The man I wasn't supposed to want

My life had always been carefully controlled.

My mother was a successful fashion designer, and she had raised me to be the kind of girl who never caused problems. I followed rules, thought before I spoke, and always knew how I was expected to behave.

At least, that’s who I thought I was.

Everything changed the day my mother came home and told me she was leaving for Spain for a year.

“Listen sweetheart,” she said, sitting beside me. “Dominic will be staying here with you while I’m gone. I don’t want you to be alone.”

I stared at her.

“Dominic?”

She nodded.

I couldn’t help the sigh that escaped me.

Dominic was three years older than me and the son of my mother’s childhood friend. We’d known each other for years. We’d never really gotten along.

Dominic was loud, arrogant, and completely incapable of keeping his opinions to himself.

He said whatever came to mind, swore whenever he felt like it, and had absolutely no problem challenging people.

He was everything I wasn’t.

“Mom, you know we don’t get along.”

“I know.”

“Then why him?”

“Because I trust him.”

I wasn’t happy about it, but I knew it would bring my mom peace of mind knowing I wasn’t completely alone.

I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, I heard footsteps behind us.

I turned.

Dominic was standing in the doorway.

He had clearly heard enough.

My mother looked between us.

“You two should try to get along, since you will be living together for the next year.”

I sighed. “I’ll try.”

She smiled, relieved.

“Good. Now, sweetheart, show Dominic his room. I have to go.”

She left before I could protest.

The moment she disappeared down the hallway, Dominic leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. A smirk slowly appeared on his face.

“Well, come on, sweetheart. Show me around.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t call me that.”

His smirk widened. “What? Your mother does.”

“Exactly. You’re not my mother.”

He laughed under his breath.

I turned and started walking toward the stairs.

“Come on. I don’t have all day,” I said.

He pushed himself away from the wall and followed me.

“Great. A year of babysitting duty,” he said, with an annoyed look in his eyes.

“I’m not happy about this either, Dominic, and I don’t need a babysitter. But maybe I should teach you some manners.”

He scoffed, rolling his eyes dramatically.

“Manners? Please. I don’t need to be taught how to act like a spoiled rich girl,” he said with a smirk on his face.

I ignored the comment.

I took him upstairs to his room. He sat on the bed and pulled out his phone, scrolling through it with disinterest.

“So this is your room,” I continued. “Mine is down the hall, so try and stay away from that part of the house. Do you need anything else?”

He looked up from his phone with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

“Staying out of someone’s way is not in my nature. I don’t like being told what to do.” He stood up, towering over me. “I live here too now. I’ll do what I want.”

“You are seriously annoying and rude,” I said.

“And you are seriously uptight,” he said back.

“See? Exactly what I mean.” I said while walking out of the room.

He laughed.

I left the room abruptly, annoyed and irritated.

I tried to put the argument out of my mind, but a little over an hour later, loud music and splashing caught my attention from outside.

I followed the noise downstairs and into the backyard.

Dominic had invited his friends over to hang out by the pool.

“Dominic!” I called over the music. “What is going on? Turn that down.”

He looked at me, then deliberately turned the volume up and pointed to his ear, suggesting he couldn’t hear me.

“Seriously?”

His friends laughed.

I walked closer. “I said, turn it down.”

One of his friends, a tall guy with tattoos, looked over at me with a grin.

“Come on, join us.”

“I’d rather be caught dead,” I said, visibly annoyed.

“You always this serious?”

Dominic grinned from the pool. “She doesn’t know how to have fun.”

“I know how to have fun. I just don’t consider standing around a pool listening to you being obnoxious a good time.”

His friends laughed again.

Dominic climbed out of the pool and walked toward me, a smirk on his face.

“You’ve been here five minutes and you’re already complaining.”

“Because you’ve been here five minutes and you’re already annoying.”

He laughed under his breath.

One of his friends looked between us. “You two always like this?”

“Yes,” I answered immediately.

“No,” Dominic said at the same time.

I looked at him. He looked back at me.

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

He picked up a pool noodle and lightly tossed it in my direction. I caught it before it hit me.

“Very mature.”

“Thank you.”

His friends laughed, and Dominic just stood there with that irritating grin on his face.

I shook my head and turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” he called after me.

“Somewhere peaceful.”

They watched me walk away.

I was already sick of him, and it had only been a few hours since he moved in. How was I supposed to survive with him for an entire year?

I went into my room, grabbed a book, and went to the other side of the backyard, where they couldn’t see me. I sat down on the bench under the tree, and started reading.

Dominic eventually got bored of the pool and headed inside. When he realized I wasn’t in the house, he walked back outside and looked for me. I heard footsteps approaching.

“Hiding from me, huh? Classic.”

He leaned against the tree right next to me.

“Leave me alone, Dominic,” I said without taking my eyes off my book.

He chuckled and stepped closer to me, invading my personal space.

“You’re no fun,” he said, almost disappointed. He flicked a small leaf off my shoulder, deliberately annoying me.

I was usually a very calm person. My mom taught me to always be nice, and act politely. For the first time, I felt really angry.

“You just can’t leave me alone, can you? Go live your pathetic life and stop bothering me,” I said, closing my book and standing up.

He looked surprised. His eyes flashed with anger at my outburst.

“Pathetic? You think you’re so much better than me just because you sit there with your nose in a book?”

I pushed past him and went inside, blinking back tears. Why did my mom bring him here?

“I’ll make your life a living hell if you keep this up!” he screamed after me.

That night, I went downstairs to get some water. As I passed the kitchen, I heard the music coming from the backyard again.

Of course. He had company over again.

This time, there were girls with them. They were giggling and flirting with Dominic, who was lounging on a chair. He had a drink in his hand and seemed more relaxed than earlier, enjoying the attention.

One of the girls noticed me and nudged him, pointing in my direction. He looked over. Our eyes met for a second, and that familiar smirk appeared on his face.

I rolled my eyes and turned away, hoping he would leave me alone.

Instead, I heard him call out.

“Hey! Come join us if you’re not too busy reading some boring book!”

They all laughed.

I turned around.

“You know, not everyone wants to spend their evenings listening to you.”

Dominic raised his eyebrow, clearly amused.

“Relax. We’re just having fun.”

I turned toward the kitchen again, ignoring them.

“What’s wrong?” one of the girls called. “Scared you’ll actually have to talk to someone?”

I stopped. I slowly turned back.

Dominic was watching me, waiting to see what I’d do.

I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.

I pulled my phone from my pocket instead.

“Fine,” I muttered under my breath.

Dominic’s smile faded slightly as he watched me unlock my phone.

I scrolled through my contacts until I found Lorenzo’s name.

They didn’t know my boyfriend. His name was Lorenzo. He was big, tall, very handsome, and very rich. He was a mafia leader. He was a few years older than me and very protective.

I pressed call.

“Who are you calling? Your mom?”

I ignored him.

The phone rang once. Twice.

Then Lorenzo answered. “Hey, baby girl.”

“Hey.”

“You sound upset. What’s wrong?”

I glanced toward the backyard again. Dominic was pretending not to listen, but he had already gotten out of his chair.

“Nothing…” I said. “I just…don’t want to be alone here tonight.”

There was a short pause.

“Do you want me to come over?”

“Would you?”

“I’ll be there soon.” Lorenzo said.

The call ended. I lowered my phone.

For the first time that evening, I felt like I could breathe again.

Then I looked toward the backyard. Dominic was staring at me. His expression had changed. The smirk was gone.

A few moments later, Lorenzo arrived with his bodyguard.

The entire backyard went silent.