Unconditional Read Free

ignored them, not giving a shit what they or anyone else, for that matter, thought.
    ***
    Rinah slammed into her office a few minutes later, her senses reeling from seeing Dominic so unexpectedly. Her limbs were still violently quivering in the aftermath of their recent encounter. She sank gratefully down in her chair behind her desk, and curled her fingers into a fist and crossed her legs at the ankles, trying to quell her trembling. She couldn’t believe what had transpired moments ago at Café Luis.
    After all these months, this was how they would meet? She didn’t know what emotion affected her more, her anger from his highhandedness, or the overwhelming awareness she felt upon hearing his husky voice and getting a whiff of his familiar cologne.
    The law firm had an account at that prominent eatery. She had managed to evade many of the business lunches or dinners since returning to work a month before. Dominic was the business mogul about town. This was his world, his domain, and she knew it would have been impossible to steer clear of him. As a result, she usually ate lunch at the office.
    Having a brief meal at her desk allowed her to complete work as quickly as possible and get home to her children at a decent hour. Rinah smiled as she thought of her son Matt, who was a four-year-old replica of his father, and her three-month-old daughter Nicole. Nicole had her mouth and nose, but the piercing silver eyes of her father. Both children had light brown skin, a complete mixture of their parents. They were now her world, but only eight months ago, Dominic had been the center of that sphere.
    Now in the quiet of her office, her mood threatened to descend into despondency. She was consumed with the memory of the end of her marriage. It was the day her husband had chosen to walk away rather than to explain or apologize for his behavior.
    He’d let them go, something she never thought he’d ever do.
    Long before the end, she remembered her suspicions. Dominic’s endless hours in the office, and numerous days away on business. The hurt and anger were further fueled by the malicious taunting of Flavia Kouris, one of Dominic’s executive team members, who was the sister of his childhood friend Victor.
    Flavia had been with him almost from the very beginning, and had known him as a little boy. Because she was Victor’s younger sister, Dominic often said he thought of her as his little sister. But Flavia indicated theirs was a more intimate relationship than that of mere siblings. She made sure from the onset Rinah was well aware of her position and intentions, as they related to Dominic.
    Wanting to trust her husband, Rinah hadn’t questioned Flavia’s position in his life. Then Flavia became more aggressive, insisting they were lovers. In the early days of their marriage, when asked Dominic patiently explained the close relationship he had with the Kouris. Initially, he’d taken into account her need to understand. However, every few months throughout their five-year marriage, something, or someone, usually Flavia, would trigger another round of suspicion and doubt she couldn’t ignore.
    Flavia would maliciously stroke those doubts, telephoning Rinah from whatever hotel the team was staying at, answering Dominic’s phone from within his hotel room, or worse still, answering his mobile whenever he was otherwise occupied.
    She would again seek reassurance from her husband, but over time, it became an exercise in patience he was no longer willing to entertain. He was a busy man and her last round of accusation made him erupt in impatience. He simply told her to grow up. He would no longer explain himself.
    But the doubts wouldn’t go away. Then she witnessed an act she couldn’t ignore. It shattered her world. She’d been lacerated by his betrayal. Finally, Rinah couldn’t accept the explanations and wasn’t willing to turn a blind eye to what had been made blatantly clear to her. He had been unfaithful to her,