Dante’s POV

I drove like a madman through the street, wondering where the hell Ariana could be, what if she was kidnapped?

What if someone had her yet again?

Did Ricardo have her?

My phone buzzed; it was a text from her number.

I’m home, please come home.

I didn’t know if it was her. I didn’t know if it was Ricardo, and I didn’t care either. I just needed to see her mad, make sure she was alright, and have her explain what was going on with the papers.

I got home faster than I usually do, ignoring the maids’ and other workers’ greetings.

My legs felt heavy with each step toward the door, which was harder than the last. My hand was shaking when I turned the handle to the room.

She was sitting on the couch with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her face was buried in her hands, and her shoulders were shaking.

She didn’t look up when I walked in or move.

I stood there for a moment looking at her.

I threw the papers on the table.

They scattered across the woods.

The sound was loud in the quiet room.

She flinched.

Her hands dropped from her face.

She looked at the papers, then at me.

"What is this?" My voice came out hard. I didn’t recognize it. "Please tell me this is a misunderstanding. Please tell me someone forced you, tricked you, or maybe forged your signature. Please tell me something, Ariana. Anything. Just tell me this isn’t what it looks like."

She stared at me with her lips trembling.

She didn’t say anything.

I walked closer.

The papers were scattered on the table. I pointed at them. "My lawyer called me today. He said fifty percent of my company has been transferred to your father. Your father, Ariana! How did he get this? How is this possible?"

She opened her mouth.

Closed it.

Nothing came out.

"Answer me!" I shouted the words came out like thunder. "How did he get these? How did he get you to sign them?"

Her face crumpled as tears spilled down her cheeks.

She started crying.

Great heaving sobs that shook her whole body.

I stood there watching her cry, and something inside me broke.

"So it’s true," I said. My voice was quiet now. Hollow. "You signed them, didn’t you? You gave my company to your father."

She nodded.

I sat down in the chair across from her. My legs wouldn’t hold me anymore. I felt like someone had pulled the ground out from under me.

"Why?" I asked the word came out like a whisper. "Why would you do this to me? What did I do wrong? What did I do to make you betray me like this?"

She shook her head with her hands covering her face again. "You didn’t do anything," she said. Her voice was muffled. "You didn’t do anything wrong."

"Then why?" I leaned forward, my hands gripping my knees. "Tell me why. Tell me what happened, tell me what he said to you or what he threatened you with. Tell me something, Ariana. Anything, just talk to me."

She pulled her hands away from her face.

"I can’t," she whispered.

"Can’t what? Can’t tell me? Or can’t think of a lie that I’ll believe?" I stood up, I couldn’t sit anymore. I started pacing. "Because I’ve been trying to figure this out all day, all night. I’ve been trying to understand how my wife and the one person I trust the most could do this to me, and I can’t, I can’t understand it. So you need to explain it to me. Right now."

She wiped her face with her hands, and her hands were shaking. "Dante, I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry."

"Sorry?" I stopped pacing and turned to look at her. "You’re sorry? That’s all you have to say? You signed away half my company, half of our children’s future, to a man who belongs in prison, and all you can say is you’re sorry?"

She stood up with legs that were unsteady.

"Don’t," I said, my voice was cold. "Don’t come near me right now. I need you to talk to me. I need you to explain so I can understand why you did this, because right now, I don’t know who you are. I don’t know if I ever knew who you are."

Tears were streaming down her face. "You knew me. I’m the same person I’ve always been—"

"You’re the woman who betrayed me!" I shouted. "You’re the woman who went behind my back and handed everything we built to my enemy! That’s who you are right now. That’s all I can see."

She flinched as I hit her. Her hands were pressed against her chest. "I didn’t have a choice."

"Everyone has a choice!" I grabbed the papers from the table. Held them up. "You could have said no, you could have fucking told me. You could have come to me, and we could have figured it out together. That’s what marriage is, yet you went behind my back and made a deal with your father." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

She was crying so hard she could barely stand.

"Dante, please," she said.

I shook my head, turning on my shoe, I walked to the door with my hand on the handle.

I didn’t turn around.

"I need some time," I said with my voice barely a whisper. "I need to think."

"Think about what?" She was crying again. "Think about whether you still want me? Think about whether you still love me?"

I closed my eyes; her words cut deep.

"I need to figure out how to get my company back," I said. "I need to figure out how to stop your father. I need to figure out how to protect our children, and I need to figure out how to trust you again."

I opened the door, and I walked out.

I got in the car, and I drove. I didn’t know where I was going, I just knew I couldn’t be there, not right now, not with her.

I drove so fast that my mind was barely on the road.

I needed to go see Marcus, or so help me god.