The Galante Estate

Isabella’s POV

Dante walked in. He had changed into a black tuxedo.

He stepped into the room, keeping his hands inside his pockets. Spotting me, his eyes traveled from the hem of my dress, over my pregnancy bump, and stopped at my face.

"Is it... too much?" I asked. I was suddenly feeling self-conscious under his gaze. "I can change."

"No." He shook his head, meaning it. "It is adequate."

He walked toward me and stood directly behind me. I watched him in the mirror, confused but I didn’t say anything.

"You are missing something.” He murmured as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, flat velvet box.

He snapped it open. There was a necklace inside. A solitaire diamond on a thin platinum chain. It was definitely expensive.

"Dante, I can't wear that."

"You need to." He took the necklace out. "If anything feels off about you, my mother might run a background check.” He unclasped the chain. "She has a better team than mine."

“What?” I blinked.

"Lift your hair." He commanded.

I obeyed and swept the red strands off my neck.

Dante stepped closer. I felt the cold metal of the chain settle against my skin as he fastened the clasp.

He lingered. For a second… just one terrifying second, his fingertips grazed the sensitive skin at the nape of my neck.

He didn't move away. I could see his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were dark, fixed on the exposed skin of my back.

The silence in the room became suffocating.

Then, the mask slammed back into place. He dropped his hands and stepped back, putting a safe, cold distance between us.

"My grandmother’s.” He said flatly, adjusting his cuffs. "She was the only woman who ever terrified my father."

I lowered my hair, my heart still hammering against my ribs. I touched the cold stone at my throat. "You are giving it to me. Doesn't it mean I am your special one?"

Dante met my gaze in the mirror. "That's what mom is going to think. I just gave her an evidence. So she wouldn't bother to dig up."

“What?” I almost shouted. “No, you can't do that.”

“I am not doing anything.” He turned toward the door without answering me. "Let’s go. Romeo is waiting for us."

We walked down the grand staircase.

Romeo and Irene were waiting in the foyer. Romeo was checking his watch, looking bored, while Irene was inspecting a vase like she was calculating its resale value.

When we reached, Romeo looked up.

His eyes widened as they darted between Dante and me. " Porca miseria," Romeo gasped. "Dante, what did you do with this girl?"

Irene turned around and her jaw actually dropped. She looked me up and down, then nodded slowly.

"Okay. I take it back. The billionaire thing has its perks. You look like a goddess. I love it.”

“Are you going to come with us?” I asked. I didn’t know Irene would join too.

“Dante asked me to join to keep you accompanied,” Irene replied, eyeing Dante with her suspicious gaze.

"We are leaving." Dante cleared his throat, ignoring us as he walked past toward the main doors.

"I am driving," Romeo said as he scooped up his keys. "Because if you drive, you will just stare at the road like you want to murder the asphalt, and I want to live to see the queen that's coming."

The drive to the Galante family estate was suffocating.

Romeo drove the black SUV, with Irene in the passenger seat. They had been bickering for the first ten minutes before mutually agreeing to ignore each other.

I sat in the back with Dante. The privacy partition was up. We were in a black box.

Dante sat on the far side of the leather seat. He didn’t look at me. He was staring out the window. His jaw was set so hard a muscle ticked in his cheek. His hands were resting on his knees, clenched into fists.

The closer we got to the estate, the colder he became. He didn’t want to see his father getting replaced. He didn't want to face his mother’s husband.

I hesitated, then reached out. I didn't hold his hand. I just placed my palm over his clenched fist.

He flinched. He still didn't look at me, but his hand slowly uncurled beneath mine.

I bit my trembling lip. "Dante.” I whispered.

"Don't." He cut me off.

"Don't what?"

"Don't tell me it will be okay. It won't." He finally turned to me. "You don't know that place reminds me of my dad’s murder. And her husband, Vittorio... he is there."

"I know you hate it. But your mom needed Vittorio. Everyone needs someone to rely on." I said softly. “No one can live alone.”

“I don’t.” He declared. He did rely on me for the noise in his head. Then as I raised a brow, he sighed, getting the sign. “Fine.”

I smiled.

As the car slowed down, he said. "You don't speak unless spoken to. You don't answer questions about your past. Stay away from my mother."

"Okay."

The car stopped.

Dante withdrew his hand and fixed his clothes. “Ready?”

I took a deep breath as touched the diamond at my throat. "Ready."

Romeo got off. We stepped out after him.

The Galante mansion in front of us was a huge, ancient villa. Just by looking at the view, my breath was getting heavier.

We walked up the stone steps together. The servants opened the heavy double doors, revealing a hall filled with hushed voices, black suits.

As we stepped inside, the room went silent. Every head turned.

And at the end of the hall, standing beneath a massive portrait of a man who looked just like Dante, was a woman with Auburn hair.

I could already recognize her. She was their mother. Serena Galante.

She didn't look at her sons. She looked straight at me.