Dante was on the verge of going crazy as he dialed his grandfather's number. The first time Alaric decided not to pick up his calls was when Dante needed him most.
"Daddy, where are they taking Natalie to?"
He had been asked this question for the tenth time tonight and he didn't have a clue as to what was happening.
"I don't know honey, but I'll bring her back," he replied.
Chloe was already in tears and he was having a hard time pacifying her. What he couldn't understand was why Lee hadn't come out when all this fiasco was going on.
He headed to the butler's room and found him handcuffed to his bedpost. His mouth was gagged and his ankles were tied securely too.
Gently, he untied the old man and helped him out of the handcuffs—the keys were left on his nightstand.
"Dante, you guys are safe," he heaved a sigh of relief.
"It's alright, Lee. You're ju
Dante.Chloe.Noah.Lexi.It all came back to Dante.Why couldn't she spend a single second in this goddamn place without her thoughts drifting back to him, Natalie wondered.She was supposed to be thinking about Chloe or her brother or even how to get out of here but all she could think about was their day at the beach.That was what made her smile like a crazy person. Since when did she think of someone and smile foolishly, she had no idea.She was still in that damp place with the water drizzling on her and her eyes blindfolded, her mouth gagged.At this rate, she might lose her ability to speak if the gag isn't taken off anytime soon.She listened intently but heard no noise. They probably thought she wouldn't cause any trouble and handy bothered to place enough guards outside her door.Ha! She
Natalie woke up with a start as she looked around her surroundings. Her gaze landed on Dante and she sighed in relief. She must have fallen asleep in the car, she mused.She took a look at the back seat and saw the kids were all asleep. Smiling happily, she glanced at the rear-view mirror."Aren't we home yet?"He squeezed her hand lightly. "Not yet, my love."Her heart swells with pride. He had called her his love, she mused happily. Her heart was over the moon and the feelings she got felt strange and nice at the same time.Nodding her head, she drifted off to her thoughts. Her biggest worry was how to tell Dante who she truly was and how he would react when he finds out.Dante took a quick look at her and smiled. He noticed she was biting her lips and thinking about something. This little action of hers turned him on.He wanted to rip
Dante opened her eyes and smiled. He caressed the woman lying beside him and saw the smile playing on her lips.She was still asleep he could tell but he also knew that she was happy and fulfilled.Last night had been one hell of a crazy ride with the way she had come straight for him dressed in that nightie that almost drove him crazy.He had promised himself not to touch her till they went on a proper date but last night he hadn't been able to restrain himself, he had only stopped when he realized she was a virgin.His surprise at that revelation had cooled his raging hormones and she had been shy at first even sad when he said he was not touching her, when he had explained his reasons she had agreed grudgingly.
Dante heaved a sigh of relief when his grandfather finally left his office leaving him alone with Xavier."That was intense," Xavier commented."Tell me about it," Dante sighed his shoulders slumping while his eyelids threatened to close. He was exhausted mentally, emotionally, and physically."You've got enough balls standing up to him like that," Xavier mused.Dante chuckled. "Love makes us feel and do things we never normally would have done."Xavier chuckled nodding his head in understanding. "I know what you mean."Dante arched his brow at him. "Don't talk like you know what I mean, Xavier. You're a crazy player."Xavier chuckled heartily. "It's true but I've still got a heart.""I'm yet to see it," Dante shrugged.Giving him a small nod, Xavier stood up ready to leave. "I wish you success, dude I can only imagine how she will
"Yes."Dante blinked as he stared at Natalie, his eyes widened slightly."Natalie, I said I have something to tell you."She frowned. "Something more important than my answer?"He suddenly realized what she meant. "No, my love.""Then my answer is yes," she smiled at him.He slipped the ring into her finger as she admired it, tears glistening in his eyes. This was not how he had planned this night.He had wanted to tell her the truth about everything, apologize to her, get her forgiveness before allowing her to wear his ring but she had insisted.
Leo had a task to finish but he couldn't complete it. He was supposed to make sure that Dante had confessed the truth to Natalie but he hadn't been able to do so.The joy he had seen on her face was enough to cripple a man and make him swallow any bad news. He didn't blame Dante either for not telling her.He could only hope they get to be happy before everything falls apart because it would.A knock at his door snapped him out of his thoughts and he frowned. It was only one person who visited him aside from Dante and Lee.Swinging the door open he saw Natalie standing on his porch."You again?!" He growled.She chuckled. "I wish I had
"Earth to Natalie!"Natalie winced slightly at the sound of Lexi's voice in her ears."You wanna make me deaf, right?" She glared at her friend.Lexi shrugged. "I've been asking you some questions but you weren't listening. Where is your mind?"Natalie sighed. She was in her best friend's house because she couldn't stand being alone with her mind reeling about trying to figure out what Dante was hiding from her.She had overheard his conversation with Leo last night. She hadn't even known that he was so close to Leo. It was clear they were hiding something from her.Then there was also Xavier. She had a weird feeling that he was up to
Natalie was convinced about the second voice she and heard but the owner of the voice was nowhere to be found.Her eyes scanned the entire room and yet she saw no one. She went to the receptionist and asked to book an appointment with the counselor tomorrow before she left.She drove off still fondling her favorite pocket knife. Her phone was ringing but she knew it was Dante. She didn't want to tell him about this so he wouldn't get involved in her issues.Shortly after the phone call ended, his voicemail played on her phone."My love, I know that you're upset about the news but please pick up your phone."She felt her eyes glisten with tears. He was a blessing in disguise to her. When her ph
"Dante?"Her husband stared at her with a confused expression."Na—ruff!"The next thing that followed was utter chaos as she stood mortified.Natalie blinked. Maybe if she closed her eyes and opened it, the horrible scene would disappear but the shrill voices reminded her that it was real."He is crazy!” someone exclaimed."Call the asylum!" Another added.Natalie watched as her husband tore at people's trousers and skirts barking like a dog.Like an actual dog! A real dog!She looked around mortified as she tried to stop them from racing out of the house screaming their lungs out.
“Doctor, what is wrong with my husband?” Natalie stared at Dante as he lay down peacefully on the hospital bed, a small smile playing on his lips. She caressed his hair and kissed his cheeks softly. “He’ll be asleep for a while, Ma’am,” the doctor answered. “Did you find out what's wrong?” Natalie asked. The doctor nodded and she heaved a sigh of relief. She had worried that everything wouldn't go according to her plans and she would have to start afresh after ruining Dante’s image. “This is the document of Dante’s hospital reports,” the doctor said, handing her some papers. Natalie went through it and a smile formed on her lips. “Thank you so much, Doctor,” Natalie smiled. The doctor nodded, “You’re welcome, Ma’am. I wish you success.”Natalie nodded as the doctor left. A few minutes later Lee stepped into the hospital room, panting. “Reporters... Outside... Wolves!” he panted. Natalie shrugged, “Calm down, Lee. Did you get it?”Lee handed her a box and nodded, “Everything i
Natalie stared at Dante as she saw the speech he had written and she chuckled."What's funny?" Dante asked with a frown."You are writing a speech like you aren't a businessman again," she chortled.Dante's frown deepened. "What is wrong with that?"Natalie smiled. "I just don't think it would be necessary for that. You can do that without the speech."Dante furrowed his brows at her. "It's an impromptu speech, Natalie. I need to be prepared."Natalie noticed the way his muscles were tensed and she sighed. She knew he was nervous but she didn't know what was going on in his mind.She stood up and touched his biceps. He smiled at her touch and she smiled. "Why are you so tensed?" She asked.He shrugged. "What do you mean? I'm not tensed."Natalie smirked. "You are, Dante."Dante sighed and took a seat beside her on the bed. He massaged his throbbing temples and sighed again."Out with it!" Natalie exclaimed."I'm scared, Nat," he whispered.Natalie froze at the tone of his voice. Her p
She tried connecting the dots but at each point, she came up blank. Nothing made any sense whatsoever and Sophie had agreed to accompany Dante. It was only out of jealousy that she had decided to go with Dante. Could it be that this whole thing had been a trap to ruin her trust with Dante? What more can break a relationship except when they've lost trust in each other? First, she was made to lose faith in Dante by finding out about his affair with Sophie which wasn't so much of a big deal if she had just sat down to think about it. She massaged her temples as she felt the headache beginning to form. She needed to stay focused because that was what Sophie was trying to disrupt. For some reason, she knew that her coming here would do no good for either her or Dante. How could she have let this slip by so quickly? She picked up her pen and went to the board, there was a time when she had defeated Jared and Sophie, now was the same time to do just that. She examined the things that
Dante stepped out of the police van as he followed them to the cell where he would stay. "You will have to cool off here for the night, sir. Someone called us and suggested you spend the night here before you strangle your wife out of anger." Dante ignored the policeman as he thought about what Natalie had done. He knew he shouldn't be upset after what happened with Sophie but he was. In this frame of mind, he was willing to kill someone preferably Dario for touching her. And he has said he tasted his fucking wife! Those words alone had set his blood boiling with anger. He waited as the inspector opened the door and he entered his cell. His mind was reeling with lots of thoughts as he thought about what to do with Natalie. He didn't know if he should believe her when she said nothing happened. But the pictures... They were just too damn intimate for his liking and he wanted to strangle Dario for touching her the way only he could. How could she be so heartless and betray him li
He jerked away from her touch. "You've already embarrassed me before the media I don't care!""What nonsense are you talking about?" Dario asked."I'm talking about this!" Dante yelled shoving his phone in their face.Natalie gasped when she saw the pictures on his phone. It was when Dario had kissed her and when he had slipped her dress off her shoulder."Dante, this isn't what it looks like," she cried.He glared at her. "Yeah, then what does it look like?"Dario ran a hand through his hair. "Would you believe me if I say that I have no idea of how this came about?"Dante glared at him. "Try lying to someone else!""I swear Dante. The last thing I remembered was blacking out on the grass in the cliff before this whole kissing scenario after that blacking out everything is a blur," Dario stated."Are you trying to tell me that my wife is the one..."Dario interrupted him sharply. "Natalie would never do such a thing. I don't know what happened but it's not what you're thinking."Natal
His eyes narrowed into slits when he saw that she was still cuddled up with Dario while the media took pictures.How could she be asleep in this noisy environment?!Maybe because she had been so busy with something else, a malicious voice said in his mind.He noticed Natalie stirring and he glared at them trying to control his temper. "Get away from here!" He yelled at the media."She's waking and him too!"The media yelled ignoring him. He whirled around to see Natalie stretch and wake up before she froze at the flash of cameras.He saw the wild and confused look in her eyes and then she shook Dario awake. He saw how confused Dante looked and for some weird reason, he didn't believe a thing of what he had seen.Suddenly, the flashes of her naked body with Dario flashed in his mind and he gritted his teeth in anger."Mrs. Rodrio, are you trying to get back at your husband by cheating on him with his best friend?" One of the reporters asked.Natalie's eyes widened as he saw her grip Da
She froze. "Sorry for what, Dario?""Maybe if I hadn't encouraged you that day to go after him, If I had just slept with you that day then we would have ended up together," he murmured.Natalie frowned. "What are you talking about, Dario? Why are you bringing up the past?"He was looking at her but she was so sure he wasn't seeing her. She was sure he was in a reverie, probably transported back to ten years ago when she had gone to seduce him in his room."Dario?""If you had married me instead you won't be going through this pain. And I'm rich also just like Dante. Why did I ever push you away," he continued talking like he wasn't seeing her."Dario, what is wrong with you?" She asked sitting up.He ignored her and continued talking. "Perhaps, I can redeem that situation by making you mine. It's not too late."Her eyes widened. "The fuck are you talking about? It's fucking lat..."Her eyes were huge as she felt his soft lips on hers and his hands roaming around her body.She tried to
They stepped into the board meeting where the entire board of directors was waiting and the news playing on the television was the same news from earlier."Good day, Mr. and Mrs. Rodrigo," the assistant board chairman smiled at them.Natalie nodded as they hurriedly turned off the television.Quickly, they took their seats and she sat down beside her husband."The shares are falling drastically, Mr. Rodrigo!" one of the board members exclaimed."I think this video of you and your wife has gone viral!" Another added."Oh my gosh! This is a scandal associated with this company," someone chirped in."You need to address this matter as soon as possible, Mr. Rodrigo," someone added.Soon everyone was talking and he couldn't hear anyone again. He tried to calm them down but they were in full panic mode.Natalie wiggled out of his arms as she headed for the door."Where are you going, love?" He asked surprised.She shook her head. "I have to leave this place. I can't stay here any longer.""B