I went to the gym and worked out my frustrations there. My feet pounded on the treadmill, and I increased the speed to rein in my anger and anxiety. Whenever I had panic attacks or frustrations, I came here and benched them away. It had become some sort of ritual, and it most often worked.I was also frustrated since Dominic had been busy these last few days. I hadn’t seen him since I told him I’d “try” to be more with him, and my self-sabotaging voice inside my head kept telling me that perhaps Dominic was avoiding me.However, the main reason for being at the gym was because of the letter to my mother. After writing it, I was grappling with my emotions. They were all over the place, and I found it hard to make sense of them. The letter wasn’t just a small matter; it was a significant step for me. The letter opened up a floodgate of emotions that I had been suppressing for years. It was like I had been carrying a weight on my shoulders for so long, and finally, I had let it go. But it

When I woke up early from my recurring nightmare, it was still dark. Since I couldn’t sleep anymore, I decided to read a book to distract myself. I was completely absorbed in the book when I noticed the sun starting to rise on the horizon.Interrupting my reading, I heard Kat welcoming her brother inside the house. As I put the book down, I saw the door to my room slowly opening, with Dominic trying to slip inside quietly without waking me. To his surprise, I was already awake.“I thought you said you stopped having nightmares,” he whispered as he closed the door behind him and walked over to me. He gave me a kiss on the head and sat down next to me on the corner of my desk.“Only when you stay…” I replied, still feeling a bit uneasy from the nightmare.Dominic glanced at my workstation and noticed the letter addressed to my mother. I panicked and quickly grabbed the pile of papers, flipping it over so he couldn’t read it. I then pulled him toward my bed so we could cuddle.“I thought

I thought, perhaps, since Lena would sleep in the same bed as me, I would have a restful night, just like when Dominic stayed with me. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be further from the truth. Nightmares plagued my night, waking me up at every hour with the same recurring scene going through my mind.It was a wonder Lena hadn’t woken up with my whimpering and crying.Finally, when I couldn’t take it anymore, I quietly slipped out of bed and put on a warm wrap around my body. I left the room that Lena and I shared and walked down the narrow hallway, down the creaky stairs, and into the lobby of the inn. The warmth of the roaring fireplace caught my attention, and I made my way toward it. The crackling sounds and dancing flames provided a soothing and calming effect, and I sat there for quite a while, lost in thought.I suddenly heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and I saw Nate rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Surprised to see me there, he hesitated for a moment before timidly asking

“I thought I should bring you to Samson Ridge for our trip. It’s about two hours from here, but there are plenty of things for us to see. With your studies in history and artifacts and your passion for stories, I’m sure you’ll appreciate what I have in store for you.”My hair was sprawled across the pillow when I turned to look at Dominic lying next to me. His skin glistened with a thin sheet of sweat, and he was still lightly panting out of exertion.My mind was in a sex fog-like state, so it took a while before I understood what Dominic was saying, but when it sunk in, I nodded and kissed his shoulder.“Sounds great. I’ve always wondered what the real estate mogul Dominic Moore looked like on vacation. I hope he’s fun.”Dominic rolled his eyes at me and pretended he hadn’t heard what I had said, but he couldn’t entirely cover the smile slowly etching on his lips. “You see me outside of work all the time.”“Yes, but only for short sex visits. We’ve never really spent a full day togeth

Dominic POVWe were sitting in the emergency waiting room of Bellview General Hospital, and the wait was excruciating. Nathan and I couldn’t find a comfortable position on the hard seats, no matter how much we repositioned ourselves. We were both tense and anxious, hoping for good news about Olivia and Katherine.The doctors had come and gone, and each time they left, we had no updates on their condition other than that they were still in surgery. It seemed like an eternity had passed since we arrived at the hospital, and our patience was wearing thin.When Nathan finally returned from the rental car office and got us some food, we couldn’t eat anything. We settled for water and coffee instead, unable to stomach anything else. It had been hours, and we were both exhausted and worried sick.I groaned and buried my face in my hands, feeling the tension in my body. Every time I thought of my sister and Olivia, I felt a jolt of anxiety that left me breathless and restless.Nathan was the s