Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
This was so cruel.
Rushing toward her en-suite bathroom, she quickly turned the shower on as the sobs threatened to take over. Aria had never been in love before. She had never known what it felt like to be loved.
Dante didn’t love her. He was dealing with the hand he’d been dealt. She was his wife, a duty, nothing more.
Curling up against the far wall, she wrapped her arms around her legs and tried to contain the sobs.
How had it come to this? Life was so much easier when she hated him. Why couldn’t she go back to hating him and wanting out of their marriage? Pain sliced through her chest, and she dropped her head onto her knees and sobbed.
****
Dante entered his father’s home office and saw the man sitting behind the desk. He approached the desk and dropped the file onto the flat surface.
“I hope there is a good reason for your rudeness.”
“Open it,” Dante said.
He knew his father would appreciate the lack of small talk. He heard the sigh, and then the chuckle. “One of our men finally accomplished this?” Dante Sr. asked.
“No,” Dante said. “Aria was able to obtain it.”
“What? Did Phillip simply give it to her?”
Dante stared out the garden window overlooking the gardens. His mother loved a good landscape, and his father always made sure she got what she wanted.
“No, he didn’t. Aria played the long game, and she used our newfound … closeness to get what she wanted,” Dante said.
“I will call the lawyer and get the marriage terminated,” Dante Sr. said. “You are aware Phillip is not going to be happy.”
Dante took several seconds to enjoy the scenery before turning back to his father. He rounded the desk and took a seat. “I don’t want a divorce,” Dante said.
His father looked at him before sitting back. “If you don’t want a divorce, then what do you want?”
“I need you to make arrangements for me to talk to Pesci myself,” Dante said. He’d spent all night analyzing the images, watching the footage, and he already had another problem he wanted to deal with.
Before coming to his father, he had gone to Constance Pesci. He knew visiting her would cause a great deal of gossip, but Phillip Lewis wasn’t quite as clever as he thought he was. When he’d been initially blackmailing him, Dante didn’t have the chance to properly look at the footage or the images taken from the same footage. In each item, Dante had been able to find the means that showed Phillip had organized everything.
Constance had also admitted to it. She had been in love with her husband. They’d been betrothed when they were children, and as such, they’d also grown up together. Love had developed, and Phillip was aware she was no longer a virgin. She’d already given herself to her husband.
Phillip threatened her fiancé’s life, and she had no choice but to be in the right place at the right time. Dante had gotten into a routine, and with Constance’s help, he’d drank a lot.
He would never have risked his life having sex with the boss’s daughter. Phillip was sure to be there, to film it. Constance had broken into tears, because six months into her marriage, her husband had ended up dead. She was convinced Phillip was to blame, because he came to her, as he wanted to trap another capo’s son. She refused, only this time she threatened to go to her father.
It was only fear of what her father might think that had stopped her before. She’d been trapped. Terrified of Phillip. And Dante had played with the wrong capo’s son.
“I see,” his father said, once he explained everything. “You do realize this could … cause you trouble.”
“No, it won’t. I have a feeling Pesci would want any opportunity to deal with his son, and now I’ve got the means. Constance is going to verify everything, and Phillip will be dealt with,” Dante said.
“And your divorce?” his father asked.
Dante glanced down at his hands. On his wedding finger was the band Aria had slipped over his finger. When she did it on their wedding day, he’d felt such contempt toward her. True hatred. It was unlike anything he’d ever felt before in his life. Only now, staring at the ring, he knew he would never let Aria go. She was the love of his life.
“I’m not divorcing Aria,” Dante said.
“Waiting to see if she is pregnant. If she has son, with what Phillip has done—”
“I love her,” Dante said.
Silence fell between them and he knew he had surprised his father.
“Dante—”
“I know what you’re going to say, Dad, but it doesn’t matter. I went into this marriage hating her because I thought she was exactly like her father. She’s not. She is nothing like Phillip and she did what she promised she’d do.” He pointed at the documents. “She has given me my freedom.”