Secret

Isabella’s POV

I came to the dining room at 8:00 PM.

Dante was waiting in his chair. He didn't start eating until I sat down.

We ate in silence for ten minutes. I waited for him to speak, to answer the questions I wasn't asking. But he didn't. He just ate quietly, without bothering about my existence or even asking about the breach.

I finally set my fork down. I couldn't take the silence anymore. "Why?" I asked.

Dante grabbed the glass and took a slow sip of wine. "Why what, Alessia?"

"Why did you come to the café?" I leaned forward, my hands flat on the table. "You fired me. You made it clear you didn't want me in your building."

Dante set his glass down. He leaned back, his eyes darkening. "I told you. I have a breach. And locating you was easy."

"Liar." I uttered even before I realized. "The 'L’Oscuro' doesn't leave his office and drive for two hours for a minor breach. You have a whole department for that. You went for a specific reason."

Silence followed. Dante’s gaze dropped to my lips, then back to my eyes.

"You are right." He said finally. "I didn't go there for an IT genius. I went there because…” He paused, and it made my blood rush. “I need you, Alessia Moretti.”

“What?” I almost shouted, shock registering in my face.

He said nothing for a moment. Then he arched a brow as if he was mocking me. “You really wanted to hear that, didn't you?”

He sounded so serious earlier that I almost believed him. Second mistake. First mistake was coming with him

I took a deep breath before I summoned my patience. “I want to hear the truth, Mr. Dante.”

“Just Dante.” He corrected, then continued, “And of course, I wouldn't let you have my access without knowing you mean no harm.”

“That’s ridiculous.” I ridiculed. “You asked me to move in your place. I did. Your room is just next to mine.”

I already had access to his place. If I wanted to harm, I already would have. He was just making another excuse.

His gaze darkened. “Who is the father of your child, Moretti?”

The question hit me like a physical blow.

I felt the blood drain from my face. My fingers curled into the table until the wood bit into my skin. Of all the things I expected him to ask, this was the one that made me feel naked.

"That is none of your business," I managed to snap, showing my rage instead of the physical pain I felt just now. “I told you not to ask about my past.”

“You can't answer that? Let me change my question then.” He said. He was playing a game I didn't understand.

“No.”

He didn't listen. He asked, “Who are you, Alessia Moretti or whatever your name is?”

I slapped my hand on the table and began to stand up. “I am leaving.”

As I was about to turn my back on him, his voice echoed in the room. Cold. Controlled.

“No one questions me and wakes up next morning, Alessia.” As I looked back, he looked into my eyes like it was a threat. “I hope you got your answer.”

I almost scoffed at his words. "I fixed your 'breach’. Your little test was an insult. Someone told me you made the breach yourself."

“Bianca?” He uttered the name as if he uttered it thousands of times before. He knew before I even told him. They must be really close.

“You don't need to know.” I wasn't going to get another Valentina in my way.

Dante let out a sharp breath before he slowly stood. The atmosphere in the room shifted.

I tried my best to not to get intimidated.

“Let me guess.” He spoke again. “She told you I brought you here as a charity case?"

I hated that he was painfully correct. "She told me that you like fixing broken things before you throw them away." Still, I challenged.

Dante walked around the table. He didn't stop until he was inches away. He looked into my so deeply my heart skipped a beat.

“I have spent my life building walls, Alessia.” He muttered. “Digital ones. Physical ones. Emotional ones. I don’t let people in. I don’t trust. And I don’t need anyone.”

I waited. I dared not think about what he was going to.

“But I have a secret. A defect in my blood.” His voice dropped like the fact disgusted him.