02: Love Bites.

Barbara.

**

I stood there in great shock for a long time, holding the phone against my chest.

A woman had answered Dante's phone on our wedding day, and what hurt me most was the way she called me his secretary, as if I was nobody important.

I kept wondering how a man who had planned every flower and every song with me could leave me at the altar and end up with another woman, and the more I thought about it, the less it made sense.

A hand touched my shoulder and I jumped, and when I turned around I saw Graham staring at me like I was something dirty on his shoe.

"What is it?" I asked, and my voice came out weaker than I wanted.

He looked at my face for a moment and then smiled slowly. "Did Keisha pick up the call this time?"

My heart sank when I heard the name, because it meant the woman had a name and Graham knew it, so he had known about her all along.

I refused to let him enjoy watching me break, so I stepped close and whispered, "Mind your fucking business!" and then I walked away with my head held high.

I had only taken a few steps when I stopped, because a thought hit me hard.

If Graham knew her name, then he knew where she lived.

I had never been a woman who chased a man or checked where he went, but today I had to see Dante's face and hear him explain himself.

I need to know why he would do such a thing to me.

I turned around and walked back to Graham. "Fine, I know I said it was not your business, but do you want to go on an after wedding tour?"

He gave me a wicked smile, the kind that said he loved trouble more than anything, and he took his car key from his pocket and spun it around his finger. "Let's do this."

We walked out of the hall together without caring who was watching, and I almost laughed when I imagined the guests whispering that the bride and groom were running away from their own reception to have some fun time alone.

He started the car and I sat beside him with my big gown filling half the seat, and for a while neither of us said a word.

My thoughts were everywhere as he drove.

I kept begging heaven for someone to pinch me and tell me I was dreaming, because Dante could not have left me at the altar for another woman, and if he was cheating, why would he do it today of all days??

Or was there another church somewhere with another bride waiting for him??

Is he exchanging vows with another woman??

My head was so heavy that I finally turned to Graham and asked, "So this Keisha, how long have they been together?"

He kept his eyes on the road and rolled them. "You should find that out yourself. Are you not ashamed that you know nothing about what your own fiancé does?"

I stared at him in silence, because it hurt to admit he was right.

Maybe I had been so happy with how loving Dante was that I forgot he was still a man, and men can do stupid things.

I rubbed my forehead and said nothing more until the car came to a stop.

The house in front of us was small and plain, painted in a dull color that made it look like nothing good ever happened inside it, and I rolled my eyes. "Oh Dante, if you wanted to replace me, could you not have chosen a better place than this?"

I stepped out and leaned on the window to look at Graham. "You are not coming in with me, I can handle this."

He laughed. "Of course not, I am going to the airport, so have fun finding your life."

"And how am I supposed to get home?"

"And how's that supposed to be my problem?" he said, as he drove off and left me standing there.

I watched his car disappear and wondered how any woman could ever love a man like him, because the only good thing about Graham was his blonde hair and everything else about him was nothing.

But he was not the reason I had come, so I turned to the door and took a deep breath.

My heart was pounding so loudly that I could not explain it, but I did what any woman in my place would do.

So, I knocked once, twice, and a third time.

Then, I heard footsteps inside and the door opened.

A woman stood there in red jeans and a loose top, with her hair tied up carelessly and there was nothing neat or fancy about her.

She looked tired and plain, yet she was so beautiful that it annoyed me, and I had to admit that Dante at least had good eyes.

"Hello, my name is..." I began, and she cut me off before I could finish.

"Barbara Lincoln."

I was not surprised, because most people knew my face since my dad was one of the powerful tycoons.

Then, she gave me a thin smile. "What do you want?"

"I am looking for Dante."

"Oh..." she said, and she walked inside and left me standing at the door, so I stepped in on my own.

"Is he here?" I asked.

She stopped and turned around, and I could see that her smile at the door had not been real, because her face was now tight with anger, as if I had come to destroy something she had worked hard to build.

She came close and looked at me from head to toe. "You can sit there and I will send him to you."

A cold fear moved through my body, because if this woman was his replacement or his secret, then I had a hard road ahead of me. "I did not catch your name..."

"We are not friends, are we?" she said. "I will let you see Dante, and after that you can take off that wedding dress you have been showing off everywhere."

She walked away, leaving me shocked, and I noticed she talked like someone who knew everything about Dante and me which was weird.

Or could it be that she was the real wife and I was the mistress?

I felt goosebumps all over me.

My head started to ache, so I pulled the pins out of my red hair and let it fall over my shoulders, because the day was too serious for me to keep looking perfect, and then I heard slow footsteps coming down the stairs.

Dante appeared with bandages on his forehead and his hand, and I jumped up. "Dante, are you okay??"

He looked at me and smiled softly. "You look so beautiful, Barbie."

My heart ached, because I could not forget that he had been in this house with her, but I still did not understand the bandages. "What happened to you?"

He lowered his head. "I was trying to bring your favorite artist to sing at our wedding as a surprise for you, and I had a very bad accident, and nobody helped me until this young lady found me and took me in."

I looked at Keisha standing on the stairs with her arms folded, and then I looked back at Dante, and my face burned with shame, because I had let jealousy blind me so much that I forgot he was a kind and responsible man who would never hurt me on purpose.

Maybe she had called me a secretary only because she thought someone from his work was calling, so I dropped my eyes and whispered. "I am so sorry, Dante, I really thought you left me for another woman."

"Come, let's talk on the balcony," he said, and we went upstairs and stood quietly, looking at the sky.

"I was heartbroken when you did not walk down the aisle...." I finally told him.

"I know, Barbie, and I am sorry...I can only imagine how you felt." He kissed my cheeks and paused for a moment. "Did you cancel the wedding?"

My heart began to race, because Julian had called Graham, and the one person Dante could not stand was his own brother.

I swallowed hard. "I was so embarrassed that my friend brought Graham in to take your place."

As soon as I said his name, Dante turned to me with a face I did not recognize, full of anger and shaking with rage. "What did you just say??!"

I froze with fear. "I am so sorry, I never wanted Graham there either...but my friend did not know how much we hated him."

"You let Graham stand in my place at the altar?!"

I saw then how foolish I had been, because I could have simply called off the wedding. "Dante, please listen to me..." I pleaded.

He raised his hand to stop me. "I do not want to hear it right now, but wait, did you go ahead with the court wedding, did he sign those papers??"

I felt relieved, because I was not that careless.

Those papers held my father's wealth and everything I had worked for, and I would never let a stranger touch them, especially since I had already opened a joint account and sent my will to Dante, because he was my man and would handle things better, and once we were married everything I owned would be his anyway.

I smiled. "No, I did not go ahead with the court wedding, I am not that stupid, come on, babe."

His whole face lit up. "Okay, fine, you scared me...I thought you went through with it."

I laughed and looked at him. "Why do you care so much about the court wedding?"

"Because it is the kind of thing that would make me never want to leave you."

"I do not understand."

He grinned. "People divorce after altar weddings, but once I sign the court papers and I give you my wealth...I will have no reason to ever leave."

I hit his shoulder and laughed. "You have nothing of your own to hold on to and you are still talking, I should be the one saying that."

"I would never leave you for anything, my Barbie.." he said.

"But you left me at the altar..." I answered, pushing out my lip.

"And I am sorry about that.." he said, and he pulled me into his arms, and I held him for a long time, feeling all the pain of the day slowly leave me.

When I finally pulled back to look at him, something felt wrong, because I had pressed my hand on his arm, afraid I would hurt his injury, and he had not flinched at all.

I stared at him, and then my eyes moved to his neck and stopped on a trail of dark marks on his skin...

It looked like hickeys.

Yes it does.

My stomach dropped, because I knew my Dante, I knew how much he protected his neck and never let anyone near it unless they were truly close to him, and I knew the difference between a bruise and a hickey when I saw one.

"Dante..." I said quietly, and he looked at me, but I had no idea how to ask the question on my tongue, because my mind could not accept what my eyes were seeing.