The Morning Provocation

"Dominic, I'm a little scared being alone." Chloe’s voice trembled through the dim bedroom.

The figure clinging to Dominic's back was unmistakably Chloe. Her thin arms wrapped tight around his shoulders, pressing her face against his spine.

Dominic reached back without a second of hesitation. He took her trembling hands, his voice dropping into a soft, soothing register that he rarely ever used. "What's the matter? Not comfortable in a new place?"

Chloe offered a faint, pitiful nod, her chin digging into his shirt.

Dominic's posture softened further. The irritation he had just directed at Valerie vanished without a trace. "I'll stay with you. Don't worry."

Chloe shifted her gaze toward the other side of the bed, acting as if she had only just noticed Valerie sitting there in the dark.

"Sorry. Did I interrupt you and Valerie?" Chloe asked, her voice quivering with expertly crafted anxiety. "I know Valerie doesn't welcome me here, Dominic. This is all my fault. Please don't argue with her because of me. I'll just leave."

Dominic cast a scolding glance over his shoulder. "No, she's not that petty."

Valerie pulled her knees up, a smile laced with biting sarcasm curling her lips. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

She had not uttered a single syllable before this intrusion. Yet Chloe managed to drag her into the center of the drama time and again, painting her as the villain. Even a saint possessed limits, and Valerie refused to roll over for this performance.

Chloe blinked, her eyes widening in stunned silence. She clearly had not expected the typically patient Valerie to outright tell her to leave. Tears pooled in her eyes, turning her gaze into a pitiful, wounded plea as she looked up at Dominic.

Seeing Chloe reduced to tears instantly darkened Dominic's expression into a stormy glare. "Valerie, you are going too far. I brought Chloe here. Who gave you the right to throw her out? Her depression is acting up, and you are still coming at her like this? How did you become so hostile?"

He turned away from the bed. He raised a hand and gently wiped a stray tear from Chloe's cheek. "It is alright, Chloe. As long as I am here, I won't let Valerie bully you."

Chloe leaned softly into his embrace, burying her face against his chest. "I know you care about me, Dominic. After all, Valerie is your fiancée. It is my fault. I have been leaning on you too much. I realize this isn't right, but you are the only one I have left. I don't know who else to turn to. Please don't fight with Valerie over me."

As the words left her mouth, Chloe tilted her head. Her eyes flicked over Dominic's shoulder to lock directly onto Valerie. The timid, sorrowful act evaporated from her gaze, replaced by a defiant, mocking glint.

Chloe silently mouthed the words in the shadows: *You lost. Admit it. You can't beat me.*

Valerie sat perfectly still. She had spent the last few hours convincing herself that her heart was numb to his blatant favoritism. Watching Dominic jump to Chloe's defense without a shred of hesitation drove a fresh wave of pain straight through her chest. It stung, sharp and unrelenting.

She refused to engage with the juvenile provocation. Her stare turned as cold as ice, fixing on the two of them standing by the doorway. "Get out."

It was a direct eviction notice. Plain and simple.

Dominic met her gaze. Her eyes were devoid of any ripple of emotion, lacking the usual fiery jealousy or desperate pleas for his attention. An inexplicable surge of unease crept over him. He knew full well how deeply Valerie felt about him. In the past, whenever she got worked up, a bit of gentle coaxing from him was all it took to settle her down. This time, the fiery resentment was gone, replaced by a chilling detachment.

Dominic opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe disentangled herself from his arms.

She took a few timid steps toward the bed, extending a hesitant hand toward Valerie. "Valerie, are you still upset? It is all my fault. I am sorry. Don't take it out on Dominic."

The instant Chloe's fingers grazed the air near her shoulder, Valerie jerked back. She felt viscerally repulsed by the mere idea of the woman's touch. Her stomach churned at the proximity, unable to bear the presence of the woman who constantly orchestrated her misery.

With an abrupt, theatrical yelp, Chloe threw herself backward. She flailed her arms, deliberately stumbling over her own feet to hit the floor with a heavy thud. She landed right at Dominic's feet.

"Chloe." Dominic dropped into a crouch. He swept her up into a protective princess carry, his face etched with panic.

Chloe whimpered through fresh, streaming tears. "Dominic, don't blame Valerie. I upset her. It is my fault. It is understandable she would snap like that. Don't hold it against her."

With just a handful of perfectly timed words, she pinned the physical assault squarely on Valerie's shoulders. Chloe had not even made physical contact. Yet her phrasing made it crystal clear to Dominic that Valerie had shoved her to the ground.

Furious, Dominic directed a venomous glare at the bed. "Valerie, you have gone too far. Apologize to Chloe right now."

He had swallowed Chloe's narrative without a single question. He stood there, demanding apologies and threatening his fiancée over a fabricated push.

Faced with his blind, unquestioning defense, Valerie let out a dry, hollow laugh. She refused to apologize for a crime she did not commit.

"I didn't push her. Why should I apologize? Dominic, if those eyes of yours are useless, donate them to someone who needs them." She leaned back against the headboard, crossing her arms.

Her mockery sent Dominic into a raging fury. "Valerie, you are impossible."

Valerie merely scoffed. She was done debating reality with a man who chose to be blind.

Chloe tightened her grip on his shirt, burying her face into his neck. "Dominic, I think I sprained my ankle. It hurts so bad."

She punctuated the lie with a pathetic sob that tore at Dominic's heart.

He shot Valerie one final, scorching look. "You had better hope Chloe is alright."

Without waiting for a response, Dominic adjusted his grip on the crying woman and stormed out of the bedroom. The heavy oak door slammed shut behind them, the sound echoing through the sudden, suffocating quiet of the room.

Valerie remained on the bed. Watching his frantic, protective figure retreat left her with a jarring sense of bitter irony. She knew how deeply Dominic cared for Chloe. Witnessing it up close, in her own home, in her own bedroom, hit differently. The blatant disregard for her dignity stripped away any lingering illusions she held about their relationship. She could not even name the emotions swirling inside her chest. A dull throb pulsed in her ribs, slowly giving way to a heavy, hollow numbness.

Any trace of sleep had long since vanished. Valerie sank back onto the mattress. Even with her eyes shut against the dark, her mind replayed Dominic's furious, accusatory glare on loop. She spent the entire night locked in an agonizing, restless state, staring at the ceiling until the faint gray light of dawn crept through the curtains.

By morning, she woke up with a foggy, aching head. Her temples pulsed with a faint, steady rhythm as she made her way downstairs.

The house was quiet. Valerie wandered into the sprawling, modern kitchen.

Under normal circumstances, she would already be standing by the stove at this hour. She would be measuring out the oats, simmering them to the exact consistency to accommodate Dominic's sensitive stomach. Ever since they moved in together, she had handled his meals with careful precision, catering to his childhood digestive issues. She never even liked oatmeal. She had simply stuck with the tedious routine for years out of love.

Valerie opened the pantry. Her hand instinctively reached for the tall glass jar of rolled oats on the middle shelf. Her fingers brushed the cold glass.

She froze. Old habits really did die hard.

A bitter smile touched her lips. She pulled her hand back, officially breaking the ingrained routine. Valerie took the jar of oats and shoved it into the darkest, furthest corner of the cabinet. She firmly shut the pantry door. She would not cater to him anymore.

She opted for a quick, simple breakfast instead. She refused to sacrifice her own morning peace to play the devoted housewife. Within minutes, she brewed a strong cup of black coffee and assembled a basic ham and cheese sandwich. She carried her plate to the kitchen island and pulled out a stool.

Just as she sat down, a bubbly figure popped into the kitchen.

Chloe wore a silky, low-cut slip dress that clung tight to her waist, leaving very little to the imagination. Her tone was chipper and bright, a jarring contrast to the weeping victim from the night before. "Ms. Thorne, you are in fine form this morning. I figured you would be tossing and turning all night, heartbroken after yesterday."

As Chloe leaned against the marble counter, Valerie's gaze drifted down. Chloe boldly flaunted a cluster of vivid, dark hickeys scattered across her pale collarbone. The purple and red bruises were fresh, stark, and impossible to miss against the deep neckline of her dress.

Noticing the direction of Valerie's stare, Chloe lifted her chin triumphantly. She let out a soft, mocking titter.

"Dominic is such a beast," Chloe gloated, trailing a manicured fingernail over the bruised skin on her neck. "I begged him to go easy last night. I told him no marks, but he just wouldn't listen. He has so much pent-up energy."

Valerie took a slow sip of her black coffee, the hot liquid burning its way down her throat.

Chloe sneered, leaning in closer to deliver the venomous blow. "Valerie, he says you are so dull he cannot even stand to touch you. You bore him in bed. How sad is that? To have a man refuse to fuck you because your sex life is that inadequate. If I were you, I would want to smash my head into a wall and call it quits."

Chloe stood tall, basking in her crude verbal attack. She waited for the tears, the screaming, the shattered pride.

Valerie did not bat an eye. She set her ceramic mug down on the counter with a quiet clink. She picked up half of her sandwich and took a calm, measured bite, chewing in total silence. Her face remained a mask of icy detachment.

The deafening lack of a reaction deflated the smug satisfaction right out of Chloe's chest. She had gunned to provoke a hysterical breakdown. Instead, she swung at thin air. Denied the reaction she desperately craved, Chloe clenched her jaw in mounting irritation. Her hands gripped the edge of the marble island until her knuckles turned white.

Spotting Dominic descending the stairs from the corner of her eye, Chloe shot Valerie a hateful glare and quickly closed the distance between them in a few deliberate steps.