I was invisible. Like I did not matter.”
“You mattered,” he uttered quickly, and desperately. “You mattered more than anything. I just did not realize how much until you were gone.”
The sincerity in his voice, the regret etched into every line of his face, made it hard to hold onto my anger. But the pain was still there, a wound that had not fully healed after all these years.
“I don’t know if I can trust you,” I admitted with a trembling voice. “You broke me, Dominic. And I can’t let you do that to me again.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said softly, stepping closer until he was just a breath away. “All I want is a chance to make things right. To prove to you that I can be the man you and the twins deserve.”
The mention of the twins made my heart ache. I wanted so badly to believe him, to give him the chance he was asking for. But could I risk it? Could I open myself up to the possibility of being hurt again?
He nodded. “Take all the time you need. I will wait as long as it takes... But, can I see the twins? Are they okay?”