Chapter 24 Wounds and Scars

Chapter 24 Wounds and Scars

I couldn’t believe my ears, the Dante Moretti will live the ways of a common man and hide his identity under an alias. I raised a brow at him “You don’t think I’ll do it?” He asked in a flirtatious tone, his lips curved into a thin line, mixed with a light smile, his eyes enthralling my thoughts.

“Please—you’ll have to lay really low, no bodyguards—” I quickly remembered the Giovanni he had called to his room earlier, that would attract a lot of attention “No schemes, no throwing of money”

“When have I ever thrown money around?” He asked, his eyes fixated on mine, they looked so charming, the cut above his eyelid gave his brow some sort of rugged beauty, it made me pause and stare at him some more.

“You’r—you’re right, I’ve never actually seen you throw money around” I admitted. For someone who does have a lot of money, he’s meticulous about how he spends it. That was all but I wanted to keep going, to keep talking because if I halt now, there’s no telling what he’ll do.

He held onto my arm as gently as he could, pulling me so close, I could see his face up close, his breath soft on my face, that smile “You missed me, didn’t you?” his mischievous tone was back again, his hands going to my back, holding me and pulling me in, I didn’t want to fight, I didn’t put up one.

“This just shows that you did” using his free hand, he used his finger to trace my face, his eyes fixated on mine, the air felt thick, my unstable breathing paused, I wanted to breathe it all in, the feeling of his arms around his waist.

“We’re at the hospital Dante” I said, placing my arm between us to create some space, it was futile, I could feel his breathing, it felt steady, I wanted him, his fingers on my skin, his body next to mine and our fingers intertwined. “Wh—why are you staring at me like that?” I stuttered, trying to avert his gaze that felt hot on my face, my face quickly flushed red.

“I’ve missed seeing you look like that” he smiled, I wished for time to stop, to let me trace my fingers on his face, to let me lean in closer, his lips, his nose, it looked perfect even with bruises. How on earth does someone look this hood, it has to be studied.

His gaze fixated on mine, making me forget his hands trailing up my shirt, the thin layer of this shirt letting his fingers go up my skin as he pleased, he turns me over, laying my body on the bed, the white sheets feeling soft, I want to put my fingers through his hair, to kiss the bruises on his face and body, to hold him close to my chest, instead I snapped back to reality. He and Claire are meant to be, he might have tried to get rid of her but it’s obvious she still loves him a lot.

“Let go—” I protested. A smile formed on his lips, he seemed to enjoy my resistance. Pinning my arm above me to the bed, his eyes scanned my body, “Let go Dante!” I yelled some more “This is a hospital” my face flushed red. He pulled a part of my shirt up, revealing the injury at my side, it still felt sore but I’ve been ignoring it all day.

“Your brother told me you got injured” his eyes looming over my injury, his finger trailing the places next to it. His finger felt cool on my skin, yet, I felt hot sensations in my body at his touch. He kept tracing the skin, the gaze in his eyes softened.

“You went through this because of me” he spouted, letting go of my hands, I sat up straight, having a bit of pain on my side, “I’ll make sure this never happens again” he cupped my face with his palm, his voice low and soft “I didn’t mean for you to get caught up in all this—I’m sorry” he apologized, sincerity in his voice. But he wasn’t the one who caused me to be in this state, I have a guess but he’s taking it up all on himself.

“You’re not the reason this happened—I was kidnapped by people who found me alone, I think know who has a hand in it” I revealed. He raised a brow, shocked.

“Denise—I mean, she was furious about not being taken to the banquet, and after this whole incident, I was called to be asked what happened—” he still didn’t understand, I have to explain further.

“When you were undergoing surgery, the news hadn’t arrived—yet, the company knew you were in the hospital and I watched people right there, there was no camera on-site, Claire’s men succeeded in making it discreet—”

“But somehow Denise knew about it and called up a meeting within a day—which means she’s been scheming even before we left—she has a hand in all this and most probably the mastermind” he finally understands, his eyes went low and dangerous, he gritted a part of his teeth which showed on his jaw, I could tell that his anger had known no bounds as it was.

“I’m going to make her suffer” there was a pause, he turned to look at me “But first—your hometown” he smiled. His anger quickly faded, it felt scary.


After two days, I had myself discharged from the hospital, Dante didn’t let himself rest, he did the same with me.

“Are you sure you don’t need to stay in the hospital for a while longer?” I questioned as I took the little bag from the table to help, hdd we whisked it from my hands.

“Yes I’m very sure—I’m fine” he smiled.

The very next day, I had my clothes packed in a small box, hanging it over my shoulders, I waited for Dante who came out of his room, holding a bag and one backpack.

“I didn’t know you could pack light”I teased. He smiled back, he looked so naive and innocent with a cute smile one his face, that kind of smile could make him a victim to my mother’s antics.

Making our way to the train station, we headed straight for Savannah, Georgia.

“It smells like home” I mumbled the moment we had our things down, the sunny dews felt warm on my skin and I smiled all the way.

“I’ve never seen you smile so wide before—you must really love it here” he smiled. I turned to him. I did love it, it had been years, the evergreen leaves fell on different sides.

“It’s getting dark” he pointed out, I hadn’t noticed so much “We’ll have to get somewhere to rest—I made reservations at the hotel just ahead” he smiled, taking the bag on my shoulder onto his. He clearly made his research, we made our way as quickly as we could.

There was an eerie feeling scrunched up in my gut, it felt imminent “Can’t we just get to my mother first?” I asked, my voice shaky and quivering, holding onto his wrist.

“Wha—what happened? Are you alright?” His face etched with concern.

“Your missus looks like she’s scared of us” I voice emerged from the darkness between the two light poles right in front of us. The man emerged with the others, batons in their hands, scrawny looks on their faces, one having a scar above his eye like one of those disheartening kidnappers of last time. Don’t tell me it’s happening all over again. Dante stood in front of me, using his arm to put my body behind his huge frame.

“We’re gonna get a kick out of this” another licked his lips.

“If you walk away, I’ll consider letting you live”Dante warned in a low voice but I couldn’t tell if that was him trying to talk big, his stab wounds were still sore and even though he didn’t want to admit it, I could see it.

“New to these parts are ya’—if you give us yer’ belongings, we might consider letting yer’ go” the other chuckled. Now I wanted to take back what I had said, maybe we do need his bodyguards.

“Please don’t hurt him” I mumbled under my breath.