Chapter 1
Chapter 1
POV: Angie
There was no other way to get to the estate except by walking.
My strappy sandals sank into the dry, dusty earth with every step. This morning, I’d packed a single bag for Theo and me, driving us straight to the small hotel where I’d stayed with my twin sister, Natalie, six years ago. Back then, she was shooting her only movie, the one that was supposed to launch her into wealth and fame.
It didn't happen.
Instead, she’d thrown herself at the Domenico brothers. She left with a shattered acting career and the sweetest boy, who had spent the entire drive here sleeping peacefully in the back seat of my car, his small chest rising and falling with the faint, persistent wheeze I had grown too used to hearing.
We were nineteen at that time and today at twenty-five. I didn’t feel more confident or mature coming back to Domenico’s land.
After checking in, I grabbed Theo’s hand and my bag—his spare inhaler tucked inside, along with a printed sheet of instructions I’d rewritten so many times I could recite it in my sleep. Natalie had sworn on the phone that she’d taken care of everything, that I only had to show up at Marc Domenico’s estate.
So I did.
Because living in the city, drowning in medical bills and eviction notices, was no longer an option.
I’d left the car at the hotel on purpose. The receptionist had warned me that the estate gate was miles out of the way from town and wouldn’t open unless your name was on a list, and she’d smiled as if she was doing me a favor when she added, “But there’s a beautiful shortcut if you don’t mind walking.”
I should’ve known better than to trust a stranger’s definition of beautiful or short.
After twenty minutes of walking down the sprawling estate road, surrounded only by endless meadows and ancient trees, the knot in my stomach tightened. I looked down at my ruined sandals and my thin, flowery muslin dress, the fabric already clinging to my sweat-damp skin.
''No sense in going back now.'' I rubbed my forehead, ''We had to be halfway there.''
“Angie.” Theo’s grip on my hand tightened, his small fingers trembling. “There’s a dog. A big dog.”
I turned.
In the distance, a massive shape moved quickly through the tall grass, zeroing in on us.
My pulse went wild.
I scooped Theo into my arms, his long, gangly legs wrapping around my waist, and walked faster. I knew animals reacted to fear, and I hated that my own deep-seated terror of dogs had passed to him. I’d tried so hard to hide it, forcing myself to pet friendly neighborhood strays so he wouldn’t inherit my panic.
It hadn’t worked.
Obviously.
The dog barked once. Then again. The deep, booming sound carried over the dry ground.
“It’s all right.” I pressed Theo closer to my chest, my breath hitching. “He’ll get bored and leave us alone.”
“Okay.” Theo buried his face in my shoulder, his breathing speeding up—the kind of fast, shallow inhale that always made a cold heaviness settle in my gut.
The barking grew louder. I could hear the heavy thud of paws pounding the earth.
“He’s here, Angie,” Theo whispered into my shoulder. “He didn’t give up.”
Panic created a vacuum in my head, turning sounds fuzzy. I spotted a large walnut tree ahead, its heavy branches trailing low to the ground.
“Come on.” I set Theo down, nudging him toward the thickest branch. “Climb up. Hide in the leaves.”
He scrambled up like a little monkey just as the dog skidded to a halt a few yards away, barking furiously.
My knees shook so violently I thought I might collapse.
“Angie!” Theo cried from the tree.
I turned to face the beast, prepared to shield the trunk, when a deep tremor in the ground made me look up.
A man was riding toward us on horseback.
The dark stallion stomped, kicking up a cloud of dust, wild and untamed. The rider pulled the reins, easily controlling the massive animal. I backed away, both hands raised in surrender.
“Is this your dog?” My voice came out shrill, betraying every ounce of my desperation. I never would have come here if my life hadn’t completely unraveled, six months of Theo’s worsening asthma, endless doctor visits, and my boss finally deciding that a woman with a sick kid was a liability he didn’t want to afford. After ten failed interviews, I had to accept that he was not the only one thinking exactly the same way, and that this was my last resort.
The man dismounted. As his dark, intense eyes locked onto mine, the small hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
Vid Domenico.
He didn’t look expectant. He didn’t look like a man preparing to welcome his nephew. He just looked annoyed and mean, but then, with that face and wide frame, it would be hard to look nice.
I narrowed my eyes at the man Natalie always called the worst specimen of all. Of course, to Natalie, any man immune to her seduction was the villain. When Vid had ignored her on set, she’d simply pivoted to his brother, Marc, a man who lived on his family’s dime and had nothing but expensive tastes and empty promises to offer.
“Bull,” Vid called the dog calmly, his deep rumble vibrating in the air, both a threat and a command.
Instantly, the massive dog hunched, lowered its head, and trotted over to stand obediently at his boot.
I raised my brows, my racing heart slowly returning to a normal rhythm.
“Bull?” I asked.
The dog and the man both tilted their heads, watching me.
“Really?” I had that ugly habit of becoming patronizing when cornered. “At least country people should know the difference between species.”
That earned me a small dip at the corner of his mouth.
“Angie,” Theo called down from the tree. “I don’t think he believes that’s the male cow. He knows it’s a dog; he just named him Bull.”
Vid looked up into the leaves. His stern expression shifted, his lips twitching in genuine amusement. “You all right up there? Need help getting down?”
“Maybe.” Theo sounded serious, carrying the heavy caution of a kid who rarely got to just be a kid.
I turned back, suddenly territorial. “I’ll get you.”
I stepped onto the low branch and hauled myself up without hesitation. I’d never been the delicate, girly type; that role belonged to Natalie.
I was the sturdy, capable girl. The one you don’t call for shopping, but rather when you need to move furniture.
I grabbed Theo’s waist, guiding him down safely, and then jumped from the trunk the way I always did.
Freely.
Rrrrip.
A dry branch snagged the muslin of my dress, tearing it right up to my waist.
I landed on the ground, refusing to flinch or cover my newly exposed legs. The tear loosened the top, making every movement inconvenient and very risky.
I raised my chin, did a small, calculated spin on my toes, turning my back on him as I tried to find a way to keep it together.
“Auntie, you are clumsy,” Theo giggled as the shadow cast over me. Vid's fingers hovered over the sensitive skin of my neck. I tensed as he removed the two clips from my tousled hair. Then he turned me around to face him and fastened the clips to the large tear at my waist, reducing it to a convenient slit and making the top of my dress safe again.
“This looks much better. Thank you,” I said, feeling heat rise up my neck.
I pulled Theo closer, my hand resting protectively on his shoulder. “Now, can you tell me where we can find Marc Domenico? He is expecting us.”
Vid stared at me.
There was no flicker of recognition. No acknowledgment.
Something cold slid into my stomach.
“Marc?” he repeated, as if the name belonged to a stranger.
“Yes.” My voice came out too sharp. “Marc Domenico. Natalie said—”
Vid’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “Natalie.”
I swallowed.
He just looked at me like I’d walked onto the wrong planet.
And in that small, terrible pause, I understood.
Whatever Natalie had promised me, whatever she’d painted over the phone to get me here, had never been real.
Not for Vid.
Not for Marc.
Not for anyone.
My grip tightened on Theo’s shoulder.
“Damn,” I muttered under my breath, the humiliating truth sinking in like a stone.
“Are we in trouble, Auntie?” Theo tugged at my arm. I couldn’t look the kid in the eye.
She had done it again.
Natalie had made a fool of me.
And I deserved it.
Because there is no fool like a trusting fool.
April 27, 2026.
I can't believe it's time for another story. I hope you will like this one, and if you don't, please let me know so I can stop writing it :) lol, I am just kidding. Don't tell me. Let me live in illusion.
Love you all.
