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DOMINIC

Dominic wasn't expecting Claudia to meet his father immediately, but it was going to be soon. He could use his strength to calm down his Dia and try to make her forget that she had anything to do with the Mafia. He understood that anyone who signed a deal like his should have been afraid, and he knew that she only wanted to be happy in life.

Dominic, who had always believed in bad things, couldn't have been more surprised that she was in his life. He always looked over his shoulder and waited for death to come to him, but Claudia's whole life was still ahead of her. He didn't want to be the one to strip her of that.

"So, where are you taking me?" Claudia asked as she sat in the front seat.

He thought she should get out of the house and see the city. Since she had been sick for two days, Dominic was most interested in doing something exciting with her. He'd missed work to take care of her, and she needed some downtime.

Dominic looked at Claudia and said, "I want to show you some of my favorite places in town. It's kind of like taking a vacation without going on a trip."

Claudia's shoulders swayed in her seat, showing her enjoyment. He made an effort to explain everything about his life once she had moved in, but he struggled to relax and be more genuine. What could he say? Claudia affected him. She was great at making him forget his true self and duties. She was someone he could marry and grow old with.

Claudia is a keeper.

"What do your favorite places offer? Are these all death sites?"

Dominic heard her joke.

"Yes, Smart ass. All my destinations have police tape around them."

She laughed, almost giggling. He loved her little, charming self. Seventy-five percent of the time, Claudia was strong and determined. On the first night, she became a fiery woman he couldn't resist.

After he showed her his estate, Claudia was frantic, and the woman he'd grown close to disappeared. But, as far as he could tell, being scared didn't happen often. The other fifty percent of the time, she was a content woman who laughed a lot. Going out on a busy Friday night was fun since he couldn't recall the last time he thought someone was fun to be around.

Dominic hired her at his company after she applied for a job a week prior. He couldn't leave her alone after talking to her. Claudia was odd, honest, and everything he wanted in a woman. He was with someone who brightened his world. And he thought he deserved to be happy and make someone else happy after a long time of solitude.

They stopped in front of the wharf. It was quiet. He hoped Claudia would appreciate it, nonetheless.

Dominic turned off the engine, and she looked around while getting out. "So, this is one of your favorite places to hang out? It's not as wild as I thought it would be."

"Did you want to go to a cemetery instead?" His response caused her to laugh.

"No way, no how. It's so peaceful. I don't know how I've never been here."

Both of them started walking, and they went in tandem. Almost every footstep of theirs was in the same place at the same time. He believed they had the same views about everything. She was nervous about jumping into his criminal world, and he was worried about including her. They both saw things the same way but from different points of view. Again, that was saying a lot from his side. No one ever made him feel this way.

"I come here when I need to clear my head. You've seen how things have been affecting me lately, and it wears me down after a while."

"That makes sense, Dom. You have two lives, and you're already busy with one of them being a CEO," Claudia said as she looked at him and held his hand. "I've noticed that you're a different person when you leave the office."

"And when I'm with you, Dia, I become someone else. Someone better."

Claudia paused for a moment. He didn't hold it against her. It was an expression full of meaning. If he were her, he'd become curious. He hoped that her next statement or question wouldn't make him have to think too hard. After all, he liked coming to the wharf to be free and not feel overwhelmed.

"So, which one of the three people you are is the real you?"

That was it. Dominic was trying to avoid going deep into the brain. "Why do you always have to get so deep into things? I don't care that much. You are more interesting than I am. You want to do more than I do. People say that aliens wouldn't come to Earth because humans are too stupid. Well, I'm the Earth, and you're the alien."

She shook her head quickly. He could see it out of the corner of his eye. "When you do that, I don't like it."

He looked at her for a moment. The side of Claudia was just as pretty as the front. The things about her that drove him insane were tiny. From her profile, one could see the little hair by her ear, how thin her neck was, and how full her lips were. Her mouth was so kissable, but he refrained from approaching it. Instead of kissing her all the time, he wanted to enjoy the boardwalk and keep her at ease.

"What do I do?" he asked her.

"Dom, you are strong, caring, and kind, but you talk negatively about yourself. You're more than a mafia CEO or anything else. Under that generous heart, you don't find anything about yourself that you like. How can we show affection if you don't believe in yourself?" Claudia took a breath as she looked at him. "If you want to fool everyone, step up. Honestly, I'm happy that you chose me. But if we trust each other, we'll get through this."

He closed his mouth. He thought about it way too much. Claudia said a lot and her assertions that he didn't trust himself hurt. It was almost like hitting a red light while driving at 100 miles per hour. His tongue felt pinched.

"If I said too much, I'm sorry. I'm just trying to help you understand how I see things," she added. She sounded less bubbly. Though stern, Claudia backed off.

"It's okay. Your thoughts and questions may help me. I'm not sure, Dia. Nobody has asked me a serious question and stayed to listen. I've lost myself. It's hard to tell when there are three different versions."

He couldn't tell from her silence if she was happy with that answer or not. But he understood that it wasn't as important for her to be happy as it was for him to be honest. He wasn't lying, at least.

"I understand that," she said. "It's challenging for you to be a CEO, boss of the Mafia, and a devoted fiancé at the same time."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "I just don't want anything to happen," Dominic said. "Especially to you."

"Me too. I would like to live."

"Oh, I need you alive. Life would be boring again."

As they kept walking, they both laughed. Between them, there was quiet, but it wasn't one of those tense silences. This silence was okay, and they were both satisfied with it.

"Do you feel like you have to be someone else when you're with me?" she asked.

"No. And you might think that sounds good. But being the person I am with you is scary."

"So, should I assume that you're showing me who you truly are?"

He chuckled. "Dia, assume whatever puts you to sleep at night. But guess what?"

She looked at him with a smile. "What?"

"I know what we could do to make our day even better."

"Hm. And what would that be, Dom?"

As the sun was going down, Dominic turned around to kiss her. Even though it was odd, it felt like he had never kissed her before. He brought Claudia close to him, and they would never be the same again. Even though it scared other women away, she didn't care that he was in the Mafia. Her body, mind, and spirit clung to him, and he took them all in.

Once they stopped kissing, Dominic took her to a diner called The Waterway, which was set right by the coastline and had a small deck with a splendid view of the sunset.

Claudia looked around and sometimes let her beautiful eyes rest on the water. He was curious about what was on her mind, just as she was curious about his dark mind. They did everything a boyfriend and girlfriend would do. But he couldn't help but wonder if they were dating. They were putting on a fake engagement, but when he took away all the glamor, what were they?

"As we wait for appetizers, I wonder where you see yourself in five years." Her eyes bore into his.

"I see that the questions haven't stopped."

"Never." Claudia pouted and stared. "I always have more questions. If you want me as your fake lover, you'll have to deal with them."

Dominic paused as he smiled. "Quiet down, all right? We don't need to see billboards about that."

He contemplated her question. He explored his head. What did he want to do with his life?

If he was honest, Dominic saw only a dark fog in his mind. He saw nothing ahead. She wanted a different answer. He didn't want this answer for himself.

He was too busy living dangerously to settle down. And he knew she didn't want a depressing reaction. He recognized that and wanted to spare her the pain that followed.

Dominic understood Claudia wanted a white picket fence, a real wedding band, and someone to wake up next to her every morning. He could have agreed. That thick fog buried his emotions. The thick mist proved difficult to navigate. It was unfathomable. For a man like him, things never turned out well in the end. She wouldn't want to hear that most mafia men die or go to jail. A phony wedding could not make him leave his life. His mafia livelihood wasn't over. He faked an engagement to escape marrying a woman he didn't like. Would they face consequences if this were ever exposed?

God forbid.

Claudia didn't fit into his life. No matter how often they cuddled. Regardless of how much they kissed. Dominic knew she didn't deserve this aftermath. Even though he let her see his true self sometimes, he didn't feel safe enough to wreck her life. She was small, yet she had a tender heart.

She gave him this look as they sat at the table as if she could hear everything he was thinking. Her eyes looked shattered. If he had a child and told them they weren't going to Disneyland, Dominic would have seen the same look on their faces as Claudia has now.

"Are you still so heartbroken about losing someone that you don't think you could find love again, Dom? You can't imagine loving somebody else?"

Dominic wasn't going to joke with her for asking serious questions. He wished she hadn't known the answers to her questions. He didn't know how to explain them.

The reality was that neither one of them had a future with the other. It wasn't about losing Amelia ten years ago; it was about how the criminal organization was doing currently. How one of his enemies could make them both targets?

Even though Dominic wanted Claudia to be with him after everything, there were only two options for a guy like him. He may have been three people, but one of those people had to die. That was the truth, no matter how nice she was to him or how much she got him to open up. It was a painful reminder.

Dominic had to let Claudia go to spare her agony. And to know that he killed every single cell in his body. Saying goodbye emotionally to an amazing woman with all the qualities he wanted made him feel uneasy while she held his hand and looked at him. He frowned as his soul shattered.

He stared at her when his phone buzzed. Dominic glanced down to see who was messaging him. It was one of his guys calling him back after checking something out.

"Excuse me, Dia. I have to take this," he told her as he pulled his hand away from hers.

"Sure," Claudia said while he stood, and she looked up at him. He smiled at her as he walked slowly across the restaurant to the other side to answer the phone.

"Hey, Vinny, what's up?"

"Boss, there's a problem." Vinny sounded like he had been running; he was out of breath.

"Keep going," Dominic pressed. "What have you found?"

"We looked at the video footage of Marseille, and it doesn't look good."

Dominic growled as he tightened his grip on his phone and made a fist with the other hand. "Go on."

Vinny paused for a moment, then answered, "Sir, it looks like a message was being passed along to you. Someone poisoned Ms. Marcello."

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