Chapter 58: Consequences of Going Against Me
Dante’s POV
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I told myself claiming Gianna in front of everyone was what she deserved…. for letting another m then I saw the panic in her eyes, and beneath it, something that looked too much like desire. Every ni rebelled at the sight.
But
me
Still, I let her go. Call it mercy, if that word even fits me. She needed to breathe…. maybe it had all been too much.
The moment she left, Luther cornered me, droning about alliances and future business. I nodded when I had to, but I wasn’t hearing a damn thing. My eyes stayed on Gianna as she slipped through the crowd and fled the hall, like the air between us had burned her.
Then I saw Niccolò move after her. At first, I thought I was inagining it, but instinct doesn’t lie. The bastard’s pace quickened…. too eager, too smooth. He thought he could be slick.
I cut Luther off and went after them, keeping my steps casual so nobody noticed. By the time I reached the restroom door, they were inside. I stopped at the frame, fighting the urge to kick it down. I forced myself to listen.
Niccolò’s voice came through, low and clear. “Let me help you, Gianna. I can get you out of this hell.”
That was the height…. Augusto’s son offering to break her free from me, no doubt with his father’s backing. Rage hit like a punch. The idea of him bargaining for my woman was an insult and a threat.
If Bruno hadn’t stepped between us, I would’ve buried Niccolò on that tile. Bruno’s hands held me back as he warned that killing Augusto’s son would start a war, and he was right. The last thing I needed, after just taking the throne, was a blood feud. It was the only reason Niccolò walked out alive.
My hands reached out and cupped her face. Her skin was soft, trembling faintly beneath my palms.
I needed answers. Why would Augusto’s son risk breaking our code for her? Why gamble a war over a woman who belongs to me? Augusto wasn’t stupid…. he knew what that kind of move meant. He wanted something from me, and Niccolò was just his pawn to get to me.
But Gianna didn’t know I’d heard everything. I wanted to see if she’d lie to me. If she’d look me in the eye protect him. That choice would tell me everything.
and
“Tell me the truth,” I said, my tone quieter now. “Were you and Niccolò ever together? Was that little meeting in the restroom some lovers‘ reunion?”
Her eyes widened. “No,” she stammered. “We’ve never been lovers. I haven’t seen him in years
“Then why,” I pressed, “did Augusto say your father wanted you to marry him?”
“It was just talk,” she said quickly. “Something my dad mentioned once, to seal some stupid union between. families. It wasn’t serious.”
My eyes tracked every twitch, every shallow inhale. “Do you like him?” The question sounded pathetic even to me…. weak. A man who claims a woman shouldn’t have to ask…. he should know.
Her silence stretched too long before she finally whispered, “I don’t know him that well.”
Not a yes. Not a no.
That wasn’t the answer I wanted. Jealousy doesn’t want logic…. it wants submission.
“If not lovers, then what did he want from you?” I brushed my thumb along her jaw, reveling as she shivered underneath my touch. “What was he offering?”
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Her lashes fluttered nervously. “If I don’t tell you…. will you hurt me like you hurt Niccolo?”
Her fear hit me harder than I expected. She really thought I’d raise a hand to her.
I searched her eyes. “I don’t hit women.”
My hand lifted, brushing a strand of hair from her face. Every part of me needed to reassure her.
Oh, she might think I was a beast, but she was wrong. Couldn’t she see it?
Every ounce of anger in me came from wanting to shield her…. from hating the thought of anyone else’s hands on her.
“I would never hurt you. I protect. But protection….” I leaned closer, my voice turning rough. “….has its own punishments.”
Her breath caught. Then, finally, the truth fell from her lips
“Niccolò wanted to help me escape,” she said quietly. “And I told him no.”
The honesty surprised me. I’d been ready for a lie. Still, I couldn’t fully trust it.
A bitter laugh left me. “Bloody idiot,” I muttered, stepping back. “What I really want to know is why he’d do that. What’s his angle?”
I already knew the answer. Augusto wanted to use her…. to secure leverage, maybe sway loyalty from her father’s old allies.
Gianna looked down. “He…. felt pity for me, maybe.”
“Pity?” I scoffed. “If you think I’m a monster, you have no idea what Augusto is capable of. He’d use you as a pawn to attempt to overthrow me.”
Her head lifted, defiance flashing in her eyes. “How is that any different from what you’re doing to me?”
She wasn’t wrong. I was using her too…. for revenge, for control, but I had something Augusto never would. A line I wouldn’t cross. He’d sell her to the highest bidder. I’d rather burn the world than let that happen.
“So,” I asked, still feeling the need to find out if she harbored any feelings for that scoundrel Niccolò’s, “if I hadn’t walked in, would you have gone with him?”
“I’m…. not going to lie,” she stuttered. “I thought about it. But I knew I’d be caught eventually. I‘ This estate is heavily guarded…. there’s no escaping. When I said I’ve accepted my fate, I mean
I studied her for a long moment, unsure whether to believe her. Gianna was unpredictable…. she easily as she breathed. But maybe….. maybe she had accepted her fate.
foolish.
eive as
“You made a good choice refusing his offer,” I said at last. Otherwise the consequences would’ve been grave.”
Her eyes darted up to mine. “So….. you won’t hurt me now?
Even after everything I’d said, everything I’d done, she still thought I might strike her. Let her. If she thought that softened me, she was mistaken.
I leaned closer, letting a faint smirk play at my lips. “Oh no, Pretty Doll,” I murmured. “You’ll still face consequences…. for letting him touch you. And this time, no screaming for help.”
Her voice trembled when she spoke.
“But I told you…. the truth…. already….”
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I stepped closer, close enough to feel the shiver in her breath. “Enough talking,” I said quietly deliberate, “Time to learn never to lie to me again.”
She looked up, startled. Confusion flashed in her eyes…. part fear, part anticipation….. but she
“Stand up,” I ordered.
Tow,
Her knees brushed together before she finally pushed herself to her feet. I watched her chest rise and fall, her uncertainty twisting into an emotion that looked like surrender.
“Turn around.”
Slowly, she did. The faint movement of her hair brushing against her neck made my fingers twitch.
Her breath hitched as I leaned in close enough for my lips to brush her ear.
“You remember what happens when you test me, don’t you?” I whispered.
She nodded, then her shoulders tensed beneath my voice. I dragged my hand along her spine, feeling the warmth
of her skin tremble under my touch, until I reached the small of her back.
Then, with a single motion, I found the zipper of her dress and pulled it down.
The sound was soft…. intimate. The fabric slid over her body until it pooled around her feet.
“Step out of it.”
