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Chapter 5
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No Longer the Don's Bride Chapter 10
Before the exhibition left Sicily, I agreed to see Dante once.He was waiting inside the shuttered restaurant.The Blue Room looked exactly as it had before. The table facing the courtyard remained, but it had been set for only one person.Dante rose the moment he saw me.A year had left him noticeably thinner. His once-immaculate shirt was creased, and the old watch I had given him remained on his wrist.“Sit.”He drew out the chair facing the courtyard.Rosalie’s old place.I remained standing.“I received the watch. Thank you.”“I wasn’t the one who repaired it.” His voice was low and rough. “The watchmaker searched for a year. I only returned it to you.”An old vintage from the restaurant’s cellar stood open on the table.He poured a glass, then hesitated instead of offering it to me.“I came here alone many times after you left.”“Every time, I tried to order what you would have wanted.”“I could never remember which vintage you preferred, how you liked your steak, or whether you
No Longer the Don's Bride Chapter 9
A year later, I returned to Sicily with The Empty Seat for a touring exhibition.Rosalie intercepted me outside the airport.She had lost weight, and a pale scar still crossed her right wrist.“Five minutes, Vivienne. That’s all I’m asking.”She held out the mahogany wine case.The inscription inside had been ground away, leaving an ugly scar in the wood.“Dante has not seen me since you left. He revoked every one of my permissions at the Visconti estate. He even bought the restaurant we used to visit and closed the Blue Room.”I did not take the case.“That has nothing to do with me.”Tears slipped down her face.“I know.”“I used to believe you had taken him from me. Eventually I understood that if he had loved me, he would have chosen me at some point during those ten years.”“Protecting me was a habit. He also believed you would never leave, no matter what he did.”She wiped her face.“The night I broke the watch, I almost stopped.”“I remembered you holding me after your foster mo
No Longer the Don's Bride Chapter 8
Dante remained in London.He bought an apartment near the college and had a hot latte with no sugar delivered every morning.The first day, I had security return it.The second, I left it untouched outside my door.Eventually, he stopped attaching his name and had the latte delivered to reception instead.I still never drank it.That winter, the college held its annual exhibition.I rebuilt my installation without disguising any of the three fractures.My foster father’s stopped pocket watch sat at its center. Around it, I fired sections of my foster mother’s water-damaged drawings into translucent enamel panels.I called the piece The Empty Seat.One of the judges asked why I had left the breaks visible.I ran my fingers just above one of the sharp seams.“Because some things remain broken.”“Hiding the damage does not mean it never happened.”The Empty Seat received the exhibition’s highest honor.Dante sat in the last row during the ceremony.When the applause began, he rose with ev
No Longer the Don's Bride Chapter 7
Vivienne’s POVDante waited outside the college for an entire day after reaching London.Rain began to fall toward evening.I emerged from the studio carrying the reinforced frame of my installation and saw him at once.He had no umbrella. His black overcoat was soaked through, but he held an old leather case beneath it, protecting it from the rain.Inside were the drawings recovered from my foster mother’s workshop.“Vivienne.”His voice was rough as he came toward me.I stopped.“Why are you here?”My own calm surprised me.Once, a few hours without word from him had been enough to keep me awake all night. Now he had crossed half of Europe to stand in front of me, and I felt no answering pull at all.He offered me the case.“I hired conservators to save everything they could.”“I found the footage proving Rosalie broke the watch deliberately. The collision has been reopened. She has been removed from the rally, and her license will be revoked.”I did not take the case.“And?”The que
No Longer the Don's Bride Chapter 6
Rosalie went still, the color slowly draining from her face.“Dante, what’s wrong?”“I said get out.”He moved past her, but she caught his sleeve.“Did Vivienne say something about me again? She’s the one who refused to forgive me. She was willing to ruin my career over one mistake—”Dante stopped.“She’s gone.”Rosalie stared at him.“Gone where?”“London.”“That’s impossible.” The answer came too quickly, and the color drained from her face. “She promised me she wouldn’t accept the offer in London.”Dante turned slowly.“When did she promise you that?”Rosalie opened her mouth, but nothing came out.The last trace of warmth disappeared from his eyes.“What else have you kept from me?”He ordered the security team to retrieve every recording from the estate’s east wing.At 1:47 a.m., Rosalie entered the suite carrying a blanket. Minutes later, she stepped into the corridor with the pocket watch in her hand.She stood beneath the wall sconce for a long time, staring down at it.Then s
No Longer the Don's Bride Chapter 5
（Dante’s POV）By morning, the Visconti estate was crowded with the most powerful families in Sicily.Heraldic banners hung along the galleries, black cars filled the courtyard, and the place reserved for the future Donna remained conspicuously empty.The ceremony was scheduled for three.At ten minutes to the hour, Vivienne still had not arrived.Dante stood at the far end of the ballroom and looked toward the entrance for the third time.“Where is the Sinclair car?”The steward lowered his voice.“Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair are already here, Don. They haven’t been able to reach Miss Sinclair either.”Dante frowned.When Vivienne had left two nights earlier, he had dismissed her departure as another quarrel. He had not followed her. He had been certain she would come back once she had calmed down.For four years, however bitterly they fought, she had always been there when he turned back.He expected the same that afternoon.At three, the quartet reached the end of its opening program.Murm
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