บททั้งหมดของ CEO Dante; The one for me : บทที่ 111 - บทที่ 120

Ever since my discharge, life shifted into a strange pattern. It wasn't exactly unfamiliar, but the shift was just completely not what I had hoped for. Quiet mornings with Abigail, evenings where my mother spent her time watching over me and making sure I was doing okay, and nights lying awake staring at the ceiling, wondering how much more my heart could take before it finally broke for good.Marcus had been showing up more often than I expected. Not barging in or making a scene like the Marcus I used to know. This time he was gentler, and convincing. Like he actually cared and that wasn't something I was used to, especially not with Marcus. He’d leave toys at the door, sometimes with a small card that had no words, just Abigail’s name scribbled on it in his handwriting. Other times, he’d text me asking how she was, asking if she’d smiled today, if she’d eaten her favorite cereal. Little things. At first, I ignored most of them, but the toys piled up in the corner of the living room

The house was warm from the afternoon sun shining outside and I heard a knock on the door. I wasn’t expecting anyone, and my first thought was that it might be Marcus again, trying to force another appearance. My chest tightened at the thought. But when I pulled the door open, my breath caught for an entirely different reason. It was Dante.He stood there, tall and composed on the outside, but I could see it immediately. His shoulders seemed heavier, his eyes darker, like he hadn't had a good sleep in weeks. “Dante,” I whispered, almost in surprise.“Can I come in?” He asked, forcing a smile.I nodded and stepped aside. He walked in, and the moment the door closed behind us, I felt the shift in the room. He wasn’t just here for casual talk.“What’s wrong?” I asked softly, leading him toward the living room.We sat down, and he ran a hand over his face before finally meeting my eyes. “The court trials start in a few days.”My heart dropped. I had known this day would come, but hearing

There are nights when sleep refuses to find me, when the silence of the house grows so loud it feels like it’s piercing into my ears. Tonight was one of those nights. I lay on my side, staring out the window, catching a glimpse of the reflection of the streetlights outside. It’s strange how much life can change in such a short time. Sometimes it feels like I blinked, and two years of my life slipped through my fingers, dragging me into a whirlwind I never saw coming.Almost two years. Just two years and yet I feel like I’ve lived an entire lifetime.I thought back to Marcus. To the heartbreak. The gut-wrenching betrayal of realizing that the man I thought I would spend forever with didn’t love me the way I deserved to be loved. The nights I cried so hard my chest ached. The nights I stared at the ceiling, wondering what was wrong with me, wondering if I would ever be enough for anyone. That pain felt endless at the time, like I’d never climb out of it. But somehow, I did.Then came th

The house was unusually quiet when I picked up my phone to call Dante. Abigail was at nursery, and Mom had stepped out to run errands. For once, I was sitting alone on the couch with no background noise, just the ticking of the wall clock echoing in my ears. My chest was heavy with thoughts of him, of the looming court dates, of everything that still hung in the balance. I couldn’t shake Noah’s words from the park yesterday, nor the folded sweet wrapper with that number scribbled on it, tucked inside my pocket like a forbidden secret.When Dante answered, his voice sounded worn out and tired, like he hadn’t really slept.“Hey,” I whispered softly, holding on to the phone tightly as though my grip could hold him together.“Hey, Sienna,” he said, his tone rougher than usual. “I’m okay. Just trying to prepare. You know, getting my head straight before the trial.”I closed my eyes. He always says he’s okay when he’s clearly not.“I know,” I murmured. “I’ve been thinking about it too. Dant

Waiting. I had never realized how cruel a thing it could be until now.The days that followed felt like I was stuck in an endless loop of clocks ticking and the same thoughts circling in my head. Every morning, after dropping Abigail at nursery, I found myself glancing at my phone compulsively, hoping for a message, a call, anything from Dante that might tell me Noah’s brother had come through with some sort of progress. But silence stretched on instead.And the silence was louder than anything else.I tried to fill my days with chores, with planning little things for Abigail’s birthday, with folding baby clothes I had bought long ago. But no matter what I did, my mind returned to the same place. Dante, the trial, the investigator. Hope and dread pulled me in opposite directions like ropes in a tug-of-war.By the third day, I was restless enough to start pacing around the living room while Abigail napped upstairs. I stared at the flowers Dante had brought during his surprise early mor