From Forgotten Wife To Fierce Queen - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Standing right behind Dominic, Marissa had overheard every word of the exchange between Dominick and Paisley.
As she watched Dominick's fixation on Paisley's daughter, the unease in Marissa's chest only grew more intense.
'Why can't you just disappear for good, Paisley? You've been gone for four years. Why did you come back now?' Marissa silently cursed in her mind, her resentment boiling beneath her composed exterior.
But she knew it wasn't the time to dwell on those thoughts.
Marissa shot a sharp glare at Stella and thought bitterly, 'This whole mess was the little brat's fault! Can't she figure out what to say and what not to say? She almost blew everything up.'
Steeling herself, Marissa adjusted her expression, softened her tone, and took Grayson's hand as she quickly walked up to Dominick. "Dom..." she called gently and closely watched his reaction.
But Dominick didn't even glance her way. His gaze was locked in the direction where Paisley had driven off, his face dark with thought.
Marissa's face looked darker, but she pressed on. "This whole situation is my fault. I didn't explain things clearly to Stella, so she got the wrong idea.
"I was just trying to teach her to look out for Sonny, you know? After what happened before, I've been extra cautious about who gets close to him."
Back when Grayson was still in preschool, a troubling incident had left its mark.
A little girl, coaxed by her parents, had befriended Grayson and lured him to their house.
Her father, a former business partner of Vanderbilt Group, had lost his contract due to quality issues and had held a grudge ever since. He planned to use Grayson to exact revenge on Dominick.
Luckily, the situation was resolved before it escalated, but Grayson had been badly shaken, leaving emotional scars that lingered.
Ever since then, the Vanderbilt family had been vigilant and would scrutinize anyone who came near Grayson.
"This time, Stella was in the wrong. She acted rashly without understanding what really happened," Marissa said, her tone full of regret.
She paused, letting a small silence hang in the air before carefully adding, "But who would've thought... that little girl was Paisley's daughter? I mean, four years after your divorce, she shows up with a three-year-old daughter. It's really..." She trailed off, letting the implication hang.
Marissa didn't need to spell it out—she knew Dominick would connect the dots. The growing storm cloud on his face told Marissa her words had landed exactly where she wanted.
Still, she shifted gears, adding a humble note to her tone. "Anyway, today's mess is on me and Stella."
Dominick finally tore his gaze away from the empty road and said in a heavy tone, "It's not your fault. You were only protecting Sonny. If anyone's at fault here, it's Paisley. She's the one failing as a mother."
Marissa picked up Grayson, giving him a comforting squeeze as she murmured, "Dom, don't be so harsh. I can understand Paisley. Not every mother loves their child the way you expect."
Dominick's expression darkened even further, his jaw tightening with barely restrained anger.
The thought gnawed at him. 'Paisley, Grayson is your child too, yet you walked away without a second thought or an ounce of regret. You don't love Grayson, but you love a child you have with another man. Paisley, you are heartless.'
After wrapping up everything at the school, Dominick didn't head back to the office. Instead, he did something out of character—he took Grayson back to Rosemont Haven.
This was the house he and Paisley had once lived together after getting married. Since their divorce, he hadn't set foot here again.
Grayson, on the other hand, had been living at Vanderbilt Manor under his grandmother's care. Dominick himself spent most of his time either in hotels or at an apartment near his office.
It had been almost four years since he last came here, so much so that when the housekeeper, Lily, saw Dominick and Grayson walk in, she nearly jumped out of her skin.
Lily was the same housekeeper Paisley had hired back in the day. Though no one had been staying at the house recently, she had remained to maintain the property.
"Sir, Mr. Vanderbilt, what brings you back here?" Lily asked nervously, her hands clasped tightly. She couldn't help but think, 'Is this some kind of unannounced inspection? Am I about to lose my job?'
"Nothing, just thought I'd bring Sonny by for a look around," Dominick whispered, his tone laced with exhaustion.
Grayson trailed behind his father and glanced around the surroundings. His memories of the place were faint at best. He only vaguely remembered that his bedroom was on the second floor.
"Dad, what are we doing here?" Grayson asked with a frown. He didn't like this place. He wanted to go back to the manor, where Grandma, Marissa, and Stella were. "It's so empty and cold."
"Are you cold, Mr. Vanderbilt? Should I turn on the heat?" Lily offered, eager to please.
Grayson ignored her and plopped onto the sofa with a pout. "Dad, when are we going home?"
"This is our home," Dominick replied flatly.
Handing Grayson over to Lily, Dominick headed upstairs to the first room—the master bedroom he had once shared with Paisley.
The door creaked open, and the familiarity hit him like a wave. Inside the closet, Paisley's clothes and jewelry were still there. She had left without taking a single thing, just like what she'd announced when she asked for a divorce.
Dominick let out a bitter laugh as his eyes swept across the room. There wasn't even a single photograph.
He remembered when they got married, he had just taken over the company and was drowning in work. There was no wedding, no wedding dress photos, not even a single casual snapshot of the two of them.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Dominick's mind went blank for a moment, the weight of the past pressing down on him.
A soft knock pulled him out of his thoughts. Lily stepped inside hesitantly and said, "Sir, Mr. Vanderbilt has fallen asleep. I've taken him to his old bedroom."
"Hmm," Dominick replied with a nod.
"Are you and Mr. Vanderbilt staying here tonight? Should I prepare breakfast for you in the morning?" Lily asked.
"Yeah," he said and paused as if something had crossed his mind. "Can you make rainbow pasta?"
Lily froze for a second, surprised by the request. It took her a moment to figure out what he meant. "Do you mean the rainbow pasta that Madam, I mean Ms. Sutton, used to make?"
Dominick nodded without a word.
With an embarrassed look, Lily answered, "Mr. Dominick, I'm afraid I can't. That pasta... wasn't just ordinary pasta. Ms. Sutton used different fresh vegetable juice to dye the dough, and the toppings were incredibly complex."
Afraid Dominick'd think she was being lazy 's silence, Lily hurried to explain further, "She even made the broth for it from scratch. I tried learning from her, but no matter what I did, I could never replicate the same flavor.
"Besides, the whole process took hours, sometimes an entire night. Ms. Sutton used to stay up just to make sure you and Mr. Vanderbilt could have it fresh for breakfast."
Dominick sat there, totally stunned. He hadn't realized that something as simple as pasta could take so much effort, or that Paisley had spent sleepless nights making it for him and Grayson.
After Lily left, Dominick leaned back and stared at the ceiling. For the first time in years, he felt like something inside him had cracked open, and a piece of his heart was missing.