9: Distance!

Laura

It had been over a week since I arrived at the mansion, and things between Dante and me were far from good. He had made it clear without words that he did not want me around. The distance was eating me up and the silence was louder than any confrontation could ever be. His sudden habit of spending more time in the casinos made it worse because he deliberately avoided me. He did not even try to start a fight, he just kept himself out of my reach. That alone was enough punishment.

Sending me to the East Coast was a well-planned action, orchestrated by Dante himself. All efforts to try and get to know what was going on with him had proved abortive. Each time that I tried, he only grew further away from me. It was sickening. I couldn't keep up anymore. As I walked around the room, trying to ease the tension that formed in my chest, a thought struck my mind. Was he trying to do away with me? I kept seeking answers internally until I started to feel weak in the knees and I collapsed on the bed.

My chest rose and fell in response to the fear that gripped my whole body. I took a deep breath, sitting up on the bed.

I sat on the bed trying to make sense of everything, trying to piece the scattered thoughts in my head into a perfect picture. My glass of whiskey burned my throat as I sipped it slowly. I wandered around in my thoughts, restless, tired of not knowing what I had done to offend him. What had pushed him so far that he wanted me invisible in his life?

I picked up my phone and stared at it for a while. Should I call him? Would he even pick? What if he ignored me the way he had been ignoring my presence? But a part of me needed answers. I pressed his number, and the phone barely rang once before he picked up. My heart skipped.

"Hey! Dante." The words left my mouth before I knew what I said. The feeling of unease scattered around my body and casually made my voice to break.

"Why have you called me? I am busy!" His words were sharp, cutting through every soft part of my heart. I felt the rush of adrenaline in my blood and I could not help but stay restless, trying to think of what to say next.

"I was just feeling alone, nothing to do." I finally spoke and the silence that followed was enough to give me a picture of what his face looked like where he was.

"I don't know why you want me staying in the mansion while you go out alone. You know you could use an extra pair of hands with me around." He didn't waste any time before he started to talk; immediately, I stopped talking.

"I made you the head of operations in the East Coast but you left your post and came back here. You know I cannot let you meddle in my business over here." He said in a low tone. I paused for a second. Why was he being mean to me? What have I done to deserve all these? I thought as I heaved a heavy sigh.

"Okay, fine. I don't want to meddle in your business but I would like to stay there with you. Just be in your presence. I am sick and tired of being in this big mansion alone. All day." I didn't know when the tone in my voice started to rise.

"You have no business here at all. I think I think I will talk to you later. I need to get done with what I am doing." I wanted to keep him much longer on the call and I needed to come up with a thought as fast as possible.

"You have been leaving me at home for days now, refusing to spend time with me. What..." His sharp voice cut into mine before I could finish, sending fear through my whole body instantly.

"Look, woman, I don't have time for this. I have work to do. You are even luckier that I made time to pick up your call. Now if you do not have anything tangible to discuss, I need to get back to what I was doing." I froze, my lips parting slightly but no words came out. My throat dried instantly. He was cold, so cold that his tone sent a sting into my chest. Still, I swallowed hard and forced myself to speak.

"I am sick. I feel extreme pain in my stomach. You have to come home right now." I pressed my voice into something weaker, more fragile, trying to sound convincing. He chuckled. A bitter laugh, nothing warm about it.

"Why are you laughing at me? Are you saying that I am lying? Or you don't believe me?" I didn't know what more to say. His laugh signified something. Something I wasn't so sure of.

"I know your tricks. Behind that doggedness of yours, behind that resilience of yours, lies this softness that is dangerous to you and everything around you including. You can read books but you can't read the room. Don't you know when to draw the curtains?" His questions sent a sting directly to my heart. My lips parted slightly but words failed to escape. I exhaled heavily, and just then, he continued from where he stopped.

"Don't be ridiculous, Laura. I am not a doctor. What would I possibly do if I came home?" My fist tightened around the phone. He was mocking me. Did he not see that I was trying to reach him, trying to find something left between us? I groaned softly, forcing it into the phone so it would sound real. Anger mixed with frustration crawled up my veins. I tried to stay calm and waited for his verdict. This call was going to give me the answer to my question.

"What is this about. I have always known that work and business are always above anyone but this is too much..." He did not wait for me to finish before his voice struck again.

"I am glad that you remembered that. I will ask the doctor to come home right away to meet you. He will check you and do what is necessary. I need to return to work."

The line went dead. He hung up.

I lowered the phone slowly, staring at the blank screen. My chest burned. The anger mixed with frustration ripped my heart into pieces. My eyes watered but no tears fell. I felt insulted, discarded, unwanted. My body trembled with fury as I moved about the room aimlessly. The mansion felt like a cage, too large yet too suffocating.

He was drifting away from me, and I knew it. Something was pulling him further each day, and he did not want me close enough to even ask questions. But I was not going to sit here and drown. If he would not give me answers, then I would find them myself.

I sat on the edge of the bed for a long while, gripping the sheets, whispering to myself. "I will not let him push me away like this. I will not."

Time passed slowly. The silence of the mansion pressed on me until I thought I would choke. Then I heard it. The sound of a car pulling into the compound. My heart raced as I rushed to the window and pulled the curtain just enough to peek.

"Ethan!" I whispered. The sight of him brought a strange rush of relief. His tall frame, his calm walk, his presence. My pulse quickened. Without wasting a second, I hurried away from the window and returned to my room, closing the door behind me.

I pressed my palms together, pacing in the room as my thoughts scattered. What was I going to do with Ethan now? Dante was serious when he said he was going to send him over. But it's not him I want, I want Dante's presence. Thoughts flew across my mind. It was taking time for him to come to my room and then I questioned myself.

"Should I go down to meet him, or should I still wait for him to come to me? What if he didn't know my room? He hadn't come to this part of the mansion before. I was certain about that.

I sat back on the bed, pressing my face into my palms. The storm inside me refused to calm. All I knew was that things could not continue like this. Dante was slipping away and I needed to know why, even if the answer shattered me completely. I knew I had to find a way to get back into his life. Suddenly, my phone started to ring and it was Dante. I picked up the call with higher expectations.

"I just called to know if he was home." I nodded and just then a knock landed on my door.