Chapter 74
Elodie’s POV
The truth was, I didn’t mind being alone.
Actually, I preferred it.
Here, in this empty resort with just the rain and the hot springs and my thoughts, I could breathe. Could exist without having to perform. Without having to pretend I was okay.
So I stayed. Through Saturday. Into Sunday.
I read. I soaked in the springs. I ordered room service and ate in silence.
And I didn’t check my phone obsessively. Didn’t wait for messages that wouldn’t come.
By Sunday afternoon, I figured it was time to head back. Face reality. Go back to my empty apartment and prepare for another week of work.
That’s when my phone rang.
And it was Nonna.
“Elodie, dear, I spoke with Dante this morning. Told him to drive up to the resort tonight and bring you home properly. Has he called you yet p>
My throat tightened.
No. He hadn’t called. Hadn’t texted. Hadn’t acknowledged my existence since Thursday.
And Liora? She’d vanished yesterday morning without a word and hadn’t reached out since.
But I wasn’t going to tell Nonna that. Wasn’t going to worry her or create more family drama.
“Yes,” I lied. “He did p>
“Oh good.” Relief flooded her voice. “I was worried he’d forgotten with how busy he’s been. I’m glad he’s coming to get you p>
After checking on her health, she said her cold was better, then we hung up.
I stared at my phone for a long moment.
Nonna said Dante would come pick me up. That he’d promised her.
But it was already past dinner time, and I hadn’t heard a word from him.
I waited anyway. Ate dinner at the resort restaurant alone, surrounded by couples and families, feeling like a ghost nobody could see.
By nine PM, I gave up.
The resort was over an hour and a half from my apartment. If I waited any longer, I’d be getting home after midnight.
And Dante clearly wasn’t coming.
“Can you arrange a car to take me back to the city?” I asked the front desk.
“Of course, Luna. Right away p>
Twenty minutes later, I was in the backseat of a town car, watching the mountains disappear behind us as we descended toward the city.
I was exhausted. The kind of bone-deep tired that comes from emotional devastation rather than physical exertion.
I let my eyes close, my head resting against the window.
My phone rang, jarring me awake.
I fumbled for it, my heart doing that stupid hopeful thing where it thought maybe it would be Liora. I wasn’t hoping for Dante to reach out. Not anymore.
It was Cara.
“Hey,” I answered, my voice rough with sleep.
“That bitch!” Cara’s voice was pure fury.
I sat up straighter. “What? Are you okay p>
“Oh, I’m fine. Sorry, I’m just raging about someone. Not you, obviously p>
“What happened p>
“You know that charity gala I had to go to tonight? The one for the children’s hospital?” She didn’t wait for me to respond. “Well, guess who I ran into? Your waste-of-space father and Sienna p>
My stomach dropped.
“Listen to this,” Cara continued, her voice getting more heated. “So there’s this whole scene right in the middle of the gala. Some girl, young, early twenties maybe, from a prominent Pack family, she walks right up to Sienna and starts calling her a homewrecker. Says Sienna stole her fiancé p>
My breath caught.
“This girl is pissed,” Cara went on. “She throws a full glass of red wine right in Sienna’s face. It’s dripping down her dress, total chaos. Security’s trying to intervene, but this girl won’t back down. She’s from the Morrison Pack, you know, old money, serious connections, so nobody can just throw her out p>
I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to calm my racing heart.
“The whole room is watching,” Cara said. “Your father’s trying to smooth things over, Sienna’s crying, though honestly, I think she was hamming it up and this girl just keeps going, calling her every name in the book p>
“Cara p>
“But wait, it gets worse.” Her voice dropped, and I could hear the anger simmering beneath it. “I’m standing there watching this whole mess unfold, thinking karma’s finally catching up to her, when guess who walks in p>
No.
“Your husband,” Cara spat. “Dante fucking Bellini. Shows up like some kind of knight in shining armor p>
The car suddenly felt too small. Too hot. I couldn’t breathe.
I went completely still.
“And here’s the thing,” Cara said, her voice tight with barely controlled rage. “This wasn’t some private event. This was a massive charity gala, A-list guests, Pack leaders from across the country, the whole thing was being *live-streamed p>
My hands started shaking.
“Sienna and your father aren’t exactly celebrity level, but when the Alpha of the Bellini Pack shows up to defend her and walks out with her in his arms? Yeah, that got captured on camera and broadcast to thousands of people in real-time p>
Oh shit!
My phone buzzed. Cara had sent me something.
“I’m sending you the video,” she said. “I’m sorry. I just… you need to see it. Before someone else shows you or you hear about it from some gossip channel p>
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Call me after. I mean it, Elodie. Don’t go through this alone p>
“I will p>
I hung up and stared at my phone.
The video file sat there, waiting.
I didn’t want to open it. Didn’t want to see.
But I had to know.
I tapped it with trembling fingers.
The video started mid-event. There was music playing in the background, people mingling, the camera sweeping across the elegant ballroom. The quality was good, professional live-stream setup.
Then the camera swung toward a commotion.
A young woman, in her early twenties, beautiful, wearing an expensive gown was walking purposefully toward someone. Which was Sienna.
Even on the small screen, even from a distance, I recognized her immediately. That perfect posture. That designer dress.
The girl reached her, and even though the audio was muffled by the music and crowd noise, I could see her mouth moving. Angry. Accusatory.
Then she threw her drink.
Red wine splashed across Sienna’s face and chest, staining her white dress crimson.
The crowd around them gasped and pulled back. The camera zoomed in.
Sienna’s face was a picture of shock and hurt, the perfect victim.
Logan rushed over, trying to intervene. The girl was still yelling, gesturing wildly.
Then a man appeared, probably the girl’s fiancé based on how he grabbed her arm. They started arguing. His family arrived moments later, older Pack members, clearly wealthy and influential based on how they carried themselves.
And they tore into the Browns.
I couldn’t hear most of what was being said, but their body language was clear. They were furious. Insulting. Logan kept trying to smooth things over, his posture apologetic, but the girl’s family wasn’t having it.
They kept going, and I could see Logan’s expression darkening. Lauren looked murderous. Even Sophia seemed rattled.
The Brown family was being publicly humiliated.
And then everything changed.
The camera panned suddenly, someone important must have entered because the crowd shifted, parting automatically.
Now it was Dante.
My husband walked into frame, and even through a screen, even from far away, his presence was undeniable. Alpha energy radiating off him in waves. People stepped back without even realizing they were doing it.
He walked straight to Sienna.
Didn’t acknowledge anyone else. Didn’t look at the girl or her family or Logan.
Just went directly to Sienna, who looked up at him with those big, tearful eyes.
And my husband… so called mate took off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.
The gesture was gentle. Protective. Intimate.
My vision blurred.
He turned to face the girl’s family then, and even though I couldn’t hear what he said, I saw their expressions change instantly. From angry and aggressive to shocked and… afraid.
Dante said something, just a few words based on the movement of his lips and then he turned back to Sienna.
And he picked her up.
Actually lifted her into his arms like she was something precious and fragile.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face against his shoulder.
And he carried her out.
The camera followed them, of course it did, this was the Alpha of the Bellini Pack making a dramatic exit and I watched my husband walk out of that ballroom with another woman in his arms while thousands of people watched.
The girl’s family tried to follow him, clearly attempting to apologize or explain, but Dante’s security blocked them.
By the end of the video, those same people who’d been so arrogant and aggressive were practically groveling. Trying to make nice with Logan and the Browns, probably terrified of what Dante might do in retaliation.
But Logan and the others just ignored them and followed Dante out.
The video ended.
I sat there in the back of the car, staring at the black screen.
He’d promised Nonna he would come get me tonight.
Instead, he’d gone to a gala where Sienna was.
And when she needed him, he’d dropped everything, including his promise to his grandmother, including any consideration for his wife and he’d gone to her.
He’d given her his jacket.
He’d carried her out in his arms.
In front of everyone.
On a live stream.
The symbolism wasn’t lost on me. Wasn’t lost on anyone who’d watched.
The Alpha protecting his chosen one.
And I felt something inside me finally shatter completely.