Chapter 14: The Truth Dante Had Hidden

I ran through the narrow passage without looking back.

My heart pounded so violently that I could barely hear anything else.

Then I heard tires screeching outside the warehouse.

A black car stopped directly in front of me.

The passenger door flew open.

"Nina! Get in!"

It was Dante.

I hesitated for only a second before getting into the car.

He immediately stepped on the accelerator.

Behind us, several cars came rushing out of the harbor.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No."

His hands tightened around the steering wheel.

"Where's Elena?"

I didn't answer.

He understood from my silence.

"Damn it."

For several minutes, neither of us spoke.

Then I finally asked, "Did your father order them to kill me?"

Dante's jaw tightened.

"I don't know."

"You do know something."

He glanced at me.

"I found out that my father has been hiding things from me for years."

"Including the agreement that would prevent me from becoming your wife?"

His expression changed.

"Yes."

I looked out the window.

"When did you find out?"

"This morning."

"And what did you do?"

"I confronted him."

His voice was bitter.

"He told me that marrying you would have destroyed the balance between the families. He said your family would gain too much influence over the de Rossis."

"So he brought Isobel into the picture."

Dante didn't answer immediately.

Finally, he said, "Isobel's pregnancy gave him the perfect excuse to force me into another arrangement."

I laughed softly.

There was no happiness in it.

"And you let him."

Dante's grip tightened.

"I thought I was protecting my family."

"You were protecting your family by destroying me."

He flinched.

"I know."

The car fell silent again.

After a while, I asked, "Was Isobel really dying?"

Dante's eyes remained fixed on the road.

"She was sick, but not the way she told me."

I turned toward him.

"What do you mean?"

"Her condition was treatable. Her doctors had already told her that. But she kept telling me that she had only months left."

I stared at him.

"Why?"

"Because she knew I'd do anything for her if I believed she was dying."

My chest tightened.

All those months of guilt, jealousy, and heartbreak suddenly looked like pieces of a carefully constructed lie.

"Did she know about your father's plan?"

"Yes."

"And the pregnancy?"

Dante's face became pale.

"The pregnancy was real. But the arrangement was never what she told me it was."

I looked away.

"I don't want to know anymore."

"Nina, you deserve to know."

"No."

My voice was quiet but firm.

"I've spent enough of my life trying to understand people who never bothered to understand me."

He fell silent.

We drove for another twenty minutes before reaching a secure residence outside the city.

Dante parked the car and turned toward me.

"You can stay here tonight. No one will find you."

"And tomorrow?"

"I'll arrange protection so you can return to the medical center."

"I don't need your protection."

"You nearly died tonight."

"And whose family brought those people there?"

He had no response.

I opened the door.

"Thank you for getting me out."

"Nina."

I stopped.

"I never stopped loving you."

I closed my eyes.

"That's not enough anymore."

Then I walked inside.

The next morning, Professor Moore called me.

"Nina, I heard about what happened at the harbor."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Your safety comes first."

He paused.

"There's something else you should know."

"What?"

"The international organization has approved your transfer to a secure research facility overseas."

I was stunned.

"Where?"

"Etolia's northern research center. You'll be working on a confidential medical project for the next two years."

I looked out the window.

A new beginning.

Exactly what I had wanted.

"I'll accept."

Professor Moore sounded relieved.

"Then we'll arrange everything immediately."

After the call ended, I packed my suitcase.

Before leaving, I received one final message from Dante.

"I'm going to end this with my family. You won't have to deal with them again."

I stared at the message for a long time.

Then I deleted it.

I had spent years waiting for Dante to choose me.

Now I was choosing myself.

And this time, there would be no turning back.