Chapter 4

After I blocked the unknown number, I didn’t call Dante. I didn’t ask when the welcome dinner ended or when he planned to come home.

Over the next few days, the way we lived together changed completely. Dante sometimes came back late, and I no longer went downstairs to ask where he had been.

If I saw him leaving in the morning, I kept drinking my coffee and said nothing beyond the occasional reminder that it was cold outside. At first, he didn’t react. But the quieter I became, the worse his mood seemed to get.

One night, he came home close to eleven. I was watching a movie on the sofa. When the door opened, I only glanced over.

“You’re back?” Dante paused while taking off his coat.

“Yeah.”

“There’s food in the kitchen if you’re hungry.”

I turned back to the television. He stayed by the door. A few seconds later, he asked, “You don’t want to know where I was?”

My fingers tightened around the remote. A week ago, he would never have needed to ask. If he was ten minutes late, I would already be checking his location.

“You had things to do,” I said. “You don’t need to tell me everything.”

Dante watched me for a long moment, then went upstairs without another word. The next night, he came home even later. I still didn’t ask. The floating comments appeared now and then.

【She finally learned how to stay out of the way.】

【Bianca is back. Clinging to Dante now would be asking for trouble.】

【If she has any sense, she’ll leave while she still can.】

That was exactly what I intended to do. Maya’s money was already in my new account.

I had cash, a prepaid phone, and one small suitcase containing my documents, a few clothes, and the things that were actually mine.

I left every piece of jewelry, every bag, and every expensive gift Dante had given me behind. I didn’t want revenge. I only wanted to leave.

Telling Dante beforehand would mean standing in front of him while he asked me why. I would either have to accuse him of loving another woman or admit how easily a few anonymous words had destroyed everything I believed about us.

I couldn’t do either.

Leaving quietly was cowardly. I knew that. But I had always been better at running from rejection than waiting for it to happen.

That morning, I was packing the last few things when Dante’s voice came from behind me.

“Where are you going?”

I froze. He stood in the doorway, clearly fresh from the shower, his black shirt open at the collar and his cuffs still undone. His eyes went straight to the suitcase. I had already prepared an excuse.

“Maya asked me to go away with her for a couple of days.”

“Where?”

“Hudson Valley. She booked a spa hotel.” Dante walked into the closet and stopped beside the suitcase.

“Since when do you like spa weekends?”

“Recently.”

“Recently?”

“I told you. I want to do more things on my own. Spend more time with friends.”

“You used to want to come with me if I left town for two days.”

“People change.”

His expression darkened. For a moment, I thought he would keep questioning me. Instead, he looked at the suitcase.

“When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.”

“I’ll have the driver take you.”

“No need. Maya is picking me up.” Dante looked at me again.

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

Before all this, I would have been asking whether he would miss me and making him promise to call.

Now I only wanted him to leave. He seemed to notice. Dante lifted a hand and touched my cheek. My body went stiff before I could stop it. His hand stilled too.

“You don’t even like me touching you now?”

“No.” I forced a smile. “You surprised me.”

He didn’t call me on the lie. At the doorway, he said, “Go, then.” Then, after a pause, “Be careful.”

I waited until his footsteps disappeared before finally breathing again. He had actually agreed. The comments appeared immediately.

【She doesn’t seriously think Dante noticed nothing, does she?】

【If the Romano family wants to know what ticket she bought, all it takes is one phone call.】

【Watching her think she’s about to escape is almost funny.】

My heart started racing again. But I had come too far to turn back.

The next afternoon, I took my suitcase downstairs and found the Romano driver waiting.

“Miss Bennett, Don Romano asked me to take you to Hudson Valley.”

“That won’t be necessary. Maya is waiting for me.” The driver hesitated.

“Don Romano specifically said—”

“I’ll tell him I refused.”

That ended the argument. I left the building, but I didn’t go to Maya. I took the subway first, switched to a cab several neighborhoods away, and only then headed to the airport.

Maya had booked the ticket. The destination barely mattered. I only needed to get out of New York first.

The entire way, I kept checking for one of the Romano family’s black SUVs. Nothing. No one stopped me at the airport either. I passed security without a problem.

Only when I was sitting near the gate with my boarding pass did I begin to relax. Less than an hour until boarding.

My old phone was off. Once the plane left New York, I would send Dante one final message. No argument. No questions about Bianca. Just the truth. We were over.

I looked through the terminal windows and felt the pressure in my chest ease. Maybe the comments had made everything sound worse than it was. Dante hadn’t stopped me. No one had followed me. I was actually going to make it.

Then an announcement came over the speakers. My flight had been moved to another gate.

People around me began gathering their things. I picked up my bag and started walking. A few steps later, I noticed the corridor ahead had gone strangely quiet.

Several men in black suits stood near the entrance. I recognized two of them. Romano security. My feet stopped. The men stepped aside. Dante walked through.

He wore black trousers, a black shirt, and a dark coat. There was no obvious anger on his face. Somehow, that was worse. He crossed the terminal toward me at an unhurried pace.

My hand tightened around the suitcase handle. Dante stopped in front of me, looked at the luggage, then at the boarding pass in my hand.

“Hudson Valley?”

I couldn’t speak. He took the boarding pass from my fingers and glanced at the destination. When he looked back at me, the careful calm he had worn for days was gone.

“So this is your spa trip?”

I stepped back. Dante stepped forward. He leaned down, his voice low enough that only I could hear.

“Going somewhere, baby?”