Chapter 75
D A N T E
Five years.
It has been five years since Ariana shattered my heart and ran away.
For five years, I have thought about her, the hurt she had cause me, the pain has been there, like a constant ache in my chest.
I loved her I really loved her yet I was so blinded by that love and I did not see the truth, I did not see that she was a backstabber.
A liar.
I remember the day I found her note It was short It just said she was sorry and she had to leave, I was so confused and hurt knowing very well nothing had happened between us when I left for work that day.
I thought maybe she was scared after the fight with Jessica, thinking I’d leave her for Jessica just like Angelo had done.
Then, the scandal hit, my company was in trouble and somehow my name was being dragged through the mud.
I felt like my whole world was falling apart.
And then I found out the truth, my security team found the proof, they saw the security footage from my study.
They saw Ariana take the files and tracked her meeting with her father.
She helped him all this time she worked with my enemy, Damien Voss, and her own father tried to destroy my hard work.
The betrayal was worse than any business loss It felt like she had reached into my chest and ripped my heart out.
I trusted her I let her into my life and I gave her my heart and she used it against me.
I have spent these five years building my company back even though I had cleared my name it still caused some shares but I am more powerful than ever.
I had her father put in jail and ruined Damien Voss company.
But the victory feels empty because every day, I remember her smile, I remember her laugh and how she felt in my arms, the way I had looked foward to returning to work just to see her but then I remember the way she lied and the way she betrayed me.
The love is gone or so I tell myself but the hurt remains and so does the anger.
A cold, hard anger that has lived inside me for five long years.
For all these years I have looked for her every single day I have used all my money, all my power, all my contacts but it is like she disappeared from the face of the earth.
She had somehow manage to cover all her trails, no credit card use or passport scans.
Nothing.
It is as if Ariana Melendez never existed.
It drives me crazy, the not knowing. Is she safe? Is she happy? Or does she feel even a little bit of the pain she caused me?
My thoughts are interrupted when, Antonio, walks into my office.
“Dante,” he says, looking serious. “We have a problem with the London office, the manager there was caught embezzling so he i fired him and we need someone to handle the new merger It is a big deal, someone has to go there and fix it p>
I start to tell him to send someone else, but he continues.
“It has to be you,” Antonio says. “You are the only one who knows all the details you need to go to London for two months. Maybe more depending on how fast you can make them accept the offer, don’t worry I’ll handle everything here while you’re gone p>
I am about to argue, I hate leaving New York. But then I stop.
London, a different country a change of environment maybe it is a good idea.
This office, this city… everywhere I look, I see memories of her, of us. Maybe getting away for a while will help me forget or at least, hurt a little less.
“Okay,” I say, surprising even myself. “I will go to London p>
Antonio looks relieved. “Good. I will have the jet ready and arrange an apartment for you p>
“Alright then” I say.
He nods leaving my my office, and I am alone again.
I was going to London for two months maybe, just maybe, this trip will finally help me close the Chapter on Ariana for good.