Chapter 6 : The Unexpected Visit
Alina’s POV
Sleep didn’t come easily that night.
I lay in bed staring at the ceiling long after my mother had gone to sleep, my mind replaying the evening again and again.
Dominic’s voice.
His calm confidence.
The way he looked at me like he was trying to understand something he hadn’t quite figured out yet.
It was frustrating.
And confusing.
Because none of it should matter.
He was about to marry my mother.
That fact alone should have been enough to erase every strange thought running through my mind.
But somehow it wasn’t.
I turned onto my side and pulled the blanket higher.
“This is ridiculous,” I whispered to myself.
It had only been one dinner.
One conversation.
Yet somehow Dominic Vale had managed to occupy far too much space in my thoughts.
Eventually exhaustion won, and I drifted into an uneasy sleep.
---
Morning came too quickly.
I woke to the sound of dishes clinking in the kitchen and sunlight spilling through the curtains.
For a moment I stayed in bed, enjoying the quiet warmth of the morning.
Then reality returned.
Jobless.
Confused.
And apparently connected to one of the most powerful men in the city through my mother’s sudden engagement.
Great.
I sighed and forced myself out of bed.
By the time I walked into the kitchen, my mother was already humming softly while making breakfast.
Her good mood hadn’t faded at all.
“Good morning,” she said brightly when she saw me.
“Morning.”
She placed a cup of tea in front of me.
“You slept well?”
“More or less.”
Her smile widened slightly.
“Dominic texted me this morning.”
Of course he did.
“And?” I asked carefully.
“He wants us to come to his house this weekend.”
I nearly choked on my tea.
“His house?”
“Yes,” she said happily. “He said it would be nice for you to see where he lives.”
That sounded less like a casual invitation and more like a test.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” I said quickly.
“Nonsense,” she replied. “He wants you to feel comfortable.”
Comfortable.
That word made me almost laugh.
Because nothing about this situation felt comfortable.
Still, I nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
Her smile softened.
“You’ll like him more once you get to know him.”
I wasn’t sure about that.
Because the problem wasn’t that I disliked Dominic.
The problem was that I noticed him too much.
---
Later that afternoon, I decided to take a walk.
Being stuck in the apartment all day would only give my thoughts more time to spiral.
The air outside was cool and fresh after last night’s rain.
I walked slowly through the neighborhood, letting the quiet streets calm my restless mind.
Maybe things would settle down soon.
Maybe tonight had just been strange because everything was new.
Eventually I turned the corner toward our building again.
And stopped.
A black car was parked across the street.
Not just any car.
The same sleek black car from last night.
My stomach tightened immediately.
Before I could convince myself I was imagining things, the driver stepped out of the car.
And then the back door opened.
Dominic stepped out.
My heart gave a sudden, sharp thud.
What was he doing here?
He closed the car door calmly and looked up.
His eyes landed on me almost instantly.
Like he had been expecting me.
I walked toward him slowly, my confusion growing with every step.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Good afternoon to you too,” he replied calmly.
“This isn’t a social visit,” I said.
“I assumed that much.”
He studied my face for a moment.
“I was nearby.”
“Nearby?” I repeated skeptically.
“You don’t believe me.”
“No.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“I appreciate your honesty.”
I crossed my arms.
“You could have just called my mother.”
“I know.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
For a moment he didn’t answer.
Instead, his gaze moved slowly across my face, thoughtful.
“I wanted to speak to you.”
My stomach tightened again.
“Why?”
“Because something about last night felt unfinished.”
That wasn’t the answer I expected.
“Unfinished?”
“Yes.”
The quiet certainty in his voice made my pulse quicken slightly.
“That’s a strange way to describe dinner.”
“I’m not talking about dinner.”
The air between us suddenly felt heavier.
Dangerous.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I said quietly.
“Why not?”
“You’re engaged to my mother.”
“Yes.”
“And yet you came to talk to me.”
“Yes.”
His calm honesty caught me off guard.
“Dominic—”
“Tell me something,” he interrupted gently.
“What?”
“Are you uncomfortable because of me?”
I hesitated.
Because the truth wasn’t simple.
“I’m uncomfortable because of the situation,” I said.
“That’s not the same thing.”
“No,” I admitted softly. “It isn’t.”
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
“That’s what I thought.”
I frowned.
“You seem very confident.”
“I usually am.”
That much was obvious.
A quiet silence settled between us.
Then he said something that made my heart skip again.
“You’ve been thinking about me.”
It wasn’t a question.
It was a statement.
“That’s a bold assumption.”
“Is it wrong?”
I opened my mouth to deny it.
But the words refused to come.
His gaze darkened slightly.
“I see.”
I shook my head quickly.
“This doesn’t change anything.”
“No,” he agreed calmly. “It doesn’t.”
“But it complicates things.”
“Yes.”
A strange tension filled the air between us again.
The same tension that had followed us since the elevator.
Since the dinner.
Since the moment we realized who we were to each other.
Finally I took a step back.
“You should go.”
Dominic didn’t move.
For a moment I wondered if he would argue.
But instead he nodded once.
“Very well.”
Relief started to settle in my chest.
Until he said one last thing.
“We’re having dinner again tomorrow.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“My fiancée invited you.”
I stared at him.
“She didn’t tell me that.”
“She will.”
He turned toward his car.
Then paused.
“And Alina?”
I wished he wouldn’t say my name like that.
“Yes?”
He looked at me again, his expression unreadable.
“You’re right about one thing.”
“What?”
“We should keep our distance.”
For a brief moment, relief flickered through me.
Then he finished the sentence.
“Unfortunately…”
His gaze held mine steadily.
“I’m not sure either of us is going to be very good at that.”
And with that, Dominic Vale got into his car and drove away.
Leaving me standing there with a feeling I couldn’t explain.
Because deep down…
I had the strange suspicion that this was only the beginning of something far more dangerous.
