로그인Chelsea's POV I poured the wine with a steady hand, but my heart was anything but steady. The deep red liquid swirled in the glass like a quiet storm, catching the dim light of my living room. I lifted it slowly, watching it for a moment before taking a long, deliberate sip.It burned slightly on the way down, but I welcomed it. I had won…finally.Finally, after everything, after the lies, the manipulation, the sleepless nights. Reed was out of the way. The thought settled into me like a dangerous kind of peace. A small smile crept onto my lips.There was only one person left. It was Clarissa. She thought she was clever. Thought she was untouchable too but she was wrong. Her death was going to hurt more than Reed…her days were definitely numbered.I took another sip of wine, slower this time, letting the silence of the room wrap around me. I considered going to the hospital that night. I wanted to see Reed, to look at him lying there, stripped of all the power he once wielded.But the
Dante's POV “I’m your sister. The same blood runs through our veins.”The world seemed to go quiet as soon as she said those words. I stared at her, my mind scrambling to process what she had just said even though I already knew it. Even though I had always known it and even though I had tried to deny it every single time.“We share the same blood,” she went on. “That doesn’t change just because it’s inconvenient for you.”My fists clenched at my sides.“Don’t,” I said under my breath.“Don’t what?” she asked. “Don’t remind you? Don’t say the truth out loud?”Her eyes softened slightly, but it didn’t make it any easier to breathe.“You can hate me all you want,” she said. “You can pretend I’m just Reed’s wife, a stranger, someone you owe nothing to. But it won’t change what we are. We are siblings,Dante.”I swallowed hard, anger and something else…something deeper that was twisting inside me.“You lost the right to call yourself my sister a long time ago.”Her expression didn’t brea
Dante's POV We started walking down the hallway together, the sound of our footsteps echoing in the silence. I could feel the weight of everything we hadn’t said pressing down on me. I wish we could talk about something for a few minutes but that wish never came to reality.“Clarissa…” I began.“Don’t,” she interrupted gently.I stopped. She turned to face me, her expression unreadable.“You don’t have to explain,” she said.“But I do,” I insisted. “You don’t understand…”“I understand more than you think,” she said, her voice steady.That made my chest tighten so hard that I could hardly breathe.“What does that mean?” I asked.She hesitated but it was just for a second and then she sighed.“It means,” she said slowly, “ You don't have to apologise for her, Dante.”I felt my stomach drop. I stared at her, unable to respond. Because deep down, I knew she was right.“I didn’t mean for it to get like this,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.“I know,” she replied.And somehow, th
Dante's POV She stared at me, searching my face for something…anything that resembled honesty and I know she didn't find it. Dealing with Reed's wife was the worst punishment ever, she could never be satisfied. I still wondered how Reed coped.“I don’t trust you,” she said.“Right now,” she continued, “the only thing I care about is seeing my husband. So you can either take me to him…”She released my shirt slowly.“…or I’ll find him myself.”I glanced at Clarissa, who gave me a subtle look, one that said be careful.“The doctor said no one can see him…not yet.” I said, trying to be calm.“You think you can just show up here and act like you belong?” she snapped, her hands trembling, though whether from anger or fear I couldn’t tell.Before I could even step in, Clarissa moved.“Drop it,” she said, her tone firm but controlled. “This is a hospital. You’re disturbing the peace.”Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried authority. Too much authority.And that was the problem.Because the m
Dante's POV The clock on the wall ticked louder than it should have, each second dragging itself into the next like it was struggling to survive the night. It was almost midnight, and hospitals always felt different at that hour. I lay back against the stiff hospital pillow, staring at the ceiling but not really seeing it. Sleep wasn’t coming, not after everything that had happened. Not after Reed was here fighting for his life.Then I heard it. At first, it was faint, just a ripple of raised voices carried through the corridor. I tilted my head slightly, listening harder. The sound grew sharper, more defined. It wasn’t just noise. It was an argument.A serious one. I pushed myself up a little, ignoring the dull ache in my side. The voices were coming from the other end of the hospital wing. Nurses, maybe. Or patients. But something about the tone felt wrong. It was too heated, too emotional.For a brief moment, a darker thought crossed my mind.An attack?My pulse quickened. Given w
Dante's POV “He’s got a fighting chance,” the doctor said gently. “But it’s going to take time. Go home if you can. Rest. He’ll need you strong when he wakes up.”The doors closed behind him with a soft whoosh that sounded final. I sank back into the chair, elbows on my knees, head in my hands. My chest tightened until I couldn’t breathe right. Reed, the guy who’d dragged me out of every bar fight, who’d laughed at my worst jokes, who’d promised we’d grow old causing trouble together was lying in there hooked up to machines, maybe never waking up. A sob built in my throat, raw and ugly, but I choked it down. I was a man, damn it. Men didn’t break down in hospital waiting rooms. Not where anyone could see. My eyes burned, but no tears came. Just this dry, hollow ache that threatened to swallow me whole.Clarissa sat beside me again, closer this time. Her arm slid around my shoulders, warm and steady despite the tremor I could feel in her. “Hey,” she whispered, voice soft but fierce. “
Dante’s POV Chelsea shook her head slowly. “No. She reacted to what she heard. And what she heard was that her boyfriend was with another woman.”“She’s not just another woman,” I snapped before I could stop myself.The moment the words left my mouth, regret followed.Chelsea’s eyes flickered. “Se
Clarissa’s POV By the time we arrived at the restaurant, the city had shifted into its late-afternoon hush, that quiet hour when sunlight softened and shadows stretched long across the pavement. The place Dante chose was discreet tucked between a bookstore and a florist, warm lights glowing behind
Chapter 61Clarissa’s POV Dante was about to leave without saying anything to me but then he stopped at the door and turned back just once.“Get dressed,” he said. “Come down for breakfast. We can’t be late for the investors.”The tone wasn’t a suggestion. It was a verdict.I opened my mouth to sa
Dante’s POV I felt it before I understood it, I mean the way Chelsea’s weight went slack against my arm, the way her breath hitched and then vanished. One second she was mid-sentence, color already draining from her face, and the next she was folding in on herself like a marionette with its string







