Chapter 39
ELODIE’S POV~
I didn’t run into Dante at the company today.
Honestly, I’d stopped keeping track of when I saw him and when I didn’t. It used to matter. I used to notice, I used to feel something when he walked past my floor without stopping, or when I caught a glimpse of him in the elevator and he looked right through me like I was part of the wall.
Now it’s just… normal.
Noon came around and I was staring at my computer screen, not really seeing anything, when my phone buzzed.
And I saw it was Nonna.
“Elodie, dear. Have you eaten p>
“Not yet p>
“Harris Garden. Twenty minutes. I’m already ordering appetizers, so don’t dawdle p>
She hung up.
That woman. Seventy-something years old and still bossing everyone around like she ran the world. Maybe she did, in her own way. But I loved her that way.
I smiled a little and grabbed my bag and headed out.
Harris Garden was close. A five-minute walk, maybe less if I didn’t stop at crosswalks like a law-abiding citizen. The place was one of those quiet, expensive restaurants where the wealthy came to have conversations they didn’t want overheard.
I was thinking about what to order, maybe the soup, or that salad Nonna always said was overpriced for a bunch of leaves when I heard a voice.
Not Dante’s. The other one.
“Dante, if it weren’t for your help just now, I might not have secured this contract even with all my efforts p>
I stopped walking.
My feet just… stopped.
“Thank you so much for this p>
I knew that voice.
I hadn’t heard it in years, but you don’t forget your father’s voice. Even when he’s spent the better part of a decade pretending you don’t exist.
I moved to the side, half-hidden behind the corner of the building, and looked.
There Logan was. My father. Looking exactly like I remembered, older, sure, more gray in his hair, but still him. Still standing tall, still dressed like money, still smiling that warm smile he used to give me when I was little and things were different.
He wasn’t smiling at me now.
He was smiling at Dante.
And Dante, the man who couldn’t be bothered to look at me most days was responding in a tone I barely recognized.
“You’re too kind, Uncle p>
Uncle.
I almost choked.
Uncle?
Dante’s voice was… soft. Patient. The way you talk to someone you actually respect. Someone whose opinion matters to you.
I’d been married to this man for years. I could count on one hand the number of times he’d spoken to me like that.
My nails dug into my palms.
Logan kept talking. Of course he did.
“With Sienna here by herself, her mother and I are quite worried. We’d appreciate it if you could look after her more in the future p>
I let out a breath that was almost a laugh.
Almost.
Look after Sienna. My half-sister. The daughter he actually claimed. The one he showed up for, called on birthdays, introduced to business partners with pride in his voice.
And here he was, asking my husband to take care of her.
Did he even realize what he was saying?
No. That was a stupid question.
He knew exactly what he was saying.
Logan wasn’t an idiot. He knew who Dante was. He knew about our marriage. Everyone in the Bellini Pack knew, it had been all over the news when it happened. Just they didn’t know me in particular.
He knew.
He just didn’t care.
Sienna was his daughter. I was just… someone who used to be.
Dante said something in response. Agreeing, probably. Making promises. Being courteous.
I watched as they finished their conversation. Watched as Logan got into his car, a new, nice one, and Dante stood there waiting until it drove away.
He waited. Like he actually gave a damn about the man’s safe departure.
I thought about my grandmother. The one time she’d met Dante, she’d made her best dish, spent hours in the kitchen, fussing over every detail because she wanted to impress him. Wanted to welcome him into our family properly.
Dante had been cold. Distant. Answered her questions with single words and checked his watch twice during dinner.
When I’d asked him about it later, the way I’d learned to ask him about anything, he’d just shrugged.
“I was busy p>
That was it. That was his explanation.
But for Logan? For Sienna’s father?
He had all the time in the world.
He had warmth, and patience, and “Uncle,” like the word meant something.
Then I watched as Dante left and that was when I decided to walk into Harris Garden.
After work, I went home to collect the gifts.
I’d bought them weeks ago, tea for Nonna, a silk scarf for Dante’s mother, some imported chocolates for Amber. The kind of thoughtful, expensive things a good daughter-in-law was supposed to bring when visiting the family estate.
I used to put so much thought into these gifts. Used to spend hours picking out exactly the right thing, hoping that maybe this time, they’d smile at me. Really smile. The way they smiled at each other, at Dante, at anyone who wasn’t me.
Now I just bought whatever looked appropriate and moved on.
The drive to the Bellini estate took an hour and a half.
The estate sat near the outskirts of the capital, nestled between the rolling hills and old trees. Beautiful, really. The kind of place you saw in paintings with mountains in the background, a lake nearby, the air so clean it almost hurt to breathe after spending all day in the city.
Perfect for the elderly, everyone always said.
Perfect for people who wanted to get away from the noise.
I parked the car and grabbed the gift bags from the backseat. The afternoon sun was warm on my shoulders as I walked toward the main house, gravel crunching under my heels.
When I entered the main sitting room, Nonna sat in her usual armchair, facing the door. Dante’s mother, Stella, sat on the sofa looking every inch the elegant society woman she’d always been. Amber was beside her, legs crossed, teacup in hand.
Nonna saw me first.
Her face lit up, actually lit up, the way it always did and she waved me over. “Elodie’s here! Come, come sit by grandmother p>
That warmth.
God, I didn’t deserve it. Or maybe I did, and she was just the only one who recognized it. Either way, it made something in my chest loosen just a little.
But Nonna was the only one smiling.
I watched it happen in real time. Stella’s polite expression flattening into something cool and distant. Amber’s smirk fading into that particular look she always gave me like I was something unpleasant she’d stepped in and couldn’t quite scrape off her shoe.
I used to let this bother me.
I used to walk into this house with my stomach in knots, hyper-aware of every glance, every sigh, every subtle shift in the atmosphere that told me I wasn’t welcome. I used to try so hard. Smile brighter. Talk softer. Be smaller, quieter, less… there.
It never worked.
Now?
Now I just walked in.
I handed the gift bags to the butler with a small nod and crossed the room to Nonna, bending down to kiss her cheek. “Grandmother p>
“Ah.” She grabbed my hands, pulling me down onto the seat beside her. Her fingers were warm, a little papery with age, but strong. She frowned, studying my face with those sharp eyes that missed nothing. “Why have you lost so much weight? Has Dante been bullying you p>
I lowered my eyes.
“No. I’ve just been busy lately p>
Half-truth. Half-lie.
Dante hadn’t bullied me. That would require him to acknowledge my existence. But my mood… yeah. That had taken a hit. And the past two weeks, I’d been staying up past midnight most nights, buried in artificial intelligence research. Work I actually cared about. Work that made me feel like I was more than just someone’s unwanted wife.
That was probably why I’d lost weight.
Nonna opened her mouth to say something else, but Amber cut in first.
“The way you talk, people might think your work is incredibly important.” She let out a little laugh. “As if the entire Bellini Group couldn’t function without you p>
I didn’t look at her.
Stella set down her teacup with a soft clink. When she spoke, her voice was cold.
“If you find working at Bellini Group so tiring, you might as well quit.” She smoothed an invisible wrinkle from her skirt. “After all, no one begged you to work there p>
Amber laughed again. “Exactly! Though someone might be reluctant to p>
Nonna’s expression hardened. I could feel her gearing up to defend me, the way she always did. The only one in this family who ever bothered.
But I was tired.
Tired of being the thing they kicked around when they were bored. Tired of sitting here, absorbing their little jabs, pretending I didn’t notice. Tired of waiting for Nonna to fight battles I should’ve been fighting myself years ago.
So I spoke first.
“I’ve already submitted my resignation p>
The room went quiet.
I kept my voice calm, still.
“Once the handover is complete, I’ll leave Bellini Group p>
Stella stared at me.
Amber’s mouth was open, just slightly. For once, she didn’t have a clever response ready.
Nonna’s grip on my hand tightened.