“I have a car parked in the alley. Let me walk you out.” He held me steady as he guided me through the restaurant, keeping up appearances until we were outside.
His driver was smoking outside but upon seeing Dante stood straighter, flicking it away as he rushed to open the back door. Dante flicked his wrist in dismissal, the man jumping behind the driver’s seat and keeping his eyes straight ahead instead of looking at us.
“I can’t leave, Ilaria. I have to-”
“I didn’t ask you to come back with me.” The way Dante was grinding his teeth, probably ready to tell me to stop interrupting him but I didn’t give a single fuck about what Dante wanted. “Bye.” I pushed towards the car but he grabbed me, lowering his lips towards me but, I turned my head, letting his lips hit my cheek.
He was shocked but recovered quickly from my denial. Straightening his back as he cleared his throat, eyes on me as he tried to see what was going on with me but I wouldn’t give the man another inch of my life.
I learned my lesson.
Slipping into the back of the car I knew it was only a five minute ride to the penthouse and I prayed I could keep in the tears that were threatening to fall.
Fuck any man who ever made me cry. They have never been worth a single tear and I’m sick of wasting them on fucks.
But they fell anyway, not caring about my pleas that they did not.
The sob came out as I covered my mouth, feeling the driver’s eyes on me in the mirror. Making a spectacle of myself that I was sure he was going to tell Dante about.
I just needed twenty minutes in the place to get changed, pack a bag and escape for a few days with my friends.
My life had been filled with adventures and friendship. I’d take as many of those as I could before being tied to Dante.
Fuck, now that I knew he had a goomar lined up I would take them after I was married as well.
If he wasn’t going to change his life for our engagement, why would I?
When the car stopped, I saw the driver ready to ask if I was okay or if I needed a minute but I threw the door open, rushing inside without a word and riding up to the penthouse with my tears as the music that played.
If I called my friends they would all be here in a moment, crawling on Dante’s bed as they hugged me and turning on some romcom to comfort me. They would be spoon feeding me chocolate banana ice cream like it was medicine and I was the patient.
But I wanted them to rally around me and some more fun together.
Which meant borrowing my fathers plane without permission and going on a girls trip. Girls trip being code word for getting more revenge on those who had wronged us.
But I’m really good at apologizing so I’ll cross that bridge when I get there with my father.
There were boxes of things that had been delivered earlier from my fathers house littering the living room and bedroom at the penthouse.
I had tried to unpack some of the stuff before the opening but as I looked around I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to get everything done.
I was throwing the dress I wore on the bed, cursing as I pulled on the jeans and cami I had worn earlier to the photoshoot with Dante.
I didn’t know where any of my luggage was so I grabbed one of my large purses, stuffing some undergarments in them, a pair of jean shorts and six bikinis. I pulled a couple dresses off the hangers they had been placed in earlier and shoved two pairs of heels inside. I grabbed my crossbody that I knew had all my ID’s, cards and sunglasses and grabbed a phone charger.
Texting my friends I was on the way, I called the company my father used to pilot his plane. Asking if we could head to Puerto Rico within the hour.
Thankfully there was someone on duty and we could leave tonight.
A few clicks on my phone and we had a company booked to clean the house and July 4th vacation plans.
I was going to escape this situation and not think about anything for a few days except my friends, which was just what I needed.
My phone vibrated as I sat in the Lyft, looking down as I saw I had been tagged in a post. Opening the photo app, I froze as I saw the picture from earlier.
Dante’s arm around me as we held the oversized scissors, cutting the ribbon. ‘All my dreams come true’. My eyes were on him as he cut the ribbon as he smiled so wide like this was everything to him.
What a fool I was. Looking at a man who was just looking ahead to the dreams he had.
I scoffed, shutting my phone for a second before smirking. I still needed to post my picture of us together because this relationship needed to be legit.
If Dante wanted to go with the over the top message branding I’d be subtle.
Emotionless.
Let him overthink everything I do and drive himself crazy with worry. I wan’t going to do it anymore.
Dante was about to understand that I wasn’t going to be his dream but his worst nightmare.
15DANTE
Seventeen text messages. Four ignored calls. Six calls straight to voicemail.
Ilaria was very upset with me.
I had watched her sitting with her friends, too close to where Gabriella had pinned me in the shadows.
