Chapter 91 Rot In Jail

Chapter 91 Rot In Jail
EILEEN POV:

Dominic sighed. “Was he lying?” The question was rhetorical. “He was right. I wanted to win against him in the name of protecting you and Bethany. But in the end, I was incapable of doing so. I turned it into a pissing contest instead of doing it the right way…”

I wouldn’t be honest if I said I hadn’t blamed him. For a second, while I faced Arthur, I had wondered what would happen if Dominic hadn’t stepped in. But in the next second, I remembered that Arthur would have dragged me to court and tried to take Bethany away from me regardless of what I had done. 

His motivation was not only to get money from me. No. Now, I had reason to believe that he took pleasure in tormenting me. He wanted me on pins and needles so that he could crawl back when his money ran out. 

“You did everything you could.”

Dominic shook his head. “It wasn’t enough.”

I heard the defeat in his voice. His shoulders sagged.

“Why did you think I would leave though?” 

It made sense that I thought he would leave. But I had nothing going on in my life. I would be miserable without Harry and Dominic and his family. They had brought so much happiness and hope for the future, that the thought of losing them made me want to puke. 

He didn’t know how to answer. I could tell from the way he opened his mouth and then closed it that he didn’t want to say it out loud. 

“Please tell me,” I begged. 

“You refused to even look at me.”

I jolted awake. The haze I had been in seemed to clear. Yes, this was what I had forgotten. I had been so focused on what was happening that I forgot about him. Even when Lucy asked me to check in, I had chosen to stay by Bethany. 

I had thought it was the right decision, and maybe it was, but by not even looking for him, I had made him think I blamed this all on him.

“I think…” I began. I licked my dry lips as I collected my thoughts. “I couldn’t look at you,” I admitted. 

He waited patiently for me to elaborate.

“I am ashamed… I have done nothing but brought you trouble.” I couldn’t help but think of the countless times my presence had put him in a tough spot. “And now, I dragged Harry into this custody battle. What if something had happened? I would have never forgiven myself. And I didn’t expect you to forgive me either.”

His chest heaved. “I don’t consider any of this trouble you brought. We are a team. You have dealt with Camille, the media, and those terrible rumors because of me, as well. ‘I’ was the one who brought these bad things to you.”

I shook my head. “Of course not.”

“If you don’t think that, why would you speak so poorly of yourself?” He confronted me. 

My heart sank. Yes, why did I? 

He was not the kind of person to put blame on me. But because my guilt consumed me, I had judged him unfairly. He, of all people, would never think ill of me. 

“You have been an angel. You saved Harry… you saved me. And now you’ve saved our family.”

I was silent for a second. “I don’t understand.”

Dominic placed his hand on top of mine and drew soothing circles over my skin. “Arthur would have freaked if I stepped in. If the cops hadn’t been holding me back, I would have stormed in and… I am terrified to think what might have happened.”

The usually calm and loving man had changed then. I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, but I could imagine how he had felt. I had wanted to run to the car too. But the voices in my ear kept prompting me, kept me busy. 

“But you… you did so great!” he cheered on. “Do you have any idea how remarkable what you did is? The cops were applauding your courage.”

I shrugged. “What else could I do?”

Dominic pulled me closer. I felt the warmth of his body envelop mine and sighed with relief. My stiff shoulders slowly sagged with relief. 

“Anyone else would have run. They would have sabotaged the situation like I almost did. But you–” He shook his head. I felt it and pressed my face into his chest. My arms wrapped around his waist and I felt tears soak through his shirt. 

He didn’t pull back, allowing me to ruin his dress shirt. 

“I still don’t understand…” I whispered. 

“Neither do I,” he said after a long time. “But I will find out, Eileen. And I will make sure he rots in jail for the rest of his life.” It was his oath. 

I nodded into him and hugged him closer. 

I gasped, suddenly remembering. “Where is Leigh? Is she alright?”

He pulled away. “She is waiting at home with the girls. They were shaken up, but they don’t really understand what happened,” he informed. “She wanted to come, but I asked her to stay home.”

“The media has surrounded the house already?”

He nodded hesitantly. “They are also crawling outside the building. Thankfully, the cops are maintaining decorum.” He smiled. “The video of the chase is all over the news, with clips of the podcast being shown to identify Arthur. But Greg managed to keep our names and faces out of it.”

I knew it was only a matter of time before they found out. “And the kids?”

“Their faces will not be shown, either.” He paused. “I just realized that no matter how much security I have, someone will get through. And I have too many enemies. I can’t afford anyone else trying this again.”

The implication was clear. We would not be showing the kids in public any longer. But we would have to find some unique ways to make that happen, I was sure.

“Is Leigh alright?”

He smiled. “She feels guilty.”

I frowned. “There is another conversation filled with tears to be had there,” I announced. 

“And once this is cleared, you can add wine to the list.” 

I shot him a warning look, but a small smile spread across my face.