Chapter 13

DOMINIC

As I watched the city lights flicker past the window, a strange heaviness settled in my chest. The hum of the engine filled the silence between Alex and me, but it wasn’t enough to drown out the thoughts swirling in my head. Each light, every passing landmark we drove by felt like a tick of a relentless clock counting down—and the words I held back lodged painfully in my throat. 

The temptation to tell Alex the truth—it clawed at me. If he knew the reality of my relationship with Raina, the years of assumptions and anger would crumble. It would all finally make sense. He’d see how twisted and backward his thinking had been. I’d clear it all up with a single confession: Raina and I were family, tied by loyalty, not by blood. We were each other’s shelter through every storm, but never anything more.

The words hovered at the edge of my tongue, heavy and eager to break free. I felt that pulse of anger, a sharp, hot urge to spit out the truth so he’d be for