Chapter 63: Confession

I've been leaving the door to my room open, waiting for Dante anxiously. It's been an hour, and Dante still hasn't come by my room. I wonder what takes him so long. What are my father, Carlo, and Dante discussing? I hope Dante will tell me the truth later.

I tap my foot against the floor, keeping my eyes on the empty doorway. Despite the determination to confess my feelings towards Dante, I can't help but feel nervous and anxious. Even though I know his true feelings towards me, the fear of his reaction to my confession haunts me. What if he still rejects me even after I tell him how I feel? What should I do after that? I'm afraid things will get awkward between us after this.

Another five minutes pass by, and I finally see Dante. He stands by the doorway, confusion all over his face. Once his gaze meets mine, his face turns worried. He walks towards me, and then I put my hand up, stopping him mid-walk.

"Could you close the door? I need to talk to you," I say. Dante returns to the door and then approaches me. Without asking, Dante takes a seat next to me on the bed.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Dante asks. The worried look from before lingers on his face as he stares at me. I stay silent, uncertain about how to put my thoughts into words.

This is it. It's finally my time to confess. I can't back out now. I need to get this out of my chest. I can't keep these feelings to myself anymore. Dante should know I like him, that his feelings are reciprocated. I don't want him to keep thinking that I like Antonio and not him.

"Fuck. I like you, okay? I like you, Dante. From the first time I saw you," I say.

Dante stays silent. His eyes are going wider as he continues to stare at me. His usual calm composure shatters at this moment, replaced with fear and shock. I'm not sure if he's acting surprised or if he's too dense because, what do you mean he never realises I like him after all I did when he's around? I always act all touchy-feely around him when my father's not around. Isn't that enough proof for him to think that I like him back?

"No. Absolutely not. You're lying," Dante says.

"Why would I lie about this? I've always liked you, and don't tell me you don't like me back because I've heard about all the things you said to me while I was pretending to be asleep," I say. Dante becomes more restless as he gets on his feet, pinching the bridge of his nose as he paces in front of me.

"Fuck. I knew it. I shouldn't have said anything. He's going to kill me. Fuck," Dante mutters. He continues to pace in front of me, and I stay silent and wait for him to calm down. After god knows how long, Dante finally stops, staring at me with eyes full of worry.

"Do you know what this means for me if your father finds out? Death. He'll kill me. And you, he might do something to you too," Dante says.

Dante's not wrong. Not only might my father kill him, but he might also punish me for liking Dante. However, I don't give a fuck about what he thinks. It's about time that I finally make my own decisions, and that starts with Dante. I want to be with him, not Antonio or anyone else.

"Dante. Please, sit down. I promise he won't find out just yet. At least not now. I won't let him kill you or hurt you," I say. Dante sits back down next to me, seemingly calming down as he takes some deep breaths.

"Listen. I like you, okay? I've always liked you since the first time we met. Fuck. I had like the biggest crush on you when I first saw you. Even though you were kinda annoying at first, I can't help but like you anyway," I say.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Dante asks, avoiding my gaze as he stares at the floor.

"I can't help it. You think I didn't notice how you look whenever I mention Antonio, and when I went to see Antonio this morning? I'm telling this so you're not worried about Antonio anymore. I hate seeing the hint of sadness in your eyes. That's why," I say. Dante scoffs out a laugh, shaking his head.

"I can't believe you actually pretended to be asleep. All that time I said I like you, you really heard that, huh?" Dante says.

"Maybe not all the time, but I did hear that you like me when I pretended to sleep-talk and that time when you told me a bedtime story about the princess and the knight," I say. Dante's face turns red after hearing what I said. He then clears his throat, trying to act nonchalant like he always does.

"What about Antonio? You said you liked him that one time," Dante asks.

See? He's definitely jealous of Antonio. Even after my confession, he still thinks of him. Does he really think I like Antonio that much? Well, after what I did with Antonio, I can't blame him.

"I'm not going to lie, but I kinda like him, but still, I like you even more. And now that we know for sure, the Ricci has been involved in the Romanos' businesses, thinking about liking him irks me. I only get closer to him to help my father figure out what the Ricci have been up to. That's it. Fuck. Whenever I'm around Antonio, all I can think about is you and nothing else," I say.

"Well, you got me. I do like you, but we can't do this. We can't be together," Dante says.

"Why?" I ask. I thought he was opening up. Why did he say that? How could we not be together? Isn't that what he wants? To be with me? From what he said in the past, it's undeniable that Dante wants to be with me, but he's probably still afraid of my father. Other than that, he thinks that he has no chance with me because of how my father always pairs me up with another person of his choice.

"We don't belong together. Never," Dante says with a bitter smile. I furrow my eyebrows at his response. How could he say that? No. I'm not letting this happen. If he likes me back, then all I need is to convince him to be with me.

"We haven't even gotten together. We haven't tried. How could you say that?" I ask.

"I just know. A relationship between us won't last. I've seen something like this happen before," Dante says.

Who is this? This doesn't sound like the Dante I know. The Dante I know is always so optimistic and determined. What's with him right now? It's definitely because of my father. He's scared of what might happen to him if my father knows about this. I mean, he's gotten punished before just for being too close to me. My father might wreak havoc if he knew Dante liked me.

"They're not us. Come on, Dante. Please. Give us a chance. I promise I won't let my father hurt you. I just want to be with you and no one else. My father doesn't have to know," I say.

"And what will happen once he finds out? To be frank, I'm not afraid of death. I'm afraid of what your father might do to you. So, no. You can't be with me. I don't want you to get hurt because of me," Dante says. He gets on his feet, and I quickly grab onto his wrist before he can leave.

"I don't care. I want to be with you. You know very well now we like each other. Isn't that enough for us to be together?" I ask.

"No. I'm sorry," Dante says. He pries my hand away gently, and I let him do it. Speechless, I watch as he leaves my room and closes the door behind him. My vision becomes blurry as I continue to stare at the door.

I can't believe this. My worst nightmare comes true. I don't know why, but there has to be something more to his rejection. He doesn't want to be with me just because of my father. He said it himself that he's not afraid of death. Is he hiding something? Does he has a secret no one knows? I need to find out about that. I'll talk to him again later.