Honesty

Dominic’s POV

I stood outside Gemma’s apartment door in the Thorne family’s protected territory, my breath catching as she appeared before me in nothing but a fitted white tank top and matching underwear. The sight of her nearly undid my resolve to keep things simple between us while I tried to earn back her trust.

"Dominic, Zoe just called from the family operations center and woke me up, then you called right after. I forgot I wasn’t dressed properly. You’ve already seen everything anyway. Come in and get comfortable while I change," she said, a flush creeping up her neck as she realized her state of undress.

As Gemma turned to walk away, something inside me snapped. The weeks of separation, of knowing I had destroyed what we had through my own paranoid stupidity, crashed over me. I stepped inside, shut the door behind me, and pulled her against me. Our lips crashed together in a kiss that was desperate and hungry, filled with all the regret and longing I had carried since that night she found me with Beatrix. When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, I couldn’t help but smile. "Good morning, beautiful. You look incredible."

I released her, watching as she walked unsteadily down the hallway, leaving me grinning like an idiot. She had kissed me back. That had to mean something, even after everything I had put her through. I made my way to her kitchen and started preparing her usual breakfast. Black coffee, buttered toast, and strawberry jam. I knew her preferences by heart, had memorized every detail during the months we were together.

Later, Gemma emerged wearing dark jeans and a black button-down shirt, her hair swept up in an elegant twist secured with a blue silk scarf. She looked breathtaking as always, though I could see the wariness in her dark eyes when she looked at me. I set the plate before her and poured her coffee, playing the role of contrite suitor rather than the feared Capo who normally commanded respect through violence.

Throughout breakfast, she remained quiet, lost in whatever thoughts were consuming her. We drove to the girls’ house in the family compound in comfortable silence, arriving to find chaos that resembled a children’s birthday party rather than the usual controlled atmosphere of Thorne family residences. Conversations overlapped, laughter echoed, and someone was actually squealing. Zoe quickly took charge, separating us into groups with military precision that would have made our family enforcers proud.

The men were assigned to Max’s room to handle the heavy lifting. Between moving boxes and furniture, Jude pulled me aside with the serious expression he wore during family business meetings.

"How are you holding up?" Jude asked in a low voice. I studied his expression, understanding immediately what he meant.

"Like I’m burning alive, just like Caleb was when he thought he lost Ivy," I whispered back.

"That woman is suffering because of your choices. You screwed up worse than Caleb ever did, and that’s saying something considering the mess he made," Jude murmured.

"What are you ladies gossiping about over there?" Xavier called out with his usual teasing grin, though I caught the underlying tension in his voice. The whole family knew about my situation.

"Just planning a guys’ poker night," Jude answered smoothly before turning back to me. "We need to talk privately. There’s something you need to know about your father’s latest moves."

I nodded grimly. Marcus’s schemes never ended, even after being cast out from the family.

When we returned to the living room, Finn burst through the front door looking panicked and out of breath, the way soldiers looked when reporting urgent intelligence.

"Can someone please explain why I just watched Gemma get into Hunter’s car?" Finn demanded.

My blood turned to ice at Finn’s words, and then Zoe mentioned that Gemma was officially single, making it clear to every man in Port Serenity that she was available. Hell no. I wanted to chase after her immediately, but my friends had other plans. They formed a circle around me like I was some kind of intervention candidate, or worse, like I was about to face a family tribunal.

After confessing about the scene Gemma had witnessed at my safe house and enduring my friends’ justified anger, Caleb delivered the final verdict that we would have a serious conversation once the move was complete. Coming from the family Don, it wasn’t a suggestion.

When we finally finished relocating Ivy and Max’s belongings, I couldn’t escape what my friends dramatically called their "Spanish Inquisition." We gathered in Caleb’s living room, with Zoe naturally assuming the role of lead prosecutor, her skills as our intelligence coordinator making her particularly ruthless in extracting confessions.

"Alright, you player, how many times did you sleep with that poisonous snake?" Zoe’s tone could have cut glass.

"Player?" I asked, feigning offense, though I knew she was being generous with her language.

"Yes, player. And you should be grateful I’m being polite, because I was thinking of much worse names that would make our enemies blush," Zoe fired back.

"This is going to be brutal," I muttered, running my fingers through my hair before deciding to confess everything to my found family.

I told them about the photograph and showed it to them, explained about my vengeful hookups with Beatrix, about ignoring Gemma’s countless calls, about my confrontations with my father both at Nadia’s house and at the family offices, and what I had discovered through the Social Union’s surveillance footage. When I finished, Zoe smacked the back of my head hard enough to remind me why she was feared in interrogation rooms. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"You absolute moron!" Zoe exploded. "Did it never cross your mind to simply talk to Gemma about this damn photograph? You didn’t even have the courage to break up with her properly! Seriously, Dominic, you’re pathetic for a Capo."

"I’ve been trying to reach her since yesterday, but," I attempted to defend my actions, though even I found my excuses weak.

"Since yesterday, you fool?" Xavier spoke like he was explaining something obvious to a child, his consigliere training showing. "You’ve had that photograph for weeks and said nothing? Knowing your father’s methods, watching what Caleb went through with family betrayal, you decided to ignore Gemma and sleep with Beatrix instead? No, Dominic, you’re beyond disappointing."

"Sorry, man, but I can’t defend this one," Caleb said with a shake of his head. "And I’ve made some spectacular mistakes myself."

"Dominic, you actually managed to be worse than Caleb during his darkest period," Ivy observed, making me cringe.

"Sweetheart, I thought we agreed to move past my mistakes," Caleb whined, earning a sharp look from Ivy.

"I forgave you, Caleb, but I didn’t forget!" Ivy was crystal clear. "You’ll be making this up to me for the rest of your life, that’s our arrangement!" It was impossible not to laugh despite everything.

Suddenly, Ruby smacked Xavier’s arm. "Don’t get any ideas, honey, because if you ever pull something like this, I’ll destroy you in ways that would impress our enforcement crew!"

"But baby, you’re the only woman I see!" Xavier whined back.

"Maybe so, but you had that disgusting affair with that other witch’s assistant before we were official, so stay vigilant, sweetheart, stay very vigilant." Ruby’s threat made me glad I wasn’t Xavier.

Jude had been sitting quietly, seeming lost in his own thoughts with the weight of secrets he carried as our intelligence gatherer. He sighed deeply and stood up, brushing off his jeans with both hands.

"It’s actually worse than you all realize," Jude announced, drawing everyone’s attention like he was delivering a critical intelligence report. "Dominic’s father is actively harassing her. He’s been sending flowers and calling her. I have no idea how he obtained her number, but given his connections to rival families. I personally warned him to back off, but you know how he operates, and if you’ve declared war on family business..."

"Damn! He won’t quit." I said, finally understanding Marcus’s strategy. He was using her to get to me, just like enemy families targeted loved ones.

"I can’t believe Gemma is dealing with all this alone while dodging your father’s schemes," Nora said sadly.

"I don’t think she’s completely alone, Nora. I suspect Lila knows something. She’s been acting strange lately, taking private phone calls, looking stressed like she’s carrying intelligence," Ruby observed with the sharp eye of someone raised around family business.

"You’re right, Lila does know everything." I admitted. "And she probably wants to put a bullet in me."

"Wait, Lila knew everything and kept it secret?" Zoe was furious about the entire situation. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

"She went home to visit family, Zo." I reminded Zoe that I had given Lila time off from her duties.

"She only did what Gemma requested. Gemma didn’t want to burden the family, said that Ivy and Caleb’s problems were serious enough without adding another crisis to the Thorne organization," Jude explained, staring at the floor.

"Hold on, Wright, you knew as well? And said nothing to the family?" Nora demanded.

"Nora, it was Gemma’s choice. I sensed something was wrong and confronted her about it. But she begged me not to tell anyone, and I honored her wishes while still providing protection," Jude tried to justify his silence.

"I feel terrible. Gemma’s been suffering through all this alone while I’ve been monopolizing everyone’s attention with my own family drama. Even Jude noticed something was wrong when I completely missed it," Ivy said, clearly distressed.

"We were all awful friends, missing all the warning signs. But the real villain is this pathetic excuse for a Capo!" Zoe concluded.

"Yes, I was completely wrong, but can you help me figure out how to earn her forgiveness?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Caleb spoke with false confidence. "I know exactly how to start - get on your knees and beg like your life depends on it!" Everyone laughed at my expense. "But what I really want to know, Jude, is what other family secrets you’re keeping from us."

"What do you mean?" Jude looked genuinely confused.

"Well, you knew about Ivy’s pregnancy, you knew about Gemma’s situation with this disaster who calls himself our Capo. Makes me wonder what other intelligence you’re sitting on," Caleb studied Jude with the penetrating stare he used during family interrogations.

"Oh, please." Jude huffed in frustration. "Right now, I’m not hiding any other family business, okay? Can we focus on cleaning up the disaster that our so-called friend created?"

I groaned and sank deeper into the couch. But my day wasn’t going to improve as I had hoped when I picked up Gemma this morning. My phone buzzed with a text message from my sister.

"I have to leave. Nadia wants to see me. We haven’t talked since my confrontation with Marcus at the family offices. I need to check on her." I said goodbye to my friends and headed to my sister’s house in the protected part of town.

Another difficult conversation awaited me, as telling Nadia about what happened at the club would devastate her completely.