The progress Lena and Dominic had made over the last few weeks felt fragile, like a delicate thread that could snap at any moment. They were talking more, working together with fewer sharp edges, but there were still barriers neither of them could fully break through. And Lena could feel it—Dominic's hesitation, his refusal to let anyone see past the fortress he had built around his emotions.
One evening, Lena found herself wandering through the halls of their shared penthouse, her mind restless. The tension between them was different now—less combative but still heavy with unspoken words. They were two people trying to navigate an impossible situation, each carrying emotional baggage that neither was willing to unpack.
Dominic was in his study when she knocked softly on the door. He looked up from his desk, his expression wary but not unkind.
"Do you have a minute?" Lena asked, lingering in the doorway.
He gestured for her to come in, leaning back in his chair as she approached. "What's on your mind?"
Lena hesitated, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her sweater. "I wanted to talk about us—our arrangement. I know we've been trying to make things work, but I can't help feeling like there's still a wall between us. And I don't think it's just because of the marriage contract."
Dominic's jaw tightened, his gaze dropping to the papers on his desk. "What do you want me to say, Lena? That I have walls? That I've spent years building them?"
"Yes," Lena said softly. "That's exactly what I want you to say. I want you to admit it, at least to yourself. You can't expect this marriage to work if you keep shutting me out every time we get close to something real."
His eyes snapped back to hers, a flicker of anger crossing his face before it faded into something else—something almost like fear.
"You think it's that simple?" he asked, his voice quieter now. "That I can just tear down years of conditioning, years of protecting myself, because you asked me to?"
"I'm not asking for all of it," Lena said, taking a step closer. "I'm just asking for a start. You told me you wanted trust. Well, trust goes both ways, Dominic. I'm trying to let you in, but I can't do it alone."
Dominic stood, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "You don't understand what you're asking for, Lena. I've spent my entire life being told that vulnerability is weakness. That if you let someone in, they'll destroy you. And every time I've ignored that advice, I've paid for it."
Lena's heart ached at his words, but she refused to back down. "Maybe that's true," she said. "Maybe you've been hurt before. But do you really want to spend the rest of your life hiding from the people who care about you? Because I can tell you this much—it's a lonely way to live."
Her words seemed to hit him harder than she expected. For a moment, Dominic looked like he might argue, but instead, he sank back into his chair, his head in his hands.
"I don't know how to do this," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know how to let someone in without feeling like I'm giving up control. And control is the only thing I've ever had."
Lena sat down across from him, her gaze softening. "You don't have to give up control, Dominic. You just have to be willing to share it. To let someone else see the real you—the good, the bad, and everything in between. That's how trust works. That's how relationships work."
He looked up at her, his eyes filled with a vulnerability she had never seen before. "I don't know if I can," he said honestly.
"You can," Lena said, reaching out to place her hand over his. "You just have to try. And I'll be here to help you, if you'll let me."
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Then, slowly, Dominic nodded. It wasn't a promise, but it was a start.
That night, as Lena lay awake in bed, she couldn't shake the image of Dominic sitting in his study, his walls beginning to crack. She knew it wouldn't be easy—years of emotional armor didn't disappear overnight. But she also knew that this was the first real step they had taken toward something deeper, something more meaningful.
And for the first time since their marriage began, Lena felt a flicker of hope that maybe, just maybe, they could make this work.