Chapter 5 - Whispers in the Dark
The ride back to the farmhouse was suffocatingly quiet.
When we arrived, Thomas stormed off into the barn without a word, while Emma took Lily upstairs to put her to bed in the guest room.
I stood on the wraparound wooden porch, leaning against the railing, staring out into the dark, silent expanse of the cornfields. The cool night air hit my face, but it did nothing to quench the burning shame in my chest.
A quiet step sounded behind me, followed by the faint scent of Dominic’s sandalwood cologne. He walked up to the railing, leaning his forearm against it, looking out into the night alongside me.
"I’m sorry," I whispered, wiping a solitary tear from my cheek. "He was right about one thing. I brought you into a disaster."
"He was wrong about everything, Sophia," Dominic replied firmly. He turned to face me, leaning back against the wooden post. "Why didn't you tell him who Lily’s father was?"
I closed my eyes, a painful memory tightening like a vice around my heart.
"Because her father was my college professor," I said, my voice barely audible over the chirping of the crickets. "He was married, forty-five years old, and when I told him I was pregnant, he offered me ten thousand dollars to disappear and get an abortion. When I refused, he threatened to ruin my academic record and ensure I never got a job in New York."
I looked up at Dominic, expecting to see judgment, but found only a dark, simmering fury in his eyes.
"So I ran," I continued, tears finally spilling over. "I came back here, but my father told me I was a disgrace for having a child out of wedlock. So I packed one suitcase, took my daughter, and moved to Manhattan. I worked three jobs before I got hired at your estate."
Dominic stepped closer, his hands rising to frame my face. His thumbs gently wiped away the wet trails on my cheeks, his touch incredibly soft for a man so dangerous.
"You raised a brilliant, kind girl all by yourself," Dominic said softly, his eyes searching mine with a intensity that made my breath hitch. "You survived what would have broken most people. Your father is a coward who projects his own failures onto you because he knows he doesn't deserve a daughter like you."
"Dominic..." I whispered, my heart hammering against my ribs.
May you like
His gaze dropped to my lips, then rose back to my eyes. For a fraction of a second, the invisible boundary between master and housekeeper shattered completely. He leaned down, his forehead resting gently against mine.
"You are not alone anymore, Sophia," he murmured. "I promise you."
