Chapter 156 Done
Serena’s POV
I didn’t realize I had stopped breathing until Isabella stepped back.
But her eyes stayed on mine the whole time, watching, waiting.
But for what?
For me to react?
For me to break?
“What are you talking about?” I asked, but my voice didn’t sound like mine anymore.
It was way too quiet and far too uncertain.
She tilted her head slightly to her side, almost like she pitied me.
“You really don’t know,” she said softly.
“Know what?” I snapped as my hedge finally cracked.
She let out a small breath, like she had been expecting this.
“Dante,” she said slowly, “has never been a man who does anything without a reason.”
“I know that,” I replied quickly.
“Do you?” She asked again, that same gentle tone that somehow made it worse.
I clenched my fists. “Yes,” I replied between gritted teeth.
She studied me for a second, then nodded like she had reached a conclusion.
“Then you should understand this better than anyone,” she continued. “Power is everything to him.”
My jaw tightened. “That doesn’t mean—”
“It means everything,” she cut in with her voice still calm. “It always has. It always will be.”
I shook my head. “No.”
But even as I said it, I knew inside me I wasn't sure.
And she must have noticed as her smirk only grew.
“You think what he has with you is different?” She asked.
“Yes,” I said immediately with no hesitation.
But she just smiled, and that smile didn’t look like she believed me one bit.
“You sound just like I did,” she murmured.
My chest tightened. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” she stepped closer again, lowering her voice, “I used to think I was special too.”
I swallowed.
“He told me things,” she continued. “He made promises to me, made it feel like I was the only one who mattered.”
I didn’t want to listen, but I couldn’t stop neither could I move.
“Do you know what he used to talk about the most?” She asked.
I stayed silent all through.
“Power,” she answered for me. “Expansion, more control. His next move, the next territory he'd conquer.”
And for many reasons, that didn't sound like a lie.
I had heard him talk like that before, many times.
“He wanted more,” she went on. “It was always about more.”
My mind started connecting things together, things I didn’t want to put together.
“And when he couldn’t get it directly,” she added, “he found other ways.”
I frowned. “What are you trying to say?” I asked weakly.
She looked straight into my eyes and whispered. “I’m saying you’re one of those ways.”
The words landed harder than I expected.
“No,” I said again, more like I was trying to make myself not believe it than I was arguing.
“He used me,” she continued calmly. “And when I stopped being useful… he moved on.”
“That’s not—”
“And now,” she cut in smoothly, “it’s you.”
I shook my head harder. “You’re lying.”
“Am I?”
“Yes,” I replied immediately.
She didn’t argue, she didn’t even try.
And that was the worst part. Instead, she just watched me… like she knew something I didn’t.
“You know your name, don’t you?” She asked suddenly.
I froze.
“Of course?” I replied uncertainly.
“You are a Marcetti,” she said softly.
My heart skipped. “How do you—”
“The Marceti family ring,” she continued, like I hadn’t spoken. “It’s one of the most valuable family symbols of power left.”
My chest tightened.
No.
No, no, no—
“He talked about it,” she said. “Back then, even when we were together.”
I felt something cold settle in my stomach.
“He wanted it,” she added simply.
I stared at her. “You’re lying,” I repeated, but it sounded distant now.
“Am I?” She asked again, quieter this time.
My thoughts started racing.
Dante…
Power…
Expansion…
My father's disappearance…
“When your father disappeared,” she continued, “that’s when things changed.”
I felt like the ground shifted beneath me.
“That’s when you appeared,” she said. “And suddenly, everything lined up.”
My breathing grew uneven. “No… that’s not…”
“He saved you,” she went on, counting it out slowly. “Protected you, brought you close, gained your trust.”
Each word hit harder than the last.
“No—”
“And eventually,” she added, “you gave yourself to him completely.”
“Stop it,” I whispered.
“Do you really think Dante Russo risks himself for nothing?” She asked quietly.
My chest tightened painfully.
“Do you think he just walked into that chaos and pulled you out… without knowing exactly who you were?”
I couldn’t answer, cause now… now my mind was replaying everything.
That day, that moment. The way he had found me.
The way he had known where
“No…” I shook my head, stepping back slightly. “No, he didn’t—”
“He did,” she said firmly.
Tears burned at the back of my eyes.
“You’re wrong,” I said, but my voice broke this time.
She softened, just a little. “I wish I was,” I muttered.
Silence fell between us, heavy, and crushing.
“And even now,” she added after a moment, “you think he’s loyal to you?”
I looked at her slowly. That question, that hurt more than the rest.
“Yes,” I whispered, but I wasn’t as sure one bit.
Her lips curved slightly. “Then you should see this.”
My heart dropped as she reached into her bag and pulled out her phone.
“No—” I started.
But she had already unlocked it.
“Just watch,” she said.
“I don’t want to—”
“Watch.”
Something in her tone made me stop, and she tapped the screen. Then turned it towards me.
At first, I didn’t understand what I was seeing.
There were blurry images with terrible lighting, then—
My breath hitched.
I spotted Dante, there was no mistaking him.
His face.
His body.
His hands on her, running over her ass and pounding into her like he did with me.
Then his lips found hers before going down to her breasts, just the way he did with me.
My stomach twisted violently. “No…” I whispered.
The images changed to another one. Then another.
Moments that kept repeating on, moments I didn’t want to understand but did anyway.
“This was recent,” she said quietly.
I shook my head, stepping back. “No—”
She tapped again and a voice played.
Dante's voice.
I froze.
His voice, sounding unguarded… saying things I had only heard him say to me.
Things meant for me not her, or at least that's what I thought.
I felt my chest crack open, I couldn’t breathe.
“This was two weeks ago,” she added.
Two weeks.
Two—
That was when—
I staggered back.
“No… no, this isn’t—this isn’t—”
“It is,” she said gently.
Everything blurred into one, all the moments, all the words, all the things he had said to me.
The moments we had shared, the sex, were any of them real?
Or just—
Another step?
Another plan?
Another move?
Tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them, and I turned away from her.
“I can’t…” I whispered. “I can’t—”
“Serena—”
“I can’t do this!” I snapped with my voice breaking completely.
I didn’t wait for her to respond.
I ran. I didn’t know where I was going, I just needed to get away.
Away from her, away from him, away from everything.
The noise of the ballroom faded behind me as I pushed through corridors, past people, and past doors.
Till I found a quiet corner, an empty, hidden one, and collapsed against the wall.
And the tears fell harder.
I pressed my hand against my mouth, trying to hold it in, trying not to make a sound, but it didn’t work.
Everything hurt, my chest, my head, my heart. It felt like something inside me had been ripped open.
All the doubts, all the memories, all the things I had ignored—
They came rushing back.
And this time, I couldn’t push them away.
“Why?” I whispered brokenly.
Why did it make sense?
Why did it all… fit in?
I slid down to the floor, hugging myself as the sobs took over.
I didn’t know how long I stayed like that. Maybe minutes, maybe longer, but eventually… the tears slowed down.
But the pain didn’t, something else came with it.
A clearer head as I lifted my head slowly.
My vision blurred, but my thoughts were… sharper, colder.
“I’m done,” I whispered.
The words felt strange, but right.
“I’m done with this…”