Fight Men Not Love

Chapter Twelve

Today, I'll be spending time with Inez. Beckett was at work and so I don't have anything else to do.

Dominic has to go to the office and I will be left with Inez. I fixed myself in the mirror. I had on a midnight blue sundress that Yvonne bought for me. She'd taken a casual route for the outfits and I couldn't be happier. There were fancy clothes as well. It was a balance that I didn't mind. I slipped on white flats and put my hair in a messy but cute ponytail.

Walking to the kitchen, I could hear Dominic and Inez talking.

"No, baby, you can't dye your hair. It's against the school rules, right?" Dominic said.

"But there is a-a girl that dyed her hair pink. Why can't I do it daddy?" Inez sounded sad.

"Okay, since it's the holiday, I'll let you dye your hair, and when school is opened, you have to wash it off," he suggested, eyeing me from the corner of his eyes.

"Why can't I keep it?" She asked. Dominic sighed.

"Okay, I'll speak to your teacher. How about that?" He caved in. Inez squealed, wrapping her tiny arms around Dominic, who kissed her head softly.

"Hi Lyn!" She squealed when she saw me. My face stretched in a smile automatically.

"Hi Inez," I greeted back, settling down next to her. Immediately, she crawled over to where I was and abandoned his father, who stared, quite shocked.

"Just like that?" He asked, and Inez giggled. She wasted no time in touching my hair and I didn't mind honestly. I loved that she was comfortable with me.

I can't wait to be friends with her.

There was something about her, that drew me in. I felt an immense amount of feelings for this little girl. Like she was almost...mine to cherish and protect and...adore. I had no intentions of suppressing those feelings.

"How old are you, Lyn?" She asked me. I didn't expect that question from a four year old, but then again, I didn't mind.

"24," I told her, fixing her skirt.

"I'm 4," she tells me happily. "Your hair is so soft. What colour do you think I should dye my hair?"

"M-me?" I eyed Dominic, who was busy with breakfast. The man knew how to cook, that's for sure. "Why do you want to dye your hair?"

"I want something different, I guess," she said with a sigh. Mature child, I see.

"Okay then how about, purple? Purple would look great on you," I said. Her eyes lit up. "And maybe just the tips, you know, to create an ombre style."

"No way!" She gasped. "Purple is my favorite color,"

"Really? Cause that was a lucky guess," she giggled.

"What's yours?"

"I like any shade of green, blue, " I said with a shrug. "And...turquoise," I added.

"What's turquoise?" She frowned.

"I'll show you," I grabbed my phone and searched the color turquoise. "It's this one," I showed her.

"It's so pretty. That looks like green though," I giggled, thinking back to when Camerin and I argued the very same thing. He was convinced it was green disguised as blue.

Fuck. Camerin.

"Well, you could say that. I guess it's a mixture of blue and green." She nodded and went back to touching my hair. "Hey, do you want to see something cool?" I asked her after some time. I scrolled through my YouTube channel and found my videos that I made a long time ago.

"What is that?" She inquired, turning slightly at the screen.

"It's a bag made out of resin," I tell her, even though she might not understand. "It starts like this and then we let it dry and add the accessories, then voila, a bag,"

"It's so pretty," she gushed. "I want that one," she pointed at the purple and gold one. The colours blended together perfectly and swirled around to clear this beautiful look. "Daddy, look. Can I have this bag?" She turned to Dominic.

"Which one baby?" He wiped his hands and then walked over to us. Inez handed him my phone and watched the 30 second video. "You make these?" He looked up at me, quite surprised.

"Well, I used to," I admitted quietly.

"Can you make me one? Please?" Inez pleaded with me, giving me her puppy dog eyes. Oh she's too adorable.

"I don't have the equipment to make it, Inez," I said regretfully. I know that I can get Lesley, Camerin's sister to make one for Inez, but I wasn't ready for people to know that I am back.

I wasn't ready for that much attention on me.

Inez's face fell and I felt so bad. "I know who can make one for you, though," I said in hopes to cheer her up.

"But I wanted you to make one for me, Lyn," oh my heart broke. The sadness seeping in her voice.

"Uhm, okay, maybe I can speak to my friend and he will get me what I need. Then we can make it together. How's that?" Her face lit up.

"Really? I get to make one too?" She squealed and I just melted. I nodded, not knowing how the hell I was going to fulfill that. She threw her small arms around me, jumping.

"Okay," she said happily. I eyed Dominic and he was smiling at us. He placed my phone down and went back to making food.

Soon, we ate our food. Just the three of us. Inez asked me more questions and I answered happily. Dominic was mostly on his phone, answering the endless texts he was getting.

It was time for him to leave and I offered to do the dishes, which he strongly declined. I asked him if there was a helper in this house, he told he liked doing things for himself.

"What about...Inez? Who does she stay with when you're at the office?" I asked him quietly, watching his back as he washed the plates.

"She comes with me to the office. I have a playroom for her that she uses, right across my office," he tells me.

"And her mom? Isn't she supposed to be with her?" I watched him stiffen and knew I asked the wrong question. Biting my lip, I looked down. "Sorry,"

"No, it's fine," he sighed. "She, uh..." I watched him struggle, a frown gracing his face. "She doesn't want anything to do with her," my eyes widened at that.

"That's absurd," I said bashfully. His eyes flickered up to mine. "Why would you abandon your own child?" I felt so sad for Inez. It's quite clear that she's yearning for a mother figure. What kind of a person would do that? The thought of leaving my own child is repulsive. "That's...wrong," I murmured quietly, my mood already changing.

Fuck. I wanted to cry. Why was I so emotional?

"Well, it's not a train smash. I got her," he said softly and turned back to wash the plates left. A tear slid down my face and I moved to wipe it quickly.

"She's lucky to have you," I said quietly. Dominic turned to look at me and I held his blue eyes for a moment. I looked away, feeling more tears threatening to spill. "Excuse me," I said getting off the chair.

Uh," I stopped by the corner, and turned to him. "If it's...okay with you, I'd like to stay with her," I said softly.

"I don't see why not. She seems to like you," he voiced out. I smiled at that.

"I like her too," I said.

"Well, I can leave her here, if she says yes. Or the two of you can come with me to the office," he suggested.

"I'll ask her," I said and walked out to find Inez. She was in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. She stood on a purple stool so she can reach the sink.

I waited for her to finish, admiring how she's able to do all of these things by herself.

"Hey Inez, do you want to stay here, with me or go to the office, with your dad?" I asked her when she was done.

"Can we go to the office?" She asked instantly. I nodded.

"Okay, give me a second to get ready," I went back to my room and brushed my teeth. I fixed my hair again, and applied light makeup. I opted for a lip gloss instead of lipstick.

I grabbed my small handbag- the only small bag I owned- and went out. Dominic led us outside into his black fancy car. There were about six cars parked right outside. I saw more men than I intended to, walking around, in suits. One of them walked over to us.

"Hey Nico," Inez greeted him and he rewarded her with a smile and a high five. His eyes lingered on me for a second before he focused on Dominic again.

"This is Evelyn, she'll be staying with us. If she needs to go somewhere, I trust that you'll have someone going with her," Dominic said.

"Yes sir," Nico said, nodding to Dominic. He walked ahead of us and opened the door for us. Dominic let Inez and I go in first and him last.

Inez showed me this dress up game she was playing in her iPad. I would toss in my comments every now and then and it seemed to make her happy.

The building was huge to say the least and it glass exterior design reflected the sky. The name Sullivan Inc. was at the front.

When we got inside, eyes were immediately on us. I gripped Inez's hand and followed Dominic, who strode into the building, tall and proud. Like he owned the property. I mean, he did, but that's not the point.

"Mr Sullivan, there are people waiting for you in the boardroom," a young man rushed over to us, an iPad in his hands.

Dominic stopped, looking at his expensive watch, with a frown. "I don't remember scheduling a meeting for 8 o'clock," he said.

"Well..." the young man hesitated. "It's the Elders," Dominic visibly groaned.

"Oh God, they won't leave me alone," he murmured. "Okay, I'll attend to them soon. Follow me, please. I need you to do something for me,"

People were eyeing me curiously and I wanted so badly to glare at them. Especially the men that eyed me with lust.

Bunch of horny dogs.

"You got an invite to the annual Ball, held by the Richards," the young man went on. I'm guessing he was his PA. An unusual sight to come across. Normally, they hire women for these jobs.

"Oh yeah. Jackson mentioned it," Dominic said.

"Well, you have an extra invite," the man went on. "For your plus one," he cleared his throat. Dominic eyed him.

"When did I ever bring a plus one, Ashton?" Dominic inquired. Ashton shrugged, smiling. He turned to look at me, for the first time. Dominic eyed me as well, before realization dawned on him. "Really, Ashton?"

"I was just, you know," he tilted his head side to side. "Never mind," he said with a chuckle. We filed into the empty elevator and it took us up. "Hi, I'm Ashton. Mr Sullivan's Personal Assistant," he introduced himself, reaching out for a handshake. I eyed him carefully, now that I was facing him. Typical blonde hair blue eyes. He wore glasses. He wasn't as fit as Dominic, but he was lean.

"Lyn, look, it's a purple dress," Inez pulled me down by the dress. I tried to crouch down as lower as possible without busting my ass out and looked at Inez.

"It's so pretty. What about this one?" I pointed at the ombre pink and purple dress. She pressed on it and she squealed excitedly.

I stayed down, not liking the fact that I was in a closed space with two males and a minor.

No matter how much I will it, the fear never goes away, I guess it'll always linger.

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UNEDITED