Chapter 36
Elodie’s POV~
Today, Dante looked the same as always, tall, impossibly composed, and devastatingly handsome. And yet, his presence still hurts me. His expression didn’t even flicker when his eyes brushed over me. If anything, it grew colder, like frost crawling over glass.
Not a word. Not a pause. Just that hollow glance before he looked away and kept walking.
I swallowed hard and lowered my gaze. My voice came out in barely a whisper, a pathetic habit I hadn’t shaken off even after all this time.
“Alpha Dante p>
He didn’t stop. Didn’t acknowledge me. Just passed me like I was another faceless wolf in the hall. My heart tightened so painfully I thought it might tear open, but I forced my legs to move. I walked in after him, breathing shallowly, fighting the burn in my throat.
I tried to drown myself in the work piled on my desk, though it did little to ease the ache gnawing inside me.
By noon, my phone buzzed. My grandmother’s voice, gentle and warm, filled the line.
“Elodie, the Veneto Pack, a friend of mine from there sent us lamb this morning. The weather’s turning cold, you should come home tonight. I’ll have the kitchen prepare a feast, just like when you were a little girl p>
Her words tugged at something fragile inside me, a sliver of warmth in a world that had turned icy. My chest tightened as I whispered, “Alright, Nonna. I’ll come after work p>
That fragile hope carried me through the hours, though I didn’t see Dante again. Not until evening, when I was packing up to finally leave, my bag already slung over my shoulder, freedom so close I could taste it, when Chad, one of Dante’s secretaries, approached.
“Elodie,” he said briskly, dropping a file on my desk. “Urgent. This needs to be handled tonight p>
I froze. My eyes skimmed the document. Urgent? No. It was nothing of the sort. This was just a mere file that needed some little studying and then some edits, and it was simple, and could easily be handled tomorrow. In the past, I would’ve smiled, taken it, bent over backwards to prove I wasn’t asking for favors just because of Dante.
But I wasn’t that woman anymore. I couldn’t keep killing myself to belong somewhere I was no longer wanted. And besides that, this asshole had accused and humiliated me yesterday. And I would no longer take any form of insults from Dante, neither from any of his aides.
I set the file back down and looked at him steadily. “I won’t be doing this tonight. I’m leaving p>
Chad’s eyes narrowed. “Elodie, you can’t just walk away from your duties. This Pack isn’t your personal home. Show some discipline p>
My face hardened but I kept my voice calm, even if inside I was beginning to boil. “If you think I’m abusing my position, then fire me. Right now p>
“You His mouth twisted in anger, but he hesitated. We both knew he didn’t have the authority, not in this domain. Not when Dante’s grandmother still treated me like her own blood. For a moment, I thought he might push anyway, but he didn’t. He stepped back, and I stepped forward, walked past him, past the suffocating walls of Dante’s company.
My heart felt like it was dragging behind me. Once, I would’ve done anything for Dante, for his approval, his smile, his smallest kindness. But now… never.
__________
Chad stormed out of the secretarial floor, his face red with barely restrained anger. Albert, catching sight of him, leaned back in his chair and raised a brow.
“What’s got you looking like that?” he asked casually.
Chad threw his hands up. “It’s Elodie. She flat-out refused to finish the work I gave her. Said she was leaving p>
Albert froze, surprised. Of all people, Elodie wasn’t the type to slack off. He knew her, at least, as much as anyone could. She’d always been the one working overtime, never complaining, always careful not to step out of line.
“That doesn’t sound like her,” Albert said slowly. “You sure you’re not misunderstanding p>
“No misunderstanding,” Chad snapped. “She’s using her position for special treatment. I don’t know what kind of saint you think she is, but she’s not it p>
Albert frowned. His gut told him this wasn’t about laziness. If Elodie had walked away from her work, there had to be more to it. Still, before he could press further, a familiar presence cut through the air.
Alpha Dante.
He approached from the hallway, tall and commanding, the weight of his aura pressing down on the space around them. Albert straightened instinctively, the same way everyone did in his presence.
“What’s going on?” Dante’s voice was calm, detached.
Chad hurried to explain. “It’s Secretary Elodie. She left her tasks unfinished and walked out p>
Albert’s heart beat faster as he glanced at Dante, waiting for the Alpha’s reaction. Maybe, just maybe, Dante would show something, anger, disappointment, concern. Anything that proved Elodie still mattered to him.
But Dante’s face didn’t change. His eyes were flat, unreadable.
“If you’re dissatisfied,” he said coldly, “follow the procedures and terminate her employment p>
Albert and Chad both stared at him, stunned. Not because he was indifferent… that was expected… but because of the way he’d said it, like Elodie was just another name on a file.
Did he even know she had already submitted her resignation?
Wasn’t that his decision in the first place?
Confusion tightened in Albert’s chest. He’d watched Elodie love this man quietly for years, giving everything, never asking for anything in return. And now, when she was slipping away piece by piece, Dante looked as though it didn’t matter at all.
Just then, Dante’s phone buzzed. He answered without hesitation, his voice low but softer than Albert had heard in a long time.
“Sienna,” he said, already heading for the elevator. “I’m leaving work now. I’ll be there soon p>
The doors slid shut, cutting off the sound of his footsteps.
Albert stood frozen. The name clanged in his head like a bell. Sienna. Not Elodie. Never Elodie.
He looked at Chad, who looked just as lost.
“Maybe Chad muttered, “maybe the Alpha just forgot p>
Albert’s throat tightened. He forced a weak shrug.
“Yeah,” he said. “Maybe p>
But he knew better. Dante hadn’t forgotten anything. He just didn’t care.