Chapter 25
Elodie’s POV~
Six years later.
I stepped out of the airport into the cool night of the Bellini Pack. My suitcase rattled behind me as I drew in a deep breath. The clock had already passed nine. Today was my birthday.
I unlocked my phone. Messages from colleagues, friends in the tech world I’d fought so hard to rise in, lit up the screen. Not one from Dante.
My smile faltered. Two months away from him and Liora, and he hadn’t even remembered. I had pushed aside crucial work on the neural network launch just to spend this day with my family, hoping for a simple moment together.
By the time I arrived at the villa, it was past ten. The house was quiet. Sabina froze when she saw me.
“Madam… you’re here p>
“Where are Dante and Liora?” I asked, setting down my designer bag.
“Master hasn’t returned yet… and Miss is in her room, busy p>
I handed her my luggage and went upstairs, my heart tightening with every step.
Liora was sitting at her little table, pajamas rumpled, eyes glued to a tiny charm bracelet she was threading with care. I called softly, “Liora p>
She looked up and brightened. “Mommy!” But then immediately went back to the bracelet, humming under her breath.
I wanted to sweep her into my arms, to kiss her tiny cheeks, but she pushed gently away.
“Mommy, I’m busy p>
I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat stinging. Two months. I had missed her so much I could barely breathe, yet she seemed so absorbed in her project she didn’t even notice me.
“Are you making… a bracelet?” I asked softly.
“Mm-hmm!” she said, eyes shining. “It’s for Aunt Sienna’s birthday! Daddy helped me choose the charms and spell out her name. And look… see? Each letter is perfect! We even polished them ourselves p>
Sienna. The new marketing director. Dante’s… favorite, it seemed. My chest tightened so suddenly I had to press a hand against it.
Liora continued cheerfully, her back still turned to me. “Daddy made other gifts too… tomorrow p>
I couldn’t breathe. My voice cracked before I could stop it. “Liora… do you remember Mommy’s birthday p>
She glanced up briefly, confusion flickering across her face. Then, as if I didn’t exist, went back to her bracelet. “Mom, don’t talk. You’re messing up the letter order p>
I fell silent, my arms useless at my sides. Two months. My daughter had grown in my absence, yet she barely acknowledged me. I pressed my lips together, fighting back the tears, and quietly left the room.
Sabina followed me cautiously. “Madam… I just called Master. He said he has… something tonight, and asked you to rest first p>
“I understand,” I murmured, but her words felt like nails scratching against the hollow in my chest.
I picked up my phone and called Dante. My hands trembled. Hours passed as it rang, my heartbeat loud in the empty room. And then a cold woman’s voice rang out.
“Dante? Who’s this at this hour p>
Sienna? My stomach dropped.
“Nothing,” he said quickly. And the line went dead.
I sank into the sofa, gripping the phone so tightly my knuckles whitened. Two months of separation, and he couldn’t even speak to me. Not a word. Not even a single acknowledgment.
The man I had loved, the warm, protective Alpha, the CEO of the Bellini Pack who had once made me feel like the center of his world had become someone else. Someone distant, distracted, and painfully cold.
I wanted to call again, to beg, to demand his attention, but I didn’t have the energy. The hope I had clung to all these months drained into a hollow ache.
Tomorrow, I would try again. Maybe. All I had wanted was a quiet birthday, a meal with Dante and Liora, our little family. But even that simple wish felt impossibly far away.
I stayed there long into the night, the lights of the Bellini Pack’s estates twinkling outside like unreachable stars, I felt the weight of my loneliness crushing down on me.
After hours of waiting, all I got was a single message from Dante:
[Something up p>
I hesitated, my fingers hovering over the keyboard before replying. [Are you free for lunch? Could we have a meal together with Liora, just the three of us p>
[Alright, let me know once you’ve decided on the location p>
[Okay p>
And then… nothing. Complete silence. Not a word about my birthday. Not a “happy birthday,” not even a simple acknowledgment. I had braced myself, told myself not to hope, yet the sting of disappointment still pierced me. I gripped the phone tightly in my hand.
I finished my routine mechanically, my movements heavy, my heart? It felt hollow. Just as I was about to go downstairs, voices drifted up from below, Liora’s voice, and Sabina’s quiet corrections.
“Is the Young Miss unhappy about Madam’s visit?” Sabina asked.
“Dad and I already promised to go to the beach with Aunt Sienna tomorrow. If Mom suddenly comes along, it would be so… awkward,” Liora said.
“And Mom is always so mean, always being harsh to Aunt Sienna p>
“Young Miss, Madam is your mother. You shouldn’t say such things. You know it would break her heart,” Sabina’s voice tried to be gentle.
“I know… but Dad and I like Aunt Sienna better. Why can’t I have Aunt Sienna as my mom p>
I froze mid-step. My blood ran cold, my chest tightened so violently I couldn’t draw a proper breath.
The rest of Sabina’s words were drowned out by the sudden pounding in my ears.
I had raised her, my little Liora, on my own for years. Every scraped knee, every late-night tear, every whispered bedtime story had been mine. And yet, in a single year of Dante building the Bellini Pack in Italy, she had grown closer to him… and to Sienna. The reality hit me like ice: I was becoming the outsider in my own family.
I had flown across oceans, pushed aside every professional obligation, sacrificed months of work to be here… and still, they didn’t need me. My gifts from home, carefully chosen with love, sat useless in my suitcase. My presence felt like a mistake, like a cruel joke I couldn’t escape.
I retreated to my room, the door clicking softly behind me. The sound of Liora’s laughter and the cheerful clinking of bracelets from below felt like a knife twisting in my chest. Sabina called up later, her voice polite. “Madam, I’m taking Liora out to play. Call if you need anything p>
I sank onto the bed, the silence swallowing me whole. The villa felt too large, too empty, too foreign. My arms ached to hold my daughter, my throat ached to speak to Dante, but no one wanted me here. My heart, once full with hope, now throbbed with a sharp, relentless ache.
The Bellini Pack in Italy, Dante’s world had room for him, for Liora, even for Sienna. But me? I was just a shadow, a visitor in the life I had built and the family I had given everything to.
And somewhere in the quiet, I realized that maybe… maybe I wasn’t welcome anymore.