When Dominic was thirteen, Angel joined a pageant and got a little fame under her belt. He listened when she ranted about the cameras journalist shoved in her face and how they seemed to appear in the most unlikely of places. Then he grew up, and he experienced a bit of it himself. It never really fazed him; it was their job to be in other people business. Not that he supported their intrusion, but he never felt threatened by it. A stalker, on the other hand, was something he had never experienced.

He wasn't sure exactly how to tackle that particular type of invasion of privacy. Not to mention that his in-laws, who he had never met, were in town as well and his wife was in a state. If he didn't have another class to teach, he would offer to go home with her so they could figure it all out.

"I'll call the agency and have them send some guards to the house and your office."

Nadine laughed hysterically, shaking her head. "That won't do us any good if we don't know who is following us or why. I don't think we have gotten to that stage right now. I think whoever did it just wanted to cause conflict, but I don't even want to think of it being anything sinister."

"Let's do this. Your mother is here now. If we receive any more pictures, we would know that whoever it was wanted to do more than inform your family about your whereabouts. When that happens, we report this to the police, get some guards on the house and us."

Nadine looked at him when he shifted closer, leaning into him and resting her head on his shoulder. "I want it to be an overreaction. I don't want to deal with some creep following me around. I don't."

"I know babe. I can imagine." Dominic slid his arms around her, pressing a kiss on her head. "When you leave, go straight to the police station and place a complaint about this. I'll try and do something on my part to investigate. Maybe hire someone to look into the letter your family received. An investigator might be able to give us some clarity on everything. Calm down."

Nadine nodded weakly, sighing and wrapping her arms around his waist. "It's not even well into the afternoon, and I am ready for this day to end. I can't stand it. My mom, my sister, the pictures, the letter, the call. Everything is just ricocheting inside my head like a bad dream."

"I'll hire an investigator, I promise. Hopefully, it would amount to someone just wanting to cause trouble, and that would be it."

"Okay."

He looked down at her and smiled. "One thing that won't go away is your family. Have you figured out how you are going to make introductions? I am sure news travels fast, and soon, people would talk. There is no way my parents don't find out about this. When do you plan to invite them over?"

"Would you tell them?" she perked up, her fingers plucking at the buttons of his shirt. "About the stalker."

Dominic laughed and shook his head. He did not find the situation funny, but he knew his mother would do more than just panic. His family rarely had cases of stalkers, maybe a few crazed fans in his sister's life but nothing like this. Pictures of their home; some letters and the like. His mother would throw a fit, and then the situation might turn out to be nothing in the end.

"No. I will only mention it if the investigator turns up with something tangible, but that is not what I asked. I asked about your family."

Nadine grunted. "Hm. I honestly would prefer to focus on a might be stalker than face my mother. I don't think it is going to go well. I didn't see this part of this story unfolding like this. I thought I would be in control of the situation, going home and explaining my side of the story to them. I feel like life is hurling everything at me at once, and I barely know where to start."

"You said your sister was at the wedding. That's why you were so distracted through the whole thing right."

"Nevaeh Shearman-Hicks, that's my sister's name. She was my best friend when we were little, and my leaving broke her heart. It left everyone distraught, but I never understood just how much until I saw her in that bathroom. She was so hurt, but I didn't even have time to catch on to the fact that she was in front of me because I was so scared that it meant my mom would find out."

"Well, I am sure you guys would work things out."

Nadine shook her head, kissing his chin before pulling away from him to stand up. "My parents are not the easiest of people, and as much as my leaving hurt them, I doubt it changed that. I am happy to see my mom, but I am afraid that when she comes back into my life, we might clash again."

Dominic sighed, standing to join her, taking her hand in his. "Look, it has been a stressful morning for you and is slowly becoming stressful for me too. I have an hour before my next class so let me take you to a restaurant and let's get something to drink. Calm your nerves and give us a clear mind as to what we want to do. Hmm?"

"Let's go then." She smiled, reaching for her purse then taking his hand. "I need the distraction before I explode."

Dominic smiled, walking her out of the office and into the hot afternoon. Dominic found himself looking around as he walked her to her car, making sure there was no one following them. His wife had dropped more than a bombshell on him, his in-laws were in town, they were not only rich, but royalty on top of it and someone was watching them. Hopefully the latter would prove to be nothing but a bad joke. It had to be.

Dominic turned on the bed, looking over his shoulder to discover that his wife had already woken up. He sighed, reaching over for his shirt and pulling it down his body. The house was awake, cleaners mopping up the staircases and polishing the rails. The prominent scent of spices waffling out from the kitchen, followed by the hum of low voices.

Dominic leaned against the door with a small smile on his face as he watched his wife burn through a tall glass of red wine. The maids were sharing stories with her as they worked, chatting her up and listening to her as well.

"Well, my mother liked to make Mexican foods on Saturdays." The girls laughed, and Dominic shook his head in amusement, shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts. "I had serious arguments with her, but whenever it was going too far, I would find one of her recipes and cook them for her. As a peace treaty or...gift."

Dominic rolled his eyes, shuffling forward to pluck the glass out of Nadine's fingers before she could tip the rest of the wine into her mouth. He set it aside and wadded off all of her attempts to retrieve the glass. "It has been two days since you told me about your mother being in town and you have been actively avoiding the woman. Do you think you can call her and get this over with?"

"No."

He laughed, pressing his nose into her hair with a resigned sigh. "Yes. Maybe not right now but you can't avoid her forever. Don't bring up the phone calls either, because they are not enough. She wants to see you."

"I am aware of that. I would like that as well. Recover lost time and whatnot, but it is ridiculously difficult to look past the fact that my mom is unconsciously difficult to reason with. Fourteen years didn't change that. I don't want to fight with her, but it is unavoidable."

"So you resort to drinking at seven in the morning?"

"I was hoping to calm my nerves enough to call her by the end of the bottle. Or the day, or the week, or the month, or the year."

Dominic smiled at the maids in greeting and grabbed the bottle of wine off the table. Squeezing Nadine's shoulder, he leaned closer to speak by her ear. "Grab some glasses and let's go out to the pool. Please bring us a bowl of fruit."

They nodded and he turned around, weaving his fingers through Nadine's and helping her down from the stool. Nadine blew a kiss to the people who greeted her when they got outside but nestled beside him as he walked them to the far end of the pool, mumbling to herself, much to his amusement. Nadine squatted down to drop the glasses on the side table before sliding to his side on the lounger.

After some silence, he looked down at her, rubbing his palm over her back. "Look, it has been an eventful three days for both of us, but the longer you wait, the less choice you are giving yourself. Example number one would be your mom turning up three days ago."

"I know. I know. It's just so easy to think about it but doing it is something else. We disagree on a lot of things. Long before I left, we would butt heads on any and everything. I don't think I have the strength to face it if she has some doubts about my life now."

"Well, you should expect it." Nadine turned her head up to him in question, and he tapped her nose with a one-sided smile. "Your mom missed your engagement, your dating life, college, your marriage, the opening of your restaurant, grandchildren. She is going to feel some bitterness on that."

"True."

"Why don't you meet with her? Fight at once and then get on the road to healing once and for all?"

Nadine shrugged, pushing up again to pour them a healthy round of wine before settling back at his side, resting her glass against his stomach. "You make a good point. I am sure if Nevaeh is there, we would be less likely to attack each other. If she mentions anything about you that sounds unflattering, I am going to have words with her though."

"Or not." Dominic laughed, taking a sip of the wine and relaxing into the lounger. "Remember what I said about her missing out on most of our relationship? She is going to be sour about that, she missed a lot of things. Just trying to be understanding even when you are trying to make her understand you."

"Easier said than done." Nadine looked at him. "I know I said I wouldn't think on this much but in the light of facing terrifying situations, have you hired that investigator?"

He nodded, looking out towards the pool. "I called someone, and he got in yesterday to start working on it. We are meeting later today to discuss the issue, but he mentioned needing to see the photos and the letter. Honestly, I can't explain what he was saying to me, but it would make more sense when we meet face to face."

"I'll go with you," she muttered. Patting his chest as she turned to drop her glass on the table. "I can call my sister to bring me the things and then we would go see him together."

"And..." he prompted, tugging on a fistful of her hair.

"And talk to my mother to see if she is free to have breakfast in the restaurant." Nadine laughed suddenly. "I would close out the private room for us because I don't I want to find our conversation on the first page of the gossip columns the next morning."

Dominic smiled. "Fair enough. Whatever happens, we would just try to work through it. Your mother would come around, and if she has any problems with me then we would give that time."

Nadine nodded again, resting her head against his chest. She slung her arm over his waist and stretched her leg over his. Dominic stared at the pool, watching at the water ripple while his thoughts wandered.

After getting in contact with the private investigator, he became more worried that the issue of a stalker would not just be someone trying to mess around with his wife. There was a possibility that there was someone out there determined to make their lives uncomfortable. If that turned out to be the case, then his mother-in-law would be the least of his issues.