Semua Bab The Bride He Bought : Bab 131 - Bab 140

𝘼𝙇𝙀𝙍𝘼 I burst into a nervous grin, "Hi. Yes...still working." I chirp even as my fingers tremble. Sweat trickles down my spine even though the air conditioning is in full blast. I keep my fake smile in place, pretending to scroll through the spreadsheet like everything’s fine, like my heart isn’t pounding in my throat. The progress bar at the bottom of the screen blinks 93%. Just a few more seconds. Rowan leans against the doorframe, smiling like a man who’s caught me in the middle of something but isn’t sure what. “I didn’t expect to see you still working,” he says easily, voice warm and smooth. “What are you working on?” I lift my head slowly, “Uhm, nothing serious. Just checking somethings with the vendors.” He walks into the office fully, the scent of his cologne cutting through the faint smell of coffee and paper. He moves like Dante, slow, sure and unreadable. “You know I've been looking for you,” he says. “You’ve been a tremendous help lately. I’m thinking we mig

𝘿𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙀 My heart stutters at once, the kind of beat you feel in your throat instead of your chest. I read the message again. They’ve found him. The truth is so close. I glance at Luciana, whose grin hasn’t faded since we left the hospital. She’s still beaming like someone who just got handed a miracle. “We should go to the villa,” she says, turning to me, her eyes wide and excited. “Everyone needs to hear this. It’s such great news.” “Didn’t you just call them?” I ask, looking back down at my phone. “I need to see them. We should tell Mama… imagine how she’s going to feel… Dante, there won’t be a funeral.” She lets out a laugh. My lips slightly lift. I resonate with her excitement. But I still can’t shake this dread off. I look up from my phone. “You go ahead,” I say evenly. “But we should probably keep this quiet until the next tests confirm everything. We don’t know what’s really happening yet. She has to pass the year first before we celebrate.” Luciana groans

𝘿𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙀 I heard her crying last night. It started low, barely there, but I know the sound of pain when it’s trying to hide. I’ve spent my life surrounded by silence; it makes you sensitive to what breaks it. And she broke it. All through the night I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, counting the seconds between the muffled sobs. I could picture her hand pressed over her mouth, her chest shaking. It shouldn’t matter. I told her what this was. I didn’t lie. I didn’t promise her anything. Still, guilt made it's abode in my chest. This arrangement was clear. This was just business, so why the hell do I feel this affected? I drag a hand through my hair and stare at the wall of screens in front of me. Ten feeds, different angles, all in the same room. Gabriele sits cuffed to a chair, his eyes dead and skin slick with sweat. Matteo paces behind him like a wolf running out of patience. “Why did you disappear?” Matteo’s voice cuts through the static. “Who gave the order?”

𝘼𝙇𝙀𝙍𝘼 Dante looks away from the road and glances down at me. My heart jumps straight to my throat. I look away fast, forcing a quiet breath through my nose. Yup. I really gotta get out of here, because this thing, this deep love for him, it's only growing and it’s not going to stop anytime soon. That's why it's better I leave now. He asks quietly, “Is that what you want?” His tone is unreadable, but his eyes don’t leave my face. “If it is, I have no problem with your decision.” I nod, trying not to sound like my chest just caved in. “Yeah. It’s probably for the best.” I hesitate, then ask, “What about your mother? Now that she’s no longer… you know. Terminal. Does she need me to tell her goodbye personally or something?” Dante looks a little lost. Then he chuckles softly. “Honestly? I haven’t even thought that far.” “Of course you haven’t,” I murmur. Silence takes over again, thick but not entirely uncomfortable. Only the purr of the engine and the low whoosh

𝘿𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙀 I'm back in the surveillance room, watching the different screen feeds, all focused on the interaction between Matteo and Gabriele from different angles. It's barely a few seconds into Gabriele watching the video and he's already screaming, with tears pouring down his face. "Che palle!" I mutter under my breath. All this time wasted when we could have resorted to this a long time ago. “Please,” his voice cracks. “Please, no. Don’t hurt her.” Matteo keeps his voice calm. “No one’s going to hurt her, Gabriele. Just talk. That’s all you need to do.” Gabriele shakes his head violently, tears mixing with sweat. “You don’t understand, Rowan, he’ll kill her. He’ll kill us all if he finds out I spoke.” “Rowan’s done,” Matteo says flatly. “He won’t be touching anyone again.” The man breaks. His body collapses like his spine gave out, sobs echoing through the room. “He came to me 8 months ago,” he blurts out. “He wanted a specific compound, aconito, from a contact in