Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN WHO WANTED THE HOUSE
Seraphina moved into the east guest suite while the family arrangements
were reviewed. She was allowed scheduled contact with Ella under
professional supervision. She complained constantly, but the attorney
kept every exchange documented.
One afternoon, she asked to speak with Dominic alone.
He agreed to meet in the library with his attorney present.
Seraphina looked thinner. Her anger had not disappeared, but it seemed
less certain.
“Adrian has blamed everything on me,” she said.
“Did you move the money?”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell Ella she had to pay for my attention?”
“I told her to bring something special. I didn’t think she would take it
so seriously.”
“She saved every coin she could find.”
Seraphina looked away.
“I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t ask.”
She folded her hands.
“I was tired, Dominic. You were never home. Ella wanted you every
minute. I felt like a stranger in my own house.”
“You could have told me.”
“I did. You always said you would make time later.”
He accepted the truth of that.
“I should have listened.”
Seraphina’s eyes filled, but he did not mistake her tears for
accountability.
“Adrian said the trust would protect us,” she continued. “He said I
could secure Ella’s future and have control over the household. I
thought I was doing what a mother should do.”
“By making her afraid of asking her father for a hug?”
Seraphina shook her head.
“I didn’t think it would hurt her.”
“That is the problem. You didn’t think about her.”
For a long moment, she said nothing.
Then she asked, “Do you still love me?”
Dominic looked at the woman he had married.
“I don’t know what I feel. But I know I cannot trust you right now.”
She began to cry.
“I can change.”
“Then change without demanding that Ella forgive you. She is a child.
She doesn’t owe you comfort.”
His attorney placed a document on the table outlining the next steps for
separation and financial review.
Seraphina read it.
“You’re ending our marriage.”
“I’m taking steps to protect our daughter and resolve what happened. The
legal process will decide the rest.”
She signed nothing that day.
Instead, she stood and walked to the window.
“I wanted to be important in this family.”
Dominic answered quietly.
“You were important. You chose to make a child feel unimportant so you
could keep control.”
Seraphina turned away.
When she left, Dominic remained in the library for a long time.
He knew that the truth would not undo the damage overnight. Ella might
need years to understand that affection was not a reward for good
May you like
behavior. She might ask the same question a hundred times.
He would answer it a hundred times.
