Chapter 41

The house that once felt safe now felt like a trap.

Dante stood in the room, motionless as a statue, but the energy surrounding him was a silent battlefield.

His eyes were fixed on Sophia, the woman who had dared to walk through the doors of his home as if she still belonged.

But I knew—she never did.

Not to him.

And now, maybe not even to me.

“Leave,” Dante ordered, his voice low but carrying absolute command.

No one questioned him.

Not Luca.

Not the guards who had been standing in the shadows, waiting for an order to act.

They left, leaving only the three of us.

The storm brewing needed no audience.

I forced myself to take a deep breath.

“Dante, we can talk.”

“No.” His voice was cold, sharp. “There’s no talking when someone breaks into my house uninvited.”

His attention wasn’t on me.

It was on Sophia.

She didn’t flinch.

But I saw something in her eyes.

Something I didn’t recognize.

“I came for Aurora,” Sophia said, finally.

Dante laughed.

Low. Cold.

“You came to die?”

A shiver ran down my spine.

Sophia didn’t step back.

She never did.

“I came to warn her.”

She turned her head, her gaze locking onto mine.

“Aurora, Dante is going to destroy you. And you know it.”

My breath caught.

I felt Dante’s eyes on me.

And, for the first time, I didn’t know what to say.

Dante didn’t move.

But the room shrank.

The air grew heavier.

Sophia stepped forward.

“You think he’s going to let you go?” Her voice was lower now, almost gentle.

“You think he can love you without breaking you?”

I opened my mouth to answer—but the words never came.

Because the truth was, I didn’t know.

I had become part of this.

Part of him.

But could I leave?

If I wanted to?

Dante saw my hesitation.

And something inside him snapped.

“Do you trust her more than you trust me?” His voice was low, but razor-sharp.

“I...”

He took a step forward.

“Tell me, Aurora.”

I swallowed.

“I trust you.”

Dante gritted his jaw.

But he didn’t look satisfied.

Didn’t look convinced.

Sophia, however, smirked.

“It doesn’t matter what she says now,” she murmured.

“Because one day, she’ll see the truth. And when she does…”

She looked at me one last time.

“I hope it’s not too late.”

And then, before I could stop her, she left.

The silence after the door closed was deafening.

But it didn’t last long.

Dante turned to me, his gaze cutting.

“Tell me.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Tell me you don’t believe her.”

I crossed my arms, ignoring the tight knot in my chest.

“I already said I trust you.”

“But you hesitated.”

My throat went dry.

I wanted to yell at him, to fight, to make him stop looking at me like I was slipping away.

But maybe it was because he knew.

Because part of me wanted to slip away.

Not because I didn’t love him.

But because his love was consuming me whole.

And I didn’t know if I’d survive it.

Dante ran his hands through his hair, his patience unraveling.

“You want to go after her?” His voice was lower now.

I clenched my jaw. “I didn’t say that.”

“Then tell me what you want.”

I opened my mouth.

But, for the second time that night, I couldn’t answer.

And Dante saw that as the worst betrayal of all.

He stepped forward, close enough that I could feel the heat of his body.

“If you think I’m going to let you go, Aurora…”

His fingers brushed against my face, my throat, my waist.

“You don’t know me.”

My chest rose and fell too fast.

“Dante.”

“You can’t run from me,” he whispered.

And maybe it was a warning.

Maybe it was a promise.

But the truth was, I didn’t want to run from him.

I wanted to understand him.

I wanted to believe him.

But something inside me hesitated.

And Dante felt it.

That’s why, that night, he made a decision before I could.

Dante left before dawn.

When I woke up, he was already gone.

But there was a note beside the bed.

Written in his sharp, emotionless handwriting.

"I’ll handle this. Stay where you are."

My heart stopped.

I knew exactly what this meant.

Dante was going after Sophia.

And he wasn’t leaving survivors.

I ran through the mansion.

But every door was locked.

Every exit guarded.

He had predicted my reaction.

He knew I’d try to stop him.

And so, he had trapped me here.

My breath hitched.

I was locked inside.

And if Dante went after Sophia now…

I’d never have the chance to find out the truth.

Never have the chance to know if he was right—or if she was.

My fingers trembled as I grabbed my phone.

But when I dialed her number.

It rang only once before going to voicemail.

She already knew.

And now, all I could do was wait to see who would win this war.