Dante arrived in New York in the morning. He had planned to go straight back to the mansion, but when the car picking him up had just left the airport, another car suddenly blocked his way.“Who is it?” Dante’s brow furrowed slightly.A well-built man got out of the strange car. He walked over to Dante’s car and bowed politely. “Alfonso’s underling,” Alex, who was sitting in the front seat, muttered happily. He quickly rolled down the car window on his side.The man who was Alfonso Verga’s underling smiled politely. “Mr. Gregory, Mr. Vittorio should be in the back seat, right? Mr. Verga would like to speak with him.”Alex smiled at that. “Then... let him come here.”“Sorry, his health is not so good. The older he gets, the sicker he gets. Would it please Mr. Vittorio to come with me?”Dante, who was sitting in the back seat, chuckled. “I’m not feeling well either. I think I’d like to go home.”Alex tried to hold back his laughter. “Did you hear that, sir?”The subordinate frowned. Hi
Dante’s mansion had a small bar. Many brands of alcoholic beverages were on display, from low-alcohol red wines to high-alcohol whiskies. Natalie scanned them all before finally deciding on a bottle of Scottish whisky. Jayde, who was always watching her, sighed. “Miss, you might earn Mr. Vittorio’s wrath if he finds out you took his drink.” “Him getting mad at me is not unusual,” Natalie replied expressionlessly. She filled her glass with the deep amber-colored liquid. The sweet scent of honey wafted through the air. One corner of her lips lifted. “Would you like to try it too, Jayde?” Natalie asked with a seductive look in her eyes. Jayde smiled. “It’s a whisky from the Highland region of Scotland. It’s sweet with a strong honey aroma. I don’t think I’m worthy to try it.” “Why not?” Natalie filled another glass and held it out to Jayde. However, the man was silent as he stared at her face. “Do you want to take advantage of me?” Jayde asked bluntly. He remembered how the last ti
“Miss, maybe you can chase him,” Alex suggested to Natalie.“Chasing him into the bedroom is too dangerous,” Natalie muttered, shaking her head. She had learned her lesson while knowing Dante. Avoiding the bed was the best way for her.So what should she do if Dante didn’t want to take her back to the apartment? Would she never get out again and just spend her days in the mansion?Alex sighed. “You guys better not get too close. We don’t know what Dante is really thinking,” he said. He picked up Natalie’s whiskey bottle on the bar counter and carried it away.Natalie just stared flatly at Alex’s retreating figure. Somehow, she felt like a girlfriend who had just discovered cheating. That wasn’t right. That was weird. Why did they treat her like Dante’s real fiancée and restrict her from interacting with other men?“Jayde, come on!” Alex called out to Jayde from above.Finally, Jayde left. Natalie, who was left alone, could only sit on the barstool lazily.Meanwhile, Alex took Jayde to
“Why?” Dante asked while closing his eyes. He sniffed Natalie’s sweet, soft, and distinctive body scent. Her body often smelled of vanilla, which was sometimes mixed with honey or milk.Dante always thought it was the scent of Natalie’s perfume. However, after knowing her for some time and even touching her bare skin and sweating together, he became convinced it wasn’t perfume. It was the natural scent of her body, which was very delicate and could only be smelled from an intimate distance.Just inhaling the scent of her body alone, one could get drunk. Natalie was indeed intoxicating. It would not be surprising if she could attract many men to like and admire her.“You didn't forget what happened before you disappeared, did you?” Natalie looked down while continuing to hold Dante’s muscular chest.“What do you mean?”Natalie looked up and gave Dante a tired look. A mocking, resigned smile finally appeared on her face. “Of course you forgot. You were drunk that day.”Dante frowned. H
Natalie slept without dreaming. When she woke up, it was already light. She got up and leaned against the headboard while trying to remember what happened last night.To be honest, she wasn’t someone who got panic attacks often. Maybe back when she was modeling, she had experienced it a few times because of the pressure of work. However, that was so long ago that she had even forgotten.What happened last night certainly surprised her. She didn’t have a panic attack when Dante touched her forcibly. She also didn’t get a panic attack when she was completely hurt and destroyed. Then what had triggered it?Natalie roughly rubbed her face. Then she took a sip of the water on the nightstand. Someone suddenly knocked on her bedroom door. She quickly opened it and saw Cora standing with a tray of breakfast. “Miss, how are you feeling now?” Cora asked.“I’m fine,” Natalie replied. “Actually, you don’t need to bring breakfast to my room. I can come down to the dining table.”“Sorry, I thought
“Stay here. I’m going to meet an investor,” Dante said after taking Natalie into his private office. He tried to forget what had just happened. “Do you just trust me?” Natalie glanced around with a flat expression. “I can steal your data here.” “Do it if you want.” Dante looked at her expressionlessly. He wasn’t worried because his greatest wealth was from his illicit business. After that, he walked out of the room. Natalie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She also tried to forget Dante’s strange behavior. Instead of speculating and guessing randomly, it was better to ignore it. Dante’s private office was a special office for the CEO. It wasn’t Natalie’s first time entering a CEO’s office, but still, the atmosphere inside the room impressed her. The room was spacious, with a wide glass wall that looked out over the business district of Manhattan. One could see the bustling streets and modern-looking high-rises from there. The ceiling was high. The marble and all the furnit
‘Dante is really sick.’That was all Natalie could think about. She closed her eyes in the car and tried to calm down. She had always thought Dante was a cruel and cold-hearted man, but it turned out to be more than that.A sane man wouldn’t do those things. A sane man wouldn’t claim a woman as his own when they didn’t even love her. Nor would a sane man detain and imprison a woman like a criminal.Natalie thought she herself was crazy enough with the destruction of her life. It turned out that there were people who were crazier than her.Just then, Dante’s right hand suddenly touched Natalie’s thigh, instantly breaking into her reverie. She turned her head and said coldly, “Take your hand away!”“Are you still mad at me, Cavey?” Dante asked, but Natalie didn’t want to answer. She just swatted away Dante’s hand.“I won’t bring up your past again,” the man said. He stared at Natalie as he drove.“You think I’m mad just because of that?”Dante shrugged his shoulders. “Is there another r
Hesitantly, Natalie picked up the incoming call. Dante’s voice immediately rang in her ears. “Get ready. I’ll pick you up soon,” the man said.Natalie’s expression immediately turned flat. So Dante said she didn’t need to add his contact because he had already done it himself?“You’re so great, Dante!” Natalie sarcastically said. She’d never thought that Dante could be so narcissistic. The guy even named his own contacts ‘fiancé’.“I am,” he said.Natalie snorted. She asked, “What are you picking me up for?”“Dinner.” Dante’s answer irritated Natalie.“You shouldn’t say things on the spur of the moment, Mr. Vittorio! Women can’t get dressed up in 10 minutes, let alone to go to a formal event. You’d better go alone!”Dante, who was sitting at his desk, smiled. “Not a formal event.”“What do you mean?”“I’m in a good mood, so, well, what’s wrong with me asking you to dinner?”Natalie was a little surprised. However, she knew Dante’s moods were volatile and unpredictable. She’d rather ha
“What happened to you, sis?” Kelsey let go of the hug. She cupped her hand on Natalie’s cheek and gently wiped away her tears. A complicated look filled her eyes.They had been separated since Kelsey was in middle school. Even before Natalie was imprisoned, they rarely saw each other. Even so, Kelsey used to see Natalie’s face either on the internet or in magazines. She knew her sister’s appearance wasn’t like that and shouldn’t have changed that much.Natalie shook her head and smiled. “Nothing. I just had surgery to change my identity. Call me Cavendish in the future, okay?”Kelsey didn’t say anything. She pulled Natalie’s hand towards her dorm room. She lived alone there, so she had more freedom to bring guests in.“Sis, I missed you.” Kelsey hugged Natalie after they entered the room. She burst into tears. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be a good sister,” she said through tears.“No, Kelsey.” Natalie shook her head. “You’ve suffered a lot over the years. Living alone isn’t easy, but you’ve
Natalie sat near the plane window. Her seat was only economy class, but she didn’t complain or mind. Just being able to go to London was good for her.Moments later, the plane took off. Natalie stared out the window in silence. She tried not to think about anything, including Dante. Since yesterday, she had always distracted her mind from thinking or remembering anything about him.Meanwhile, Dante was in the first-class seat. He wasn’t worried that Natalie would escape his watchful eye. They were on the same plane, after all.The trip took a while. They arrived in London at midnight. Natalie got off the plane and immediately looked for a money changer at the airport. Luckily, she had experience flying to London, so there was no confusion.She exchanged her dollar bills for British currency and then left the airport to find a place to stay. Somehow, she felt that someone was following and watching her. She quickly turned around and looked around, but no one looked suspicious.Natalie
The next day, Aland went to Dante’s penthouse without Natalie knowing. He sneaked out and pretended to be mysterious when leaving the hotel. George, who had been watching them since last night, frowned.“Where is he going?”George quietly followed Aland. He became even more curious after realizing Aland was going to Dante’s penthouse. “What’s he planning?”Aland was asked by Dante to pretend to steal. So, he acted mysteriously and carefully. He knocked on the door. It wasn’t long before Cedric opened it.“Aland, you—”“I want to see Mr. Vittorio,” Aland said.Cedric let him in and closed the door again. Then Aland went straight to Dante. It turned out that the man had already prepared the items he would take.“Here are Natalie’s passport and wallet. She has to leave tonight,” Dante said seriously.“Are you really going to just let her go? What if she runs into trouble in London?” Aland asked cautiously.Dante smiled. “You don't need to worry. I’ve already arranged everything.”Aland c
Dante lay in the coffin comfortably. The lid was not closed, so he could see Alex looking at him flatly. “Looks like you’re quite happy living in a coffin,” Alex quipped.The smile on Dante’s lips grew. He heard the sound of approaching footsteps and signaled Alex to be quiet. This time, he wanted to know how his younger brother would respond.Anthony stared at the black coffin in the living room with narrowed eyes. Roberto, who saw his arrival, immediately asked, “Why did you come here?”“Grandpa, I heard about it,” Anthony said without removing his gaze from the coffin. He hadn’t gotten close enough to it to see Dante’s face or body.“Why do you have to hide things like this? Is my brother really dead?” Anthony asked his grandfather.Roberto took a deep breath. “Anthony, how many people expected his death? If our enemies find out about it, they will immediately take advantage of the situation,” he replied seriously.“Why did you come here? You haven’t answered my question,” the old
That night, Natalie ran out of the apartment building looking like a mess. Her long hair was tangled and messy. She was only wearing pajamas, so her arms, bruised from Dante’s whipping, were visible to others.Her cheeks were red from the man’s slap, and there were even traces of his fingers. She looked down and covered it with her hands because she didn’t want others to see it.Barefoot, Natalie ran on the sidewalk. People might notice her, thinking she was crazy or homeless. However, she didn’t care. Her feelings were completely shattered, and she just wanted to escape as far as possible.Snowflakes fell onto her body, making her even colder. Her lips turned pale and blue. She hugged her body in the hope that no one would chase her.Unknown to Natalie, someone was watching and following her from afar. It was George who was always watching the apartment building. He wanted to approach her to find out if the information about Dante’s death was true.Just as he was about to approach Na
Natalie was really sick. That whole day, she just lay in bed with a weak body. Even the next day, she had trouble getting out of bed. Lizzy, who knew about her situation, became worried.“Mister, don’t you want to do something? She’s really sick, not just pretending,” Lizzy said to Dante. She hoped he would call a doctor or do something to treat Natalie.Dante was lazing around in his room. He was pretending to be dead, so he couldn’t do any work outside. When Lizzy spoke, he only glanced at her. “Just let her be sick. I won’t bother her,” he said.“Don’t you still need her existence? If she’s sick, how will she get to London?” Lizzy continued to persuade her employer.“Why do you care so much about her? You’re better off here, keeping me company,” Dante said as he patted the bed beside him. He smiled sweetly at the girl.“Sir, no kidding!” Lizzy gave Dante an annoyed look. She knew he wasn’t serious.“Alright. I’ll see her later,” Dante said indifferently.Lizzy finally stopped bothe
That night, Natalie was too tired from crying until she fell asleep sitting on the floor and leaning against the side of the bed. She woke up when someone suddenly opened the door in the morning.Lizzy came in carrying a tray of breakfast. She placed it on the table and stepped closer to Natalie.“Miss...” The girl looked at Natalie sadly. What happened last night really saddened her. She hadn’t expected Natalie and Dante’s relationship to suddenly fall apart.Natalie looked down and tried to stand up. She looked at her own horrible-looking reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and red. Her lips were pale, and her appearance was a mess, but she didn’t care.“I want to talk to Dante,” Natalie said hoarsely. She had been crying for so long that her voice was almost gone.Lizzy sighed. “Miss, he wants you to leave America immediately.”“Leave America?” Natalie was surprised to hear that.“Mr. Vittorio wants you to go to London. He doesn’t want to see you again or have anything to
In the middle of the night, Roberto was about to fall asleep when Marco suddenly knocked on the door and entered his room. “Sir, Alex wants to see you. He has urgent news,” Marco said seriously.Dante’s grandfather frowned. He finally sat up. “In this middle of the night?”Marco nodded. Roberto sighed. “Let him in,” he said.Before Marco left the room to call Alex, Alex had already barged in. His face looked pale and worried. “Sir, I have some bad news,” he reported.“What is it?”Alex swallowed. He looked down and said, “Something happened to Dante. He’s...”Roberto looked at him sharply. “What happened to my grandson?!”“Someone badly injured him. He’s... dying,” Alex replied quietly, without daring to look at the old man.“No way!” Roberto shook his head in disbelief. Suddenly, he held his heart and looked in pain. “What... has happened?”Alex raised his gaze and panicked at Roberto’s pale face. Had he lied too much to the old man to cause a relapse of his heart disease?“Sir, calm
In the car, Alex waited uncertainly. Dante still hadn’t called him, so he was worried. Was everything okay?He held his cell phone uncertainly. After some consideration, he finally decided to call him. The phone rang for a long time, but Dante didn’t answer.“Ah, too long. I’d rather go up to the penthouse,” he muttered.Finally, Alex grabbed the gun from the dashboard and exited the car. He had to carry a weapon, just in case. After that, he hurried up to the penthouse.Arriving at the penthouse floor, Alex pressed the bell several times. Unfortunately, no one would open the door for him. He sighed and barged in with his access card.The first sight he saw surprised Alex. The penthouse was a mess. Rose petals and small crushed candles were scattered on the floor. Some glassware, such as vases, was also broken and scattered.Alex immediately went deeper and saw Dante sitting quietly at the dining table. Lizzy and Aland, who were standing in the corridor, immediately looked at Alex exp