CHAPTER 20
Maybe you should go into his room and destroy everything you see.
I roll my eyes. The voice hasn’t stopped thinking of ways to piss off Dante.
He will beat you, probably rape you, and it will break your heart, but you need to understand he’s the villain! He can’t have that much patience!
A week has passed since my murder attempt, and there have been no consequences. Greta continued to offer help, which I refused—I couldn’t face her without feeling terrible, but she did anyway. She’s been helping me study Italian and English. I still have some trouble writing.
They didn’t restrict my food, scold me, or hit me. Nothing. Zero consequences.
It’s almost noon, and no one has come up to bring us breakfast. I’ll take that as a sign I’ll have to make my own. I hope Dante’s not home—or anyone else. I still don’t know whether I’m allowed to eat whenever I want.
I walk downstairs into the dining room with Finn in my arms. Dante sits at one end of the table, drinking coffee.
Cold sweat runs down my back. My heart races, but I keep my cool—or at least I try to.
“Buongiorno, ragnetta.”
My cheeks burn.
Keep walking; do not look at him. He does not exist… Okay, dammit, there’s no breakfast for you, and the cooks look at you as if you have a fish on your head. Retreat to your bedroom.
Dante holds my wrist. I maintain my gaze away from him. The table is divided in two. His side has only a cup of coffee; the other, pancakes, juice—I bet it’s fresh—and fruit mashed in a little bowl.
Our breakfast.
“Eat with me.”
“Finn doesn’t have his chair here.”
“I have another one for him.”
I close my eyes, digging my nails into my palms. My stomach clenches. Perhaps this week he’s been plotting a way to punish me. Maybe now he’ll want to kill me. Kill us. Oh, God—what if he poisoned the dishes and wants to watch us die slowly in front of him?
Very possible.
I drag the feeding far away from that traitor. I settle Finn in it and sit next to him.
Dante slides a small box onto the table. It bumps the plate in front of me. I don’t dare look up.
“Your phone,” he says. “It’s brand new.”
“Thank you.” I don’t take it. I focus on Finn’s hands going from the food to his mouth.
“I’ll introduce you to your bodyguards in two days.”
“Okay.”
“Eat.”
I comply.
I’m an idiot.
Yes, you’re a huge idiot for thinking you could get away with this. Now we’re chained to this place.
It was your idea—I’m not even capable of killing a fly. Dante has years of training.
How could an idiot like me hurt him? If I’d known to stab a little higher, this might have ended differently... and the truth is, I don’t know if I could have lived with myself if I had succeeded.
They say the third time’s a charm, and I don’t want to take the chance of it being true. I can live as a murderer; I can’t live knowing I killed him.
“You won’t see me again if you don’t want to,” he continues. “I’ll text you every time I leave my room and whenever I leave for work.”
“What happened the other day—”
“Won’t happen again. You clarified you do not want me; I won’t insist.”
“I can’t force you not to be in your own house.”
“I am making this decision. I don’t intend to cause you any more discomfort or risk getting myself killed over one of your little antics.”
“If you didn’t want to bother me, then you’d let me go.”
He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Where will you live if I do? What will you eat? How will you dress Finn?”
A knot forms in my stomach. This whole thing reminds me of how useless I am; I don’t need Dante to stress that.
I’m unschooled... I was raised to be a wife. A kept woman who cared for the chores. I wasn’t allowed to study; I never opened a book on my own… And now, I’m a widow with a child. I don’t know how to do a single thing, not even how to live alone.
“Stefan’s money—”
“Won’t be enough. And if you go to your father, he’ll… sell you out again.”
I duck my head. He’s wrong. He won’t sell me; what he’ll do is much worse.
He stands up and walks at a steady pace to the entrance. “It’s up to you to come down when I do. You can always do it later. I’ll do my best to stay out of the way.”
“You’ll stick to your word about not touching me?”
He halts for a moment.
“Until you ask me to. I won’t reach out any further. I won’t even go near Finn. I’ll text you before I get home, so you don’t have to see me. You’re free to do whatever you want here.”
Uncomfortable silence fills the room. I expected shouting, threats, blows and, perhaps, even death… Not this.
It’s his house, and I’m his prisoner; it doesn’t make sense that he would lock himself away while I can roam the house and garden as and when I want. It’s nonsense.
“Why?”
He stays silent for a beat.
“You don’t trust me. I’m giving you the space you asked for. I can’t take you somewhere else, but I can stay far from you. I told you, I respect you, and I care for you. I need you to realise that somehow.”
My stomach churns, but I don’t insist.
“How’s your wound?”
“Healing. You were close.”
My stomach clenches. Finn spills some food onto my clothes. I turn to look at Dante, and to my surprise, he’s not staring at me.
“I’m sorry, I—”
“It doesn’t matter, Lana. I know you’re trying.”
He walks out and slams the door shut.
I pick up the box, open it cautiously and find the phone already on. There’s a very good chance he put a tracker on it or something.
I shake my head. I’d rather think he didn’t. The last thing I need is for him to be a full-time stalker. I barely get rid of him at night.
His number is already saved, and so is Greta’s, along with a few more emergency contacts.
I sigh and put the phone aside. I’ll try to call Mum and Tara later. I turn my full attention to my son and help him finish his meal.
“I really want to get out of this, little monster,” I whisper to Finn. “Sorry for bringing you down with me.”
He replies with happy noises. Of course, he has no idea what I mean.
Someday I’ll turn this into a bedtime story, and he’ll never know he’s the protagonist.
Someday, we’ll be free.