Chapter 106: Are You That Consumed by Revenge?
Gianna’s POV
I couldn’t breathe.
I sat on the edge of the bed with my hands shaking and my chest tight, like someone was squeezing every bit of air out of my lungs. The dining room kept replaying in my head.
Murderer.
That is what Selene called me. The rage on her face when she looked at me, the pure hatred in her eyes. She came for me like she wanted to tear me apart with her bare hands. If Dante had not grabbed her, she would have reached me.
And God, Arielle. The way every bit of warmth from earlier vanished as tears ran down her face. I felt like I destroyed her whole world just by being in the room.
My father. God. My father.
Finding out he was mafia was already enough to break me. Knowing he hurt people, threatened them, ruined lives. But killing someone’s wife? Killing someone’s mother? Tearing apart a family like it meant nothing?
I did not know what kind of monster did that. And I did not know how to live with the fact that his blood was in my veins.
I wished that was the worst part. I wished it ended there.
But then there was Dante.
Why did he not tell me?
Why let me sit at that table without knowing the truth? Why let me walk in smiling, meeting the people whose lives my father shattered? Why let me look at Arielle with kindness when she could barely look at me without breaking?
Did he want me to find out like that? Did he want to watch it unfold? The shock, the disgust, the hatred?
He told me my father stole his kingship. He told me my father took something from him. He even said he believed my father was still alive. But he never mentioned a wife. Not once.
Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks, and I did not bother wiping them away anymore. My whole body was trembling now, shaking so hard I thought I might fall apart.
But the question that would not leave me alone, the one that kept circling in my head, was this.
Why marry me?
If he lost his wife to my father, would that not mean he hates everything connected to him? Would that not mean he hates me too?
None of this made sense.
Unless it was not about marriage at all.
My whole body went cold.
I heard the door open before I saw him.
My breath hitched in my throat, and I looked up through eyes so swollen from crying I could barely see straight.
Dante’s large frame filled the doorway as he stepped in, the door clicking shut behind him. He walked toward me, and I pushed myself up from the bed, moving toward him until we stopped in front of each other.
We stood there facing each other as he looked at my tear–stained face.
I searched his expression for anything. Pain. Regret. Some hint of what he felt about his wife or his family, but there was nothing. Just that same controlled look he always used to hide whatever was going on inside him..
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Chapter 106- Are You That Consumed by Revenges
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His shoulders dropped. “I’m sorry.” His voice strained. “About everything that just happened downstairs.” He paused, his eyes meeting mine. “You did not deserve any of that.”
I blinked, stunned.
An apology. The second one today. My chest tightened. I did not know what to make of it. I did not know what to expect from him anymore.
“Of course I deserved their reaction.” My voice trembled. “My father killed your wife. Your sister–in–law and your daughter have every right to hate me.”
He ran his hand through his hair and let out a slow breath.
“They went too far.”
“Maybe they would not have had to if you had been honest.” The words scraped out of me. “Why did you not tell me the truth? Why bring me to your family, knowing what would happen when they found out who I am?”
“I never planned for the truth to come out this way,” he said. His voice was harder now. “Not like this. Not now.”
“Are you serious right now?” My voice rose before I could stop it. “There is no perfect time for something like this. We are talking about my father. You told me he stole your throne, but you never said he murdered your wife.” My throat closed. “The mother of your daughter.”
His hands curled into fists at his sides. His whole body went stiff, like the memory of that day slammed into him all over again.
“You think I do not know that?” He exploded. “You think I do not think about it every single day? Every time I look at my daughter and see her mother’s eyes?” He stepped forward, his chest heaving. “I have lived with that pain every day for five years. Every single day.” His voice broke. “Do not think your father destroyed me. He took what I loved most in this world and…”
He stopped. He turned his head away. His throat worked as he swallowed hard.
I had never seen him like this. Broken open. Bleeding.
My own tears kept falling.
“That is why you bought me that night,” I whispered. “Made me your mistress. And now you want to make me your wife.” My voice shook so badly I could barely get the words out. “All for your revenge plan. A wife for a wife.”
He looked away. His silence was answer enough.
Fresh tears blurred my vision. “But it will not work. Your daughter and sister–in–law hate me. They will never accept this.”
His head snapped back toward me. “It is going to work. You are going to be my wife. That is final.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “Are you that consumed by revenge that you cannot see what this is doing to your family?” My voice rose again. “Their faces, Dante. The pain in their eyes. The hatred. Arielle will never accept me. Selene will never forgive you for this.”
He stepped closer, towering over me. “I am the head of this family. What I say goes.” His eyes bore into mine. “Do not worry about my family. I will handle them.”
“Handle them?” I repeated, incredulous. “If you go through with this, if you force this revenge plan, Arielle will never forgive you.” My voice dropped. “She is so sweet. So innocent. And it is obvious how much she loved her mother. She will not be able to stand looking at me. The daughter of the man who murdered her mother, living in her house, sleeping in her father’s bed, replacing…” My throat closed. “You could lose them. You could lose your daughter.”
His breathing quickened as rage flashed across his face.
“Do not you dare talk about my family like you know anything about them.”
“I may not know them,” I replied, tears streaming down my face. “But I know Arielle is innocent in all of this. Just like me.” My voice broke completely. “We are both innocent.”
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Chap 106 Are You That Consumed fy Revenge?
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I lifted my trembling hand and touched his face.
He flinched violently. His whole body went taut. A sound came from deep in his throat, pained and tortured, like my touch burned him.
“I am so sorry,” I whispered, my palm against his cheek. “I am so sorry that my father killed your wife. If I could do anything to change it, I would. But I cannot.” Tears dripped from my chin. “Please. Just find a place in your heart to…”
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