Chapter 8 - The Woman Who Refused to Let Him Save HerThe following year was the hardest of Dominic's life.
He worked legally.
Opened a restaurant.
Invested in a small real-estate company.
He learned what normal people worried about.
Rent.
Taxes.
Payroll.
Broken refrigerators.
Employee schedules.
He hated paperwork.
Sarah loved watching him suffer through it.
“You used to control millions.”
“I still do.”
“You can't control this spreadsheet.”
“I hate spreadsheets.”
She smiled.
“You're human now.”
He looked at her.
“Apparently.”
Their relationship changed.
No secrets.
No surveillance.
No decisions without her.
When Dominic wanted to buy the bakery, he didn't.
He asked.
When Sarah wanted to expand, she made the decision.
When Eli needed another treatment, Dominic offered help.
Sarah chose whether to accept.
That was what love became.
Choice.
Not possession.
Then disaster struck again.
A former Castellane lieutenant tried to abduct Sarah.
Dominic found him first.
But this time, he didn't kill him.
He handed him over to authorities.
Sarah watched.
“You changed.”
Dominic looked at her.
“I had to.”
“For me?”
“For myself.”
She smiled.
That answer mattered.
Months later, Sarah opened her own café.
Dominic invested quietly.
But the business was hers.
The sign read:
QUINN & PINE
Sarah stared at it.
“I can't believe this is real.”
Dominic stood beside her.
“You made it real.”
She shook her head.
“We made it real.”
He smiled.
That was the first time she called him a partner.
Not a protector.
May you like
Not a billionaire.
Partner.
