Chapter 97 Phone Call

Chapter 97 Phone Call
"Hi," I say.

My heart races in my chest, anticipating Antonio's words. Will he be angry at me? Or will he be fine with my suspicious action of not answering his calls and texts? If I get him mad now, I'm afraid of what would happen to me in the future. If our relationship ends before my family and I gather more information about the Riccis, then we might be back to square one. And that, I refuse to happen. So, I have to stay in Antonio's good graces. Let's hope he'll tolerate my lack of communication.

"Hey. Are you okay? You haven't answered my calls and texts these past few days. I'm worried," Antonio says.

Alright. What should I say to him now? Should I let him know the truth? Should I tell him that I've actually been avoiding him because I don't really want to talk to him? Fuck it. I'll tell him the truth. I don't think it'll do me any good to lie to him. Lying would make things worse with Antonio.

"I'm so sorry. I'm fine. Don't worry. It's just... After what happened, I don't really feel like talking to anyone. I promise it's nothing personal to you. What happened enrages me. If I could, I'd kill the Romanos right at this exact second. So yeah, I was avoiding you because I'm trying to calm myself down. I'm sorry about worrying you. I should've let you know that I'm fine," I say.

"Don't be sorry. I get you. I'm glad you're fine," Antonio says.

The line goes quiet, and I stay silent, waiting for Antonio to say something. Right now, I barely have the energy and words to say to him. It feels like my mind is blank. Not even a single thought pops into my mind about what I can say to Antonio. So, I'd rather have him talk to me. After all, he's the one who reaches out to me first. So, I think it's his job to keep the conversation going if he wants to.

"Uh, was it really the Romanos? I mean the invasion?" Antonio asks.

Antonio could be pretending not to know about it. He's probably testing me to see if I'll tell him the truth or lie to his face. So, I definitely should say the truth, which is what I know from my father. I can't let him get suspicious and further endanger my family. Not at this time. We're still a bit vulnerable after the attack, so we shouldn't provoke them.

"Yeah. The Romano's men sneaked into the house in the staff's van. That was what my father said to me. They got one of our staff hostage to get them into the vicinity," I say.

"How are the others? And Dante? How about him?" Antonio asks.

"They're fine and currently healing. As for Dante, he's finally awake a couple of days ago. He's now getting better. He still needs to stay at the hospital for a few days, though. The doctor said his condition still needs to be monitored," I say.

"That's good to hear. I hope he'll get even better soon," Antonio says.

I hope Dante will get discharged soon, though. I don't think it's safe for us to be here for too long. Even though we got attacked at home, I think it's safer there. At least there are no strangers at home, and after what happened, my father has definitely tightened security around the house. So, it's absolutely safer there than here without threats lurking around us in such a public space as this hospital.

"I hope so, too. Thank you," I say.

"Alright. I won't bother you any longer. I'll see you soon?" Antonio says.

"Yeah. See you soon. Bye," I say.

As I hang up the call and put my phone down, I turn to Dante. From the look on his face, he tries to act nonchalant, but the look of disdain is clear on his face. Oooh, seems like someone is jealous. I like it when I can see how he's actually feeling. At least that lets me know that Dante actually cares about me and only wants me to himself, but not until the point of suffocating overprotection.

"Antonio?" Dante asks. The tone of his voice is flat.

"Yeah. He's worried because I haven't answered his calls and texts lately," I say, shrugging.

"Oh," Dante says.

A smirk creeps up on my face at his dry response. His eyes avoid mine as he stares at the TV in front of him. I continue to stare at his face, and his facial expression stays flat as he watches the TV in silence. Yep. He's definitely jealous. I can't believe I ended up with the jealous type like him. I don't mind it, though. In fact, I like it.

"What? Are you jealous?" I ask.

"No. Why would I?" Dante says, not even sparing a single glance at my way. My smirk only grows wider at his reply. That response alone makes me want to tease him even more to get a better reaction from him. However, I don't think I should do that. I'd rather not annoy him at this time.

"If you say so," I say, smiling as I shift my gaze away from him.

"You said it yourself. You're mine. I have nothing to worry about," Dante says.

This time, it's his turn to show his victory smirk. With my cheek burning, I look away from him and stare at the TV. It's currently showing a car chase scene involving the police and the museum thieves. I focus on the scene, trying to ignore the warmth all over my body.

"Oh, hush," I say.

"It's true. The proof is you're here with me instead of him," Dante says.

"Right," I say, not knowing what else to say.

Gosh, his words always make me sheepish. All the confidence in me to tease him suddenly disappears once he said those kinds of things. Which I like and hate at the same time. I hate it because he always managed to make me speechless after I thought I won. However, I think it's also hilarious. I feel kinda dumb for thinking I can win against his compelling words.

"That's it? Cat got your tongue?" Dante says.

Now he's the one teasing me. Damn it. I guess that's the consequence of doing it to him first. I stay silent, but my possibly red face tells my true feelings, but I let it anyway. Without anything to say, I have no choice but to let him win again and tease me for now. Fuck.

"Shut up," I say.

"You did it first-"

"Hi."

My eyes almost pop out of their sockets, and my heart races when I see the tall figure by the doorway. Antonio. What is he doing here? I thought he was home, but why is he here now? Does that mean he's already on his way here when he called me? Fuck. What should I do now? I didn't think he'd come here because why would he? Did he know something about Dante and me? God. I hope not. Let's just stay calm and see what he'll say.