Chapter 8 - The Marriage That Started Over
Three months later, the headlines disappeared.
Moretti Holdings survived.
Dominic sold several businesses.
He closed two gambling properties.
He ended relationships with men who had been part of his father's old network.
He kept only the legitimate companies.
Shipping.
Real estate.
Hospitality.
For the first time, the Moretti name appeared in business magazines without the word scandal.
Lily started school.
She called me Aunt Vivian at first.
Then one evening, while we cooked pancakes, she said, “Can I call you Viv?”
I smiled.
“Of course.”
Dominic watched us from the doorway.
His eyes softened.
“You're staring.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Because I never thought I'd see this.”
I looked at him.
“See what?”
“My daughter laughing.”
“She's happy.”
“So am I.”
The words were simple.
But I believed them.
Not because he said them.
Because he showed them.
He came home for dinner.
He answered his phone around Lily.
He told me where he was going.
He stopped disappearing for hours.
He stopped assuming forgiveness.
And when he made a mistake, he admitted it.
One evening, I found him standing outside my townhouse.
The same place where he had once asked me to come back.
He held a small box.
I folded my arms.
“What is that?”
“Something I should have given you a long time ago.”
He opened it.
Inside was my wedding ring.
The ring I had pushed across Sienna's table.
I stared.
“I thought it was gone.”
“I bought it back.”
“How?”
“She sold it.”
I almost laughed.
“Of course she did.”
Dominic looked at me.
“I don't want you to wear it because you're my wife.”
I stayed silent.
“I want you to wear it only if you choose me again.”
My chest tightened.
He took the ring out.
“I won't ask today.”
“Good.”
He nodded.
“I'll ask tomorrow.”
I laughed.
Then he laughed too.
For the first time, it felt easy.
That night, Lily fell asleep on the couch.
Dominic lifted her gently.
I watched him carry her upstairs.
He returned ten minutes later.
“She's asleep.”
“I know.”
He sat beside me.
“I owe you an apology.”
“You owe me about seventeen.”
He smiled.
“Then I'll start with the first.”
I looked at him.
“I was arrogant.”
“Yes.”
“I thought love meant possession.”
“Yes.”
“I thought because you stayed, you were happy.”
“Yes.”
“I thought I could hurt you and fix it later.”
I swallowed.
“And now?”
He reached for my hand.
“Now I know love means paying attention before someone has to break their own heart to make you listen.”
Tears filled my eyes.
He didn't wipe them away.
He simply stayed.
That mattered.
A week later, I returned to the Moretti mansion.
Not as Mrs. Moretti.
Not yet.
I returned as Vivian.
Dominic had changed the house.
The room where Sienna had once sat was gone.
The furniture had been removed.
The family photographs had been restored.
My grandmother's painting hung above the fireplace.
“You did all this?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because this house was full of memories that belonged to you.”
I looked at him.
“You didn't erase the past.”
“No.”
“Good.”
He nodded.
“I don't want you to forget.”
“Neither do I.”
We stood together.
Then Lily ran downstairs.
“Viv! Daddy burned dinner!”
Dominic looked offended.
“I did not.”
“You did.”
I laughed.
May you like
The house filled with noise.
And for the first time, it sounded like a home.
