By a Thread

Dominic travels to Los Angeles, California, for LA’s Fashion Week. He and Ally keep up via text. The next morning, Ally wakes early to Dominic returning home. He tells her to get up and pack because he has a surprise for her. He took a red-eye home from California because he couldn’t wait to see her. First, he surprises her with a new piano. Then they pack some things to spend the weekend away.

Dominic takes Ally to his mom’s ski chalet in Connecticut. They spend the weekend sleeping, having sex, and eating. When they return home, Dominic drives Ally to her dad’s house. As they approach, Ally calculates all the work she has left to do. She’s shocked when she notices the exterior looks cleaner than she remembered. Dominic reveals that he hired a team to finish the renovation while they were away. Overwhelmed, Ally starts crying. She doesn’t know how she’ll ever repay him. Dominic stops her by kissing her.

Ally and Dominic sneak “out of the office for lunch” (458). Their conversation gets interrupted when Paul shows up uninvited and joins their table. He tells Dominic he needs money. The two get into an argument, which they take outside. Dominic accuses Paul of taking no responsibility for his crimes and forcing him and Dalessandra to pay off his victims. Paul dismisses these accusations, insisting that Dominic’s relationship with Ally is evidence that he’s just like Paul. Dominic punches Paul in the face. Paul insists that Dominic will pay for refusing to help his father.

Ally tries to give Dominic space after what happened with Paul. However, she feels hurt that he isn’t confiding in her. She finds him in his office and tells him she wants him to need her and doesn’t like solely relying on him. Dominic insists he likes being needed by her. Then they have sex.

Dalessandra calls a meeting with Dominic. She’s just received word that Elena doesn’t want to be on the issue’s next cover. Dominic decides to go see Elena to convince her otherwise. He feels uncomfortable when he arrives at her apartment. He’s even more upset when Elena reveals she’s pulling out because Paul offered her the Indulgence cover. She has to take Paul’s offer because he’s threatening to publicize the sex tape he made of her if she doesn’t oblige. Dominic knew Elena cheated on him when they were together but didn’t know it was with his father, Paul.

Dominic meets with Dalessandra, Linus, Irvin, and Shayla at the office and explains what’s going on with Elena. He texts Ally to say he’s going to be late because he and Dalessandra are trying to come up with a cover alternative. Afterward, he hears his colleagues cooing over Christian’s social media images of Ally.

Ally is still up when Dominic returns home. Furious about Christian’s photos, he accuses her of cheating on him and using him to get media attention. He insists she’s been taking advantage of his money all along. Ally protests, explaining that she was only helping Christian with a shoot. Dominic won’t listen and demands she leave his house.

At work the next day, Dalessandra confronts Dominic about hurting Ally. She accuses him of being a fool and demands that he start acting like an adult. After she leaves, Christian shows up at Dominic’s office. He also accuses Dominic of hurting Ally when all she did was love him. Dominic is shocked but tells Christian off. After Christian leaves, Dominic reflects on his behavior, realizing that Ally isn’t Elena. Then he receives a payment from Ally. She wants to pay him back for the renovation. Suddenly, Malina bursts in. She tells Dominic she’s quitting and urges him to talk to Gola, Shayla, and Dalessandra about all of the secrets Label has been covering.

Ally packs up her things when Dominic isn’t home and heads back to Jersey. She’s still feeling heartbroken when she meets with her real estate agent. She’s glad he’s listing the house but feels overwhelmed. Realizing she’s in love with Dominic but can’t forgive him, she texts Faith to meet up. They go out drinking. Faith is sympathetic to Ally’s heartbreak.

Dominic spends the next several hours meeting with his colleagues, HR, and Shayla and Gola. After he realizes how much the company has been covering up, he and Dalessandra work together to air these secrets and embrace transparency.

That evening, Harry calls Dominic to talk about Ally. Harry and Delaney agree that Dominic has really hurt Ally, but he can make up for it by letting her love him.

Dominic starts emailing Ally multiple times a day. The emails include apologies, memories, and new revelations about Dominic’s past. He promises to wait for her and lists all of the things he misses about her. In one email, he explains why he blames himself for Paul’s crimes. He’d known about his dad’s behavior for decades, but Paul threatened him if he told anyone. Dominic kept Paul’s secrets and Paul went on “to prey on and violate women” (513).

Over the following month, Ally reads and rereads all of Dominic’s emails but never responds because she wants to move on. Then one day, she goes to the nursing home to see her dad and receives good news. Braden and the staff reveal that she’s been awarded the Lady George Administration Memory Care Grant, which will cover the next year of her dad’s care. On the way home afterward, her real estate agent calls to say he’s gotten a cash offer on the house from an anonymous buyer. Thrilled, Ally tells him to accept.

Things continue falling into place for Ally over the following weeks. The police catch the man who scammed her. A design firm contacts her about new work after seeing her work in Label. Then the house sale goes through. Afterward, HR calls Ally about collecting her final paycheck. The clerk tells Ally how much Dominic cares about her because he’s the one who sent food to admin and bought her electronics with his own money. Off the phone, Ally reflects on everything that’s happened. Then she realizes that Dominic has been behind every good thing in her life recently. He even made up the grant to pay for her dad’s care.

Ally works a shift at her new serving job one night. Suddenly Dominic walks in and orders a pizza. Overwhelmed by emotion, she races to the back to spell a message on his pie. When she brings it out, Dominic is gone but he left an envelope on the counter for her. Inside she finds the deed to her dad’s house (he bought it and wants her to have it), an article exposing Deena (he had her investigated and she was fired for intimidating families to get bonuses on collections), and the newest Label issue (in which he and Dalessandra highlight sexual assault survivors’ stories).

Ally takes Dominic’s pie and races outside. She finds him at the park on a bench. She demands he open his pizza, where she’s spelled out “I Love You” in pepperoni. He throws the pie, they profess their love, and they kiss.

Dominic takes Ally on a beach vacation for her birthday. They lounge near the water, drink margaritas, and profess their love. Then Ally announces that she’s pregnant. Dominic is thrilled. Suddenly Faith and Christian—now a couple—appear and ask if Dominic proposed. He takes Ally’s hand and asks her to marry him. She accepts.

A year later, Ally, Dominic, and their daughter Maya are living a happy life in New Jersey. Then one day, Dominic surprises Ally by walking her down the street to her dream house. He announces that he’s already bought it for her.

Roughly 10 years later, Ally, Dominic, Maya, and their two adopted children are living in the dream house. While baking cookies for her kids one day, Ally marvels at what a wonderful father Dominic is and what a wonderful life they’ve made together. The two profess their love and sneak off to have sex.