His Double Standards, My Final Goodbye Chapter 01

His Double Standards, My Final Goodbye Chapter 01

Dominic Vance was guarded to the point of paranoia and fiercely territorial.

We’d been together for three years, and my fingerprint still wasn’t registered for the lock on his private penthouse.

Every time I stayed over, I had to let him know in advance, wait for his approval, and submit to a pat-down from his security detail before I could even step inside.

He said it was a family rule, a necessary precaution for his safety. I accepted it. The Vances had no shortage of enemies.

Then one day, I got to his building early and was about to call him.

The private elevator opened, and Chloe De Santis, heiress to the De Santis Group and daughter of one of the Vance family’s closest allies, stepped inside with an access card stamped with her family crest. I followed on instinct. No one stopped us. When we reached Dominic’s floor, I watched her press her finger to the scanner beside his door.

The lock clicked open.

She saw me and froze for a beat.

“What are you doing here? Dominic’s not available tonight.”

I asked only one thing: how did she have fingerprint access?

“He added me last year,” she said. “I come by pretty often to feed the cat.”

He’d never even told me he had a cat.

He’d told me he was allergic to cats and couldn’t have pets. He’d used that excuse three separate times to shut down my suggestion that we get one.

Later, I found an old post on Chloe’s Instagram and learned that she’d given him the cat for his birthday.

I deleted every message on my phone where I’d asked Dominic for permission to come over.

Dominic Vance, so all those walls were only meant to keep out me and your enemies.

Chloe had been inside your territory all along.

…

“Astrid, close the door.”

Dominic stood in the entryway. His gaze went first to the startled cat hiding under the couch, then, finally, to me.

Chloe slipped into a pair of house slippers identical to Dominic’s. As always, I got the disposable guest pair.

He looked at me with cold suspicion, as if I were the one who’d betrayed him.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming early?”

“I texted you.”

“I was in a meeting. I didn’t check my phone.”

As he spoke, he took Chloe’s coat and hung it up without a second thought. Chloe went straight to the refrigerator like she’d done it a hundred times and pulled out a bottle of sparkling water.

The cat poked its head out from under the couch.

Chloe crouched and held out her hand to him.

“Cannoli, Mommy’s home.”

Some of the ice left Dominic’s expression.

“Don’t spoil him. He shredded the curtains again.”

I stood there, my nails slowly digging into my palm.

So this place didn’t just have Chloe’s fingerprint, her slippers, and her cup. It had a cat that waited for her to come home.

I’d been there more than a dozen times, and I still had to bring my own toothbrush.

Chloe scooped up the cat as if she’d finally remembered I was standing there.

“Astrid, don’t get the wrong idea. Dominic’s busy, so I just stop by once in a while to take care of Cannoli.”

“How often is ‘once in a while’?”

Her hand paused on the cat’s back.

“Three or four times a week. If it gets too late sometimes, I sleep in the guest room.”

Dominic frowned.

“Does any of this really matter?”

“Yes.”

I looked straight at him.

“Dominic, we’ve been together for three years, and I need your approval just to walk into your home. She can come and go whenever she wants. She can even spend the night. You honestly think that’s fair?”

He walked to the kitchen island and poured himself a glass of water.

“Chloe takes care of Cannoli. She needs access.”

“What about me?”

“You don’t.”

Two words. Sharp and final.

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.

“I’m your girlfriend, but apparently I don’t need access to your home?”

“Astrid, being my girlfriend doesn’t give you the right to walk into my home whenever you feel like it.”

Dominic set down his glass and tapped the counter twice with his fingertips.

He always did that when his patience was wearing thin.

“I’ve told you plenty of times. I don’t like people showing up unannounced. Chloe is different. You appearing out of nowhere tonight was inappropriate.”

Chloe lowered her eyes and spoke softly.

“Dominic, don’t say it like that. You’re going to hurt Astrid. I can remove my fingerprint if you want. Building security can let me up from now on.”

She offered to remove it, but she didn’t move an inch.

Just as I expected, Dominic stopped her.

“Don’t. Cannoli depends on you. There’s no reason to change an arrangement that works just because she’s upset.”

Cannoli jumped out of Chloe’s arms, padded right past me, and settled comfortably at Dominic’s feet.

He bent down and stroked the cat’s head.

Three years ago, I’d fallen in love with an orange tabby outside a pet store after his adoption had fallen through and he’d been returned.

I’d asked Dominic three times if we could take him home. He said no every time.

I thought pets were a hard boundary for him.

Now I knew better. His boundaries depended on who was asking.

I pulled the tie I’d bought him from my bag and set it on the kitchen island.

It was our third anniversary.

I’d come early because I wanted to surprise him.

Chloe glanced at the gift box and smiled. “That looks familiar. Dominic, don’t you already have one like it?”

Dominic opened the box and barely glanced at the tie.

“Yeah. You gave me something similar last month.”

Chloe looked at me apologetically.

“I must’ve gotten them mixed up. I thought he would’ve told you.”

Dominic closed the box and slid it back across the island to me.

“Return it. No point wasting money.”

“Do you know what today is?”

He glanced at his watch.

“Thursday.”

Chloe’s phone suddenly rang.

When she hung up, she looked troubled.

“The vet says Cannoli’s due for his booster, but I’ve got something tonight.”

Dominic picked up his car keys.

“I’ll go with you.”

Only after he reached the entryway did he look back at me.

“You should head home too. Next time, wait for me to confirm before you even leave your place.”

I didn’t take the tie.

I asked only one quiet question. “Dominic, what if I want access too?”

He went silent for two seconds.

“Astrid, don’t test me like this.”

The door shut in my face.