Chapter 164 Old Wounds feel Good
Dante’s POV
I knew who it was without looking up, and I knew I didn't need to talk to her anyway.
But her voice came again, clearer this time as she stepped closer.
“Dante.”
I turned fully now with my gaze landing on her.
Issabella.
For a second, nothing moved. Not me, not her.
Just that brief pause where we both knew who stood ahead of us. She looked the same from the ball, but in a different way I couldn't explain.
There was something more peaceful about her now, something less pointing than before.
I didn’t say anything immediately. I just stared at her.
“What are you doing here by this time?” I finally asked.
And she offered me a small shrug in response, like it wasn’t anything serious.
“I could ask you the same thing, but I think I already know the answer,” she replied later on.
I didn’t respond to that. My attention shifted briefly to my car before I stepped past her slightly.
“I’m leaving,” I said simply.
“I know,” she replied quickly, stepping in just enough to stop me from moving further. “That’s why I came now.”
I paused with my eyes returning to her.
“What do you want, Issabella?”
Her expression didn’t change much when she replied. “To talk.”
I let out a quiet breath, shaking my head slightly as I reached for my car door. “Not today.”
“Dante—”
“I said not today,” I said firmly, not in any way harsh though. Just firm enough to end it.
But she didn’t move.
“I’m not asking for anything serious,” she said in that very small, soft voice of hers. “Just… a conversation.”
I opened the car door halfway, then stopped.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said without looking at her.
“Why?” She asked.
And I glanced at her then with my expression flat. “You really want me to answer that?”
She held my gaze casually. “No. I just think you’re overthinking it.”
I scoffed before shaking my head again.
“I’m not doing this,” I said finally and made to get into the car, but she stepped closer again, not aggressive, just enough to keep the moment from ending.
“It’s just dinner, Dante,” she said softly.
I went still at that.
“Nothing serious. No past, no problems, no complicated conversations,” she continued. “Just two people sitting down and talking.”
I didn’t respond immediately, but my grip on the car door tightened slightly as I looked away for a second.
Four days. Four days of the same routine, for work and silence. Avoidance.
Four days of pushing everything out.
Including her.
Including Serena.
My jaw tightened faintly.
“It won’t change anything,” Issabella added, quieter this time. “Do it for old time's sake.”
That made me look back at her.
She didn't look sad, didn't look pained, she just looked like the young lady I was afraid to walk up to about a decade ago.
“There’s nothing wrong with just trying,” she added gently.
The words settled in more than I expected.
Trying.
I exhaled slowly with my shoulders easing off just a bit. Maybe she was right.
It didn’t have to mean anything, it didn’t have to lead anywhere.
Just… a conversation.
Something different from the silence.
So I held open the car door. “Fine,” I said.
Her lips curved slightly, but not too much, just enough to show she heard me.
“Fine,” she repeated and hopped in from the other side and I joined her in too.
“Where to?” I asked.
“I'll show you,” she said with a beam.
I looked away and gulped slightly, hoping this would end well.
The place she picked was quiet, not too many crowds, not that empty either. Just enough people to keep things from feeling weird.
We sat across from each other with the space between us filled more with things we didn't know how to spill out at first.
The waiter came, took the orders, and left, then silence followed.
I leaned back slightly, tapping my fingers against the table for a while to fill the space before stopping.
She spoke after I stopped.
“You still do that,” she said.
I glanced at her. “Do what?”
“That,” she nodded toward my hand. “When you don’t know what to say.”
I paused for a while, before shaking off her words.
“I know what to say,” I replied.
“Then say it,” she hit back immediately with a smirk.
I held her gaze for a second, then looked away slightly.
“Why now?” I asked instead.
She didn’t hesitate. “Because I wanted to.”
“That’s it?”
She nodded. “That’s it,” she repeated and I studied her for a moment before nodding away.
“Alright,” I added and we fell into another moment with no words.
After a while, she leaned forward slightly, resting her arms lightly on the table.
“So,” she started in a pretty light tone, “how’s work?”
I let out a quiet breath through my nose. “Busy.”
“That’s not new,” she pressed on.
“No, it’s not,” I replied, not really giving much.
She tilted her head slightly. “You always hide behind that answer,” she continued.
“I’m not hiding,” I shot back.
“You are.”
I looked at her again, but this time, I wasn't holding back.
“You haven’t changed,” I said.
“Neither have you,” she replied easily and that nearly made me smirk.
The food arrived shortly after, breaking whatever tension was left.
And for a while, we focused on that instead, the conversation slowing into something more natural.
She asked about small things, nothing too serious or particularly hard or deep.
Just… normal.
And in a way that I couldn't really explain, that made it easier.
And halfway through our meal, I answered her questions without thinking too much about it.
Dishing the short replies and putting more effort without realizing it.
She talked too. About random things, places she’d been. People she’d met. Nothing that required me to dig deeper than I wanted to.
It stayed light, easy.
At some point, I leaned back in my chair, watching her as she spoke about something I barely paid attention to, not because I didn’t care, but because I was noticing something else.
I wasn’t forcing this, it was just happening.
“You’re not even listening,” she said suddenly, pulling my attention back.
I blinked once. “I am.”
“You’re not.”
“I am,” I replied.
“Then what did I just say?”
I paused, and she raised a brow.
“You're not,” I replied without thinking.
“Huh?”
I gave it a thought and decided to go with it.
So I shrugged. “That's what you said last,” I replied and after a second or two, she just smirked back.
“I mean before I called you out,” she smirked too and that's where I went lost.
I shrugged again. “You were talking about something unimportant,” I said.
She stared at me for a second, then laughed.
And before I could stop it… I let out a small one too.
It was the smallest of laughs, but she noticed.
“You laughed,” she pointed out.
“Don’t make it a big deal,” I replied, focusing back on my food.
“I’m not. I just didn’t expect it.”
“Why?” I asked after a bite.
“Because you’ve been… different.”
I didn’t respond to that. Instead, I picked up my drink, taking a slow sip before setting it back down.
The conversation continued as we talked about when we first met.
The early days, before everything became complicated. Before things shifted into something harder to handle.
There were moments where we both paused, where certain memories came too close to things we weren’t supposed to talk about, but neither of us pushed it.
We let those moments pass and moved on.
At some point, I realized I hadn’t thought about Serena once since we sat down.
That thought came and went just as quickly.
I didn’t hold onto it.
And by the time we stepped out, the night air felt cooler, or maybe it was just the way my shoulders felt free.
We walked side by side without rushing, talking lightly as we made our way towards my parked car.
It was comfortable and light. At one point, she said something I didn’t fully catch, and I shook my head slightly.
“You talk too much,” I teased.
“No way, you just don’t listen enough,” she shot back.
“That’s not true.”
“It is,” she argued.
I glanced at her, and she was already looking at me.
For a second, neither of us looked away.
Then she smiled faintly, and I let out a small breath, shaking my head again.
“Unbelievable,” I exclaimed as we reached the car not long after.
I stopped beside it, pulling out my keys, but I didn’t unlock it immediately.
Neither of us spoke and the moment stretched slightly.
It was hard to admit, but this night had gone way better than expected.
Could it get any better?
I turned toward her, and she was already looking at me, closer now than before.
Her gaze held mine for a second longer before she tilted her head just slightly.
“Do you really want the night to end like this?” She asked softly.
And I didn’t answer.
Then her lips curved just a bit.
“Cause I might have a better plan.”