The Blackmail contract Bride - Chapter 45: Chapter 45

POV: Dominic:
Across the street, bathed in the cozy yellow light of a café sign, Lena stood with him. That man. Cane. His hand rested gently on her waist, and she didn’t pull away. In fact, she even smiled.
The feeling of betrayal hit me.
For weeks, I had been searching this city, combing through security footage, intimidating tech experts, and following dead ends. I had chased her like a phantom slipping between my fingers. And now, here she was, alive, well, and wrapped in another man's embrace as if I meant nothing to her.
As if everything we had shared meant nothing.
What did she think of me? I took her in despite her betrayal, and this is how she repays my kindness?
I clenched my fists so tightly that the leather of my gloves creaked. My breath came out in quick, controlled bursts while I sat in the shadows, parked across the street in my black SUV. The softly humming engine was nothing compared to the chaos inside me.
I should have felt relief. Gratitude. Instead, all I felt was rage.
She was meant to be mine.
She always should have been.
I leaned back, shutting my eyes for a moment as her laughter floated across the street. It struck me hard. That laugh, it used to belong to me. I was the only one who could draw it from her, and now she offered it so easily to another man.
I remembered the first time I heard her laugh while I was around. We had just signed the contract, and she had been distant, cold. But then I walked into the living room in mismatched socks, I had no idea how that even happened, and she cracked a smile. A small, soft laugh escaped her lips before she covered her mouth.
It shattered me.
After that, I yearned for that sound.
I gave her everything. A palace to call home. Safety. Power. And all I ever wanted in return was her loyalty. Her love. Her companionship.
But instead, she ran. She left me. She took my child and stepped into another man's life as if she hadn’t just completely destroyed mine.
My fingers shook as I reached for the hidden compartment by the gearshift. I didn’t grab the gun this time. I wasn’t about to make the same mistake again.
No violence.
This time, I would rely on my mind. My control. My leverage.
Because Lena didn’t just abandon me. She forgot who I was. She forgot what I was capable of.
I rolled the window down a bit, letting some fresh air in. My eyes stayed locked on them. Cane held her elbow as she stepped off the curb, his hand lingering a moment longer. She looked at him, and there was a softness in her eyes, something I used to see when she curled up against me, her hair smelling of vanilla and fear.
I understood fear. I knew how it shaped people. And Lena had always been affected by it.
But she didn’t look afraid now. She looked free.
That realization broke something deep inside me.
She doesn’t get to walk away and find peace.
Not when she still carries my child.
Not when I still wake up every night with her name on my lips, reaching for someone who’s no longer beside me. I hadn’t slept well since the night she vanished. My guards had failed. My systems had been overridden. I had put the best men on her trail, and they still took too long.
But I found her. Finally.
A car honked behind me. I didn’t flinch. I had been trained to keep my composure under fire, in business meetings, and under threat. But now, watching her tuck a strand of hair behind her ear while Cane leaned in to whisper something in her ear, I wanted to lose it.
I could already imagine what she’d say if I walked up to her.
"Dominic, please. I was scared. I didn’t mean to—"
No. I didn’t want her apologies.
I wanted her.
I leaned back, watching them disappear into the café. Cane opened the door for her. Like a gentleman. I scoffed. He was trying to play the role of savior. But I knew men like him, rebels with broken pasts and fragile egos. He wouldn’t protect her the way I could. He didn’t know the enemies I’d made, or the lengths I’d go to keep her safe.
He didn’t understand what it meant to truly own something. To guard it with your life.
I pulled my phone from the dashboard cradle. My thumb hovered over the number. It was one I’d committed to memory, though I never wanted to use it again.
Emma.
Sweet, fragile Emma.
I had kept her alive. Funded every procedure. I had gone beyond the deal Lena and I made, spending money without question. For Lena.
She would understand this wasn’t a threat.
It was a reminder.
A reminder of who she belonged to. Who she had promised herself to.
I hit the call button. It rang once. Twice. A gruff voice picked up.
"Mr. Knight."
"You’re still overseeing the girl’s treatment?"
"Yes, sir. Everything is according to your orders."
"Good. I need you to deliver a message."
"Of course."
I stared out the window, the café lights reflecting in my eyes.
"Tell the girl’s sister I’ll stop her treatment if Lena doesn’t return."
The line went silent for a moment.
"Understood."
I ended the call.
My reflection in the rearview mirror stared back at me, cold eyes, sharp jawline, a man who had lost too much to be denied one more thing.
Lena had made a mistake. A terrible, foolish mistake.
But I would fix it.
Even if I had to break her all over again to remind her who she truly belonged to.
Me.
Only me.
Because some love wasn’t made of flowers and promises.
Some love was made of chains.
And I intended to tighten them.