Chapter 5 - “If you wanted a silent woman in a black dress who nods at your friends, you should have hired a professional.”
“They charge by the hour.”
“And they probably don’t insult your business partners.”
A muscle moved in Dominic’s jaw.
“I don’t pay for professionals.”
“Then what do you want?”
Maya used his first name deliberately.
“Dominic.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You dragged me into this.”
“You solved my problems.”
“But you replaced them with yourself.”
She leaned closer.
“You think I’m going to sit here grateful?”
“You think I’m going to shake every time one of your cars appears?”
Maya shook her head.
“I survived Naples.”
“I survived 5 years carrying my sister through illness.”
“I am not afraid of a man who throws money at people because he doesn’t want to feel anything.”
The words landed between them.
Dominic did not answer immediately.
The casino noise seemed distant.
He studied Maya’s face.
The anger.
The exhaustion.
The refusal to bend.
His entire world was built around people telling him what he wanted to hear.
They wanted protection.
Money.
Access.
Or they wanted him dead.
Very few people told him the truth.
Finally, Dominic spoke.
“I don’t want you to shake.”
His voice had changed.
Less controlled.
More exposed.
“I want you to fight.”
He stood.
Then walked around the table.
He stopped behind Maya’s chair.
She remained still.
He leaned closer.
“Everyone in my life agrees with me.”
His voice shifted back into Neapolitan.
“It is boring.”
“Empty.”
His hand rested on the chair.
“I watched you in that restaurant.”
“You swallowed your pride for a manager who wasn’t worth the dirt on your shoes.”
“I watched you carrying more than anyone should have to carry.”
“Then I insulted you.”
He paused.
“And you fought back.”
“You looked me in the eye.”
“You cut me apart.”
Maya’s breathing changed slightly.
Dominic continued.
“I didn’t clear your debts because I wanted to own you.”
His voice dropped.
“I wanted the noise gone.”
“The landlord.”
“The bills.”
“The hospital.”
“I wanted to see who you became when you weren’t drowning.”
He looked at her.
“I wanted to see what you would build.”
For the first time, Maya’s certainty shifted.
He was not asking for a pet.
He was not asking for obedience.
What he was offering was more complicated.
Agency.
Maya stood.
Then turned toward him.
Only inches separated them.
“If I stay, I don’t sit in corners.”
Her voice was quiet and firm.
“I work.”
“I run my own life.”
“And you never make another decision about Sophie without asking me first.”
Dominic watched her.
Something bright and dangerous appeared behind his eyes.
He lifted 1 hand.
His fingers traced lightly along her jaw.
Maya did not move away.
She felt the roughness of his fingertips.
Then she added,
“And if you ever speak to me like I’m a peasant again, I will take one of those decanters and hit you with it.”
Dominic laughed.
The sound came from deep in his chest.
Then he stepped closer.
“Deal.”
Maya held his gaze.
Less than 24 hours earlier, she had been an exhausted waitress trying to remain invisible.
Now the medical debt was gone.
The eviction was gone.
Sophie had access to better treatment.
The rules had changed.
May you like
But Maya had not surrendered herself in exchange.
She had made her terms clear.
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