°°° MY NEXT TARGET IS YOUR KIDS. BUT UNLIKE YOU, THEY WON’T LIVE TO TELL THE STORY BECAUSE I WOULD USE A GUN INSTEAD OF A TASER. AND WHO KNOWS? MAYBE IT WILL BE TODAY. °°° ‘Sheep!’ I squeezed the paper into a ball, wishing it would go up in flames and turn to ashes. The air turned too heavy for my lungs, and breathing became hard and laboured. I knew I should have suspected when those messages stopped coming all of a sudden. I knew I should have suspected when all the hate comments on my social media suddenly disappeared. But I was too stupid. I got too relaxed with everything. And… My sons! They were threatening to hurt my sons. ‘I need to talk to them.’ I grabbed my purse and dug out my phone. In a flash, I went to my contact and dialled Dante’s personal number, which he had suddenly given me during one of our library talks. ‘Pick up. Pick up.’ I squeezed my purse and almost fainted when he didn’t answer my call. ‘Please let nothing bad happen to them. Please.’ I called
O: I need advice. I can’t call you now because I’m afraid if I open my mouth, I’ll cry. A: Are you aight? What happened? The way you ended the call this afternoon was scary af O: Dante and I got into an argument today because he returned home late with the kids. More like I shrieked like a banshee at him. A: So… did he do something to you? O: No I did something to him. Somehow, I opened my big mouth and told him he shouldn’t call himself their father. A: 😳😳 A: You what????!!! A: Sh.i.t. why the h.e.ll did you say that? 🤦🤦🤦 O: I was jealous. I was fricken jealous of Dante. These past few days, I’ve been jealous of his relationship with my sons. I knew they would one day become close to him, but it’s happening faster than I expected. Even Leon has warmed up to him, and I’m so afraid my sons won’t love me as much as before. All these things just built up and I erupted and said all those horrible things. O: I don’t know what is wrong with me. He looked really pissed and hurt
‘This is it, Olly.’ I stood before the large door leading to Dante’s office. It seemed more menacing than the last time I was here. ‘It’s time to face your fears and right your wrongs.’ I lifted my hand, took a long deep breath, and hit my knuckles against the hard wood. *Knock Knock* The only thing I heard in reply was the crazy beating of my heart. *Knock Knock* My knuckles hit the large white door again, and again, I was met with no reply. The silence was looking like a sign for me to wait until tomorrow morning when I was more mentally prepared. *Knock Knock* Silence. Pure, deadly, torturous silence. ‘Maybe I should just go to bed and try tomor– no, Olly,’ I shook my head, erasing the silly thoughts. ‘You’re doing this tonight, and you’re doing it now. The only thing that is going to stop you is if Dante is asleep or he doesn’t want to see you.’ I hoped he wasn’t going to do the latter. I needed to clear the air for the sake of my sons and, somehow, for myself. ‘One l
And he pinched my cheek. “Hey!” I swatted his hand away and glared at him. “What was that for?” “I couldn’t resist. It’s your fault for looking exceptionally cute.” Dante said, donning the usual amused smirk he always wore when he wanted to push my buttons. “This is serious.” I frowned, rubbing my sore cheek. “Aren’t you supposed to be mad or something?” Wasn’t he? I just confessed that I had insulted him because I was jealous, and all he had to say was that I looked cute. Not that I hated the compliment, but did he have to say it right now? Sometimes I don’t get how his brain works. “Perhaps I would have if I couldn’t imagine my mama doing the same or worse,” he chuckled and I scrunched my face. “Why would you think your mom would do that?” I, for one, couldn’t imagine Mrs. Isabelle being all petty and jealous over something so trivial. She was too sweet and understanding for that. “Because when I got my first girlfriend, she lost her head. She turned into a weeping mess, r
My face flared red, and if I thought my heart was beating like crazy before, it proved me wrong. It was banging and screaming frantically in my chest, like it wanted to jump out and run a thousand miles. “You’re joking, right?” I eyed him, trying to pretend I wasn’t flustered. “There’s only one way to find out.” Dante leaned closer, as if the almost nonexistent space between us wasn’t enough. I became more aware of the parts of his body touching mine. “Say one more thing bad about yourself. I dare you.” ‘There was no way he would actually kiss me. Would he?’ These past few weeks, he had kept his sexual flirting at bay but never failed to tease the heck out of me. I thought he was finally over the act, but… The dead serious look on his face told me he wasn’t playing around. “Y-you wouldn’t dare.” I stuttered, and I shifted back a little bit, creating enough space between us for me to breathe. “I would dare, and I would also enjoy it very much.” He laughed. “And I can assure you
The entire scenario was like déjà vu, and my mind flashed back to the car ride we shared on the way to my apartment.Only this time I didn’t find him that repulsive, and I wanted him a little bit. Maybe more than a little bit, but I couldn’t accept. There were still too many possibilities on the line to gamble with.Dante was frozen against me, one of his hands in my shorts and the other just a few millimetres under my b.o.obs.He was dead silent, and I swear I would have thought he paused in time if his heavy breathing wasn’t fanning against my neck.“D-Dante?” I whispered, sliding my hands from his hair to his shoulders.Still nothing but silence from him. His grip on me didn’t loosen, keeping me pressed against him.‘Was he mad? I hope not.’It was the second time I had flat-out turned down his advance when we were so close to doing the deed.‘Why isn’t he saying anything? How is he feeling? Is he furious? Will he revert back to his former icy self? Or worse, what if he becomes mo
“It’s really simple. I want you to agree that you’re doing a wonderful job as a mother. And promise, you won’t talk down on yourself. Right here, right now.”I blinked, soaking in every word of Dante’s statement.“That’s it?” I asked, breaking the silence that had swallowed us.“Yes, that’s it.” His voice was firm without a trace of doubt.“Nothing else?”“Were you expecting anything else?” He mused.Yes. Yes, I was. That can’t be it. This was Dante. There had to be an angle or a loophole somewhere.There was no way he was letting me go that easy.“So if I agree I’m doing a good job as a mother, you’ll let me go?”“Why do you seem suspicious?” One of his brows cocked.‘Because it’s you I’m dealing with.’ I wanted to say but decided that wasn’t important.The main thing on my mind was…“Why?” I blurted, tilting my head to the side.I needed to know why.Why was he concerned about how I see myself?He still saw me as a gold-digging seductress, right? So why did he want me to change my p
Dante was as stiff as a concrete statue in my hold, but I didn’t let go of him. I just needed to hug someone.His arms slowly pressed me closer to him, tightening our embrace and it felt like I was in a dream.That was enough to send a fresh wave of tears tumbling down my face.His hug felt awkward, like he didn’t know how, but I didn’t mind. It was the thought that counted. He was there for me. And that was all that mattered.“Thank you, Dante,” I whispered into his ear after staying in his arms, curled up, and crying for minutes. Or was it hours? I didn’t know. I just knew he held me and didn’t let me go.“You’re welcome.” Dante ran his fingers through my hair. “So, do you promise me that you wouldn’t speak ill about yourself and try to have more confidence?”“I’ll try. It will not be instant, but I’ll do my best every day.” I snuggled into him.It wasn’t going to be easy, but I would try. No more pity parties, nitpicking, bullying, gas lighting, or talking down on me.I was going t