The next morning dawned gray and quiet. Isabella stood by the window of her apartment, watching the drizzle roll down the glass. The city felt different somehow like everything had shifted overnight.
Maybe it had.
Dominic hadn't stayed.
After their conversation, he'd stood, nodded once, and left with the same quiet intensity he'd come in with. No promises. No threats.
Just… a man trying to understand the impossible.
And for once, she hadn't felt so alone.
Her hand drifted to her belly.
"I think he's going to try," she whispered to the little life inside her. "That's something… right?"
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
She froze.
No one ever came this early.
When she opened the door, her heart nearly stopped.
Dominic stood there, holding two cups of coffee and a small white paper bag.
He looked… different. Less polished. Like he hadn't slept. But his eyes were clearer somehow.
"Thought you might like breakfast," he said simply.
She stepped aside wordlessly and let him in.
He set the bag on the counter and handed her a cup. "Decaf. I checked."
Her throat tightened. It was such a small thing but it meant he was trying.
They sat together at the tiny kitchen table, the silence not quite comfortable, but not hostile either.
Finally, he spoke.
"I've already called my lawyer."
Her head jerked up. "You're taking me to court?"
His brow furrowed. "No. I'm drawing up a support agreement."
She stared.
"I want to make sure you're covered medically, financially, whatever you need. And before you say anything, it's not out of guilt. It's responsibility."
Her stomach churned, but not from the pregnancy.
"Dominic… I don't want this to become a transaction."
His jaw tensed. "It's not. I'm not offering a check. I'm offering presence."
She blinked.
That was the last thing she'd expected from him.
He leaned forward, voice lower. "You don't trust me yet. I get it. Hell, you probably shouldn't. But I'm not my father. I don't disappear. And I don't walk away from what's mine."
Her heart thudded painfully.
"What does that mean? For us?"
He looked at her for a long moment.
"I don't know yet," he said honestly. "But I want to be there for the baby. Every step. And if you'll let me… I want to start being there for you, too."
The air between them thickened.
Isabella opened her mouth to speak, but her phone buzzed sharply on the counter.
Unknown number.
She frowned and answered. "Hello?"
Silence.
Then a low voice: "You thought you could hide forever, Isa?"
Her blood ran cold.
"I know where you work. And I know who you're protecting now."
The line went dead.
Dominic stood instantly. "Who was that?"
Isabella's face had drained of color.
"No one," she lied.
But it was already too late.
Because Dominic had seen her expression.
And now the man known for his ice had fire in his eyes.