Chapter 4 Unseen Futures
1559 Words
Hayley's breath hitched as Rob addressed the audience. "Hayley has children out of wedlock. Children I might have fathered!”
A wave of shocked murmurs swept through the hall.
Hayley’s blood turned into ice. She could feel her legs weaken, her mind spun. The secret she had guarded so fiercely had been laid bare.
Her lips parted to speak, but the words froze.
"We were engaged, and we weren’t careful. How could you keep this from me, Hayley? How could you keep them a secret from everyone?”
Dexter’s expression remained unflinchingly calm, his gaze never leaving Hayley’s pale face. He didn’t even glance at Rob. Instead, he raised his hand, a subtle but firm signal for the Domenico guards to intervene. Two men in dark suits swiftly moved toward Rob, but not before he could deliver one last blow.
“Everyone deserves to know!” Rob shouted as the guards grabbed him. “You hid them because you knew it would ruin your scheme. Those twins are mine, Hayley! Mine! This isn’t over!”
The guards dragged Rob toward the exit, but his voice echoed through the hall long after he was gone.
The silence that followed was deafening. Hayley turned her wide, fear-filled eyes to Dexter, expecting outrage or, at the very least, disdain. To her astonishment, his expression remained impassive, his icy demeanor unbroken.
“Shall we continue?” he asked, his voice calm, addressing the priest as if nothing had happened.
The priest hesitated, his gaze darting nervously between Hayley and Dexter.
“I… I suppose so,” the priest stammered, flipping the pages of his book.
Hayley’s chest tightened. She glanced at her shoes nervously as the ceremony resumed. She felt as though she was watching herself from a distance. Her hands were shaking, her mind a whirlwind of emotions: fear, anger, humiliation. Yet amid the chaos, one thought rose above all others: Dylan and his sister, Isabella. She had tried to protect them, to shield them from the harsh world she had been forced into. And now, their existence is no longer a secret. How had Rob know about them?
Dexter, however, was unshaken, as if he had anticipated this moment. For the first time, Hayley realized just how cold and calculating he truly was. Whatever plans he had for this marriage, they would not falter, no matter what truths emerged.
The priest's voice droned on, but Hayley barely heard him. When Dexter took her hand to slide the ring onto her finger, his touch was ice against her skin.
“Do you, Hayley Summer Darnell, take Don Dexter Rafeal Domenico to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Hayley hesitated, her gaze darting toward the doors where Rob had been taken, expecting Saint to walk in and maul her down. She looked into Dexter’s eyes for some hint of what lay beneath his Stoic exterior, but found only a blank slate.
“I… I do,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
“And do you, Don Dexter Rafeal Domenico, take Hayley Summer Darnell to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do,” he replied, his voice a low command that silenced any further objections.
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The sound of glass shattering against the wall echoed through the room. Saint's chest heaved as he stared at the remnants of the crystal decanter, now lying in shards on the floor. The amber liquid of expensive whiskey trickled along the cracks in the hardwood, but he didn’t care. His world was falling apart.
He had read the news twice now, unable to believe it. The words on the page mocked him. "Hayley Summer Darnell marries Don Dexter Rafeal Domenico in a historic union of rival families".
Saint’s eyes burned with fury. He paced the room, his hands raking through his disheveled dark hair. “The audacity,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. “Marrying him. A Domenico.”
The door creaked open, and May stepped inside. Her face was pale, his expression unreadable.
“You called for me?” she asked dryly, her gaze flicking at the broken glass.
“She got married,” Saint spat, pacing the length of the room. “May, that slimy b***h got married.”
May’s face twisted in disbelief mixed with confusion. "What?... I thought she’d renounce her claim to the inheritance because…”
“She didn’t,” Saint interrupted, his tone sharp. “She went to the Domenicos. To him. Do you understand what this means, May? She didn’t just betray the family. She handed them power on a silver platter.”
May gasped as the reality of Hayley’s actions dawned on her. "How could she?" She yelled, her voice filled with venom. "They are our enemies.”
“Because she’s weak,” Saint growled. “Weak and desperate to hold on to what isn’t hers. The inheritance should’ve gone to me, May. Me!”
Saint slammed his fist onto the desk, making the papers flutter. His rage seemed to fill the room like a suffocating fog.
Picking up the discarded newspaper. Her eyes scanned the front page, lips tightening.
"Dexter Domenico?"
"That snake!" Saint spat with disdain. "Wouldn't give up an opportunity to use a schemer to achieve his goal. He would use their marriage to consolidate power. They’ll absorb our assets, claim our allies. You think that Dexter fraud, married her out of love? This was a calculated move, and she walked right into it.”
“No, I think this was Hayley's plan all along, Saint,” May said slowly, thinking hard. "She knew mother was vulnerable and, to secure her position by any means necessary, agreed not to report you to the authorities years back. She gaslighted mother,"
Saint let out a bitter laugh.
“What would you do now?” May ventured, her voice hesitant.
Saint turned to face her, his eyes alight with determination. “Now, I do what I should’ve done years ago. She would regret not dying with her damned parents years back.
A tense silence followed as May digested Saint’s declaration.
“But she has the Domenico's family protection now," May warned. “Hayley is already a step ahead. And with Dexter by her side…”
“Hayley is a liability,” Saint snapped. “She doesn’t have the stomach for this game. She’ll falter, and when she does, I’ll be there to remind her of the price of betrayal.”
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The estate blazed with extravagance. Woven baskets overflowed with exotic blooms flown in from all over the world. Vibrant tents sprawled across the manicured green lawn over the dance floor, crimson over the orchestra, royal blue shading the tennis court stacked with absurdly expensive gifts - a jet from Don Federico Domenico - Dexter’s grandfather. Children squealed at a jester in medieval garb while the elite sipped top-shelf liquor from custom pavilions.
Each guest had received a hundred thousand dollar lottery ticket for the winner, a gift from the groom. The opulence was deliberate, loud, and merciless in its beauty.
Inside the estate’s palatial wing, Hayley stood alone in a vast, gold-drenched bedroom. Her gown, still perfect, felt like a cage. The mirrored closets reflected a woman she barely recognized - poised, elegant, and dangerously out of place.
She pressed her palms against her temples, trying to silence the roaring chaos in her head.
The door swung open and Dexter sauntered in still in his tailored wedding suit, still infuriatingly composed, cold and untouchable.
He shut the door behind him with a soft click. There was a threatening silence as his gaze swept the room and landed on her like a blow. They hadn't spoken to each other since the service. He noticed how the soft lighting highlighted her features, the sharp curve of her cheekbones, the way her blonde hair cascaded like spun gold. She was stunning, had a breathtaking figure that defied the fact she was already a mother.
He was right after all. The possibility of Hayley birthing those kids had been gnawing at him ever since Alfred handed him that file. But she hid that from him. She could not be trusted. She is a Darnell after all.
“You look tired,” he said, his voice low and emotionless. “Already regretting your vows?”
Hayley didn’t answer. Her hands fisted at her sides.
Dexter stepped closer, eyes like slate. “I hope you enjoyed the wedding. My team curated every inch of it for optics. Pity we couldn’t fake your enthusiasm.”
“Is that supposed to make this… easier?” Hayley said through clenched teeth.
Dexter walked into the room slowly without taking his gaze off her. “Easier? What exactly are we making easier, Hayley?”
“This,” she said, her tone sharp. “You don’t trust me, and I don’t trust you. Let’s not pretend otherwise.”
Dexter chuckled, though there was no humor in it. “Trust, huh? That’s rich coming from someone who hid two children from their father.”
Hayley’s eyes narrowed, her posture stiffening. “I won’t discuss them with you.”
“Of course not,” Dexter said icily, “Well, now he knows about Dylan and...is it Isabel?”
Hayley blinked, her composure faltering for just a moment. "Did you... secretly run a background check on me?"
- Writer
