Chapter 16
@ 45%
The following spring, Vanessa showed up at our front door unannounced. Looking at this former It Girl who once treated me like her personal assistant, I barely recognized her. The entertainment industry chews up and spits out women like her every day. After the scandal, she was blacklisted by every major studio. Meanwhile, Dom was under investigation for tax fraud related to offshore accounts. The FBI had frozen most of his assets, leaving him barely able to support
himself, let alone Vanessa and a baby.
“What do you want?” I asked, blocking the doorway.
Without warning, she collapsed to her knees on my doorstep. “Olivia, please help
me.”
I laughed. “What’s wrong? Trouble in paradise? Did Dom find someone new
already?”
“No,” she sobbed.
Through her tears, she spilled a long, pathetic story that boiled down to: “The baby isn’t Dom’s, and now he’s throwing us out.”
I sipped my coffee, enjoying this unexpected entertainment. “And why would you think Dom would listen to anything I have to say?”
She clutched at my legs desperately. “He calls your name in his sleep. He still loves you. If you just talk to him, ask him to forgive me, the baby and I could-”
I nearly choked on my coffee. “Are you seriously asking me to help you keep my
ex–fiancé? That’s disgusting.”
As if on cue, Dom appeared on our driveway, tossing a manila envelope at
Vanessa’s feet.
“Divorce papers. Sign them and get out of my house by tonight. Take your bastard son and disappear.”
Vanessa went wild, grabbing the papers and ripping them to shreds. “You can’t do this to me! You promised to love me forever!”
Dom stood stone–faced, looking at her with nothing but contempt.
Having seen enough drama for one morning, I turned to go back inside.
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11:15 AM Wed 2 Jul
16
“Liv, wait!” Dom called after me. “I’m free now. I’ve got nothing to do with Vanessa anymore. Leave Griffin Hayes and come back to me. I swear I’ll treat you right this
time.”
I turned slowly, unable to believe his audacity. “Wow, Dom. You should try stand- up comedy. You’re hilarious.”
With that, I walked inside and slammed the door.
“Liv!” His pathetic voice called through the door.
From upstairs came the sound of breaking glass as Griffin threw something out
the window at him.
In our bedroom, Griffin was just waking up, his hair adorably mussed from sleep.
Seeing me smiling, he pulled me into bed and kissed my neck. “What’s got you so
happy this early?“.
I curled against him, tracing patterns on his chest. “Just enjoyed a little karmic justice at the front door.”
“Want me to go down there and handle it?” he offered, his fingers playing with my
hair.
I shook my head. “Nope. I’d rather stay right here and handle you instead. You worked so hard last night. This morning, it’s my turn to do all the work while you
just lie back and enjoy.”
“God, I love you,” Griffin whispered, pulling me on top of him.
As I leaned down to kiss him, I knew I’d finally found exactly where I belonged.
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