POV: Dominic

Liv showed up minutes later, pulling up haphazardly and rushing to my car with tear-streaked cheeks, her hands wringing together as she slid into the back seat beside me, the guards discreetly giving us space while maintaining their positions around the restaurant.

“I’m so sorry, Dom, please... I didn’t mean for any of this,” she started immediately, her voice trembling with desperation, reaching out to touch my arm, but I jerked away sharply, my glare cutting through her like ice.

“Shut up,” I warned her coldly, my tone flat and unyielding because she failed to contact me at first, her excuses only sharpening the edge of my controlled...