Chapter 4 - The Unspoken Shift|
Alina’s head snapped up, her dark eyes searching my face with a mixture of confusion and sudden terror.
"What do you mean?" she stammered, taking a small step into the kitchen. "Dante... if you're worried about the publicity, my family will issue a private statement. We won't contest anything. You can keep the Evanston house, the accounts—"
"I don't care about the publicity, Alina," I interrupted, stepping around the marble island until I stood two feet in front of her.
Up close, I could see the tiny faint lines of exhaustion beneath her eyes. She smelled of jasmine and warm rain—the subtle perfume she had worn every single day of our marriage.
"Then why?" she whispered, looking up at me. "Why delay it? We both know this marriage was built on a transaction. You gave my father a lifeline, and I gave your board a settled CEO. You don't have to keep pretending to be my husband out of obligation."
Obligation.
The word pierced my chest like a dull blade.
"I overheard you last night, Alina," I said softly.
Her breath caught in her throat. The color drained from her cheeks so fast she looked as if she might faint.
"You... you what?" she gasped out.
"I stood outside the sitting room while you were talking to your mother," I revealed, keeping my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. "I heard what you said about Marcus. And I heard what you said about me."
Alina took a sharp step backward, covering her mouth with her hand, tears instant welling in her dark eyes.
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"Dante... please..." she sobbed out. "I didn't mean... I was just emotional—"
"Did you mean it?" I asked, taking a step forward, closing the distance between us, my voice dropping into a raspy whisper. "Did you mean it when you said you loved me?"
