Chapter 12 - The Night He Came Without His Guards|
Dante arrived at Elena's house just after ten.
This time, he came without his security detail, without a driver waiting at the curb, and without the entourage that usually made every entrance feel like a public announcement.
Elena opened the door but didn't invite him in.
“Isabella is not available for another argument,” she said.
“I didn't come to argue with her.”
“Then you have made a remarkable change in your habits.”
He looked exhausted.
“Mother, please.”
Something in his voice softened her expression, but she didn't move aside until she had made him answer a question.
“Are you going to threaten her again?”
“No.”
“Are you going to tell her she is imagining things?”
He hesitated.
“No.”
“Are you going to explain what happened with Northstar?”
He looked toward the living room, where I stood just beyond the doorway.
“If she'll listen.”
I came forward.
“I'll listen. I won't promise to agree.”
He nodded once.
We sat at opposite ends of the living room. Elena remained in her armchair, making it clear that she would not leave me alone with him unless I asked her to.
Dante looked at the folder on the coffee table.
“Have you given those documents to anyone else?”
“My attorney has them.”
His jaw tightened.
“I wanted to explain before it went any further.”
“Then explain.”
He rubbed a hand over his face.
“Northstar was created during a difficult period. Several legitimate companies were facing pressure from creditors and business rivals. I needed a structure to keep their operations separate.”
“Why was it in my name?”
“Because I trusted you.”
I almost laughed.
“You forged my signature because you trusted me?”
“I didn't forge your signature.”
“Then who did?”
“I don't know.”
“You were the person who authorized the company.”
“I authorized the arrangement. I didn't personally submit every document.”
“Did you know the signature was false?”
He looked away.
That was answer enough.
“Dante.”
He exhaled.
“I knew the paperwork had been completed without your direct involvement. I told myself you would approve it if I explained it properly.”
“But you never explained it.”
“I was going to.”
“When?”
He didn't answer.
I leaned forward.
“You used my name as a shield. If the money was legitimate, you could have told me. If the company was safe, you could have given me the records. If you trusted me, you would have let me make my own decision.”
His voice hardened.
“You don't understand what it means to run my business.”
“No. I understand what it means to be married to a man who thinks that sentence excuses everything.”
He stood abruptly and walked to the window.
“I was trying to protect the family.”
“From what?”
“From losing everything.”
“By making me responsible for it?”
He turned.
“I thought I could fix it before you ever knew.”
“And when you couldn't?”
He said nothing.
I looked at him for a long time.
“Is that why you wanted Bianca back in your life?”
His head snapped toward me.
“What?”
“She told me you said our marriage was over in everything but name. Was that part of the plan? Were you preparing to leave me holding the company while you started over with her?”
“No.”
“Then tell me what she misunderstood.”
Dante's face tightened.
“I spoke to Bianca about the possibility of reconciling. Before the company situation became this complicated.”
My heart felt strangely calm.
“So you were considering returning to your ex-wife.”
“I was unhappy.”
“Were you unhappy because of me?”
He hesitated.
“I felt trapped by my responsibilities. You were always organizing things, managing things, telling me what needed to be done. I began to feel as if our marriage was another obligation.”
I stared at him.
“I did those things because you refused to do them yourself.”
“I know that now.”
“No, you know it because you need me to forgive you.”
He lowered his eyes.
For the first time, he looked less like the Black Wolf and more like a man who had finally run out of explanations.
“I don't want to lose you,” he said.
“You should have thought about that before you decided I could be moved out of our bedroom.”
“I made a terrible mistake.”
“You made a choice. Now I have to make mine.”
He reached toward me, then stopped.
“Isabella, can we start again?”
I looked at his hand.
Thirteen years ago, I would have taken it immediately. I would have told him that everyone made mistakes, that we could work through anything, that I loved him too much to walk away.
Now I understood that love could be real and still not be enough.
“Not tonight,” I said.
He nodded slowly.
Before leaving, he turned to Elena.
“I am sorry.”
His mother looked at him for a long moment.
“I hope you mean that. But an apology is the beginning of accountability, Dante. It isn't the end.”
He left without arguing.
When the door closed, Elena took my hand.
“You don't have to decide the rest of your life this week.”
I nodded.
But I knew one thing with certainty.
May you like
I would not return to the marriage I had left.
And if Dante wanted another chance, he would have to become a man who could offer something very different.
