Garden of Roses ✔️

Chapter 32

Zara

          "I think we should talk." Dante's words echo in my head for a few seconds and I gulp heavily at the meaning of what he said. My eyes search his, trying to read his emotions.

I remember those couple of seconds, right before my eyes flew shut. His expression was a mixture of confusion, panic, hurt, anger, and disappointment. I'm trying to find any one of those emotions on his face right now, but all I see is worry.

His dark emerald eyes are watching me carefully just like I do him as he waits for my response. I don't want to have this conversation, but I know he isn't going to let this go. He wants answers, and I have to give him something.

The softness of his gaze encourages me to nod my head slightly and give in.

"Could you... help me get...," I don't even finish my sentence before Dante's arms wrap around my torso and help me get into a sitting position on the bed. His movements are slow and steady, but the shift of my body still makes me wince in pain.

The amount of my yesterday's movements left the consequences on my body today, and my wince doesn't go unnoticed by Dante. I somehow know by the look in his eyes that seeing me in pain hurts him emotionally more than it does me physically.

"Do you want to tell me what happened yesterday?" His tone is not angry or accusatory or anything I would expect from him, considering how shocked he must've been when he entered my room yesterday. Suddenly my whole conversation with Isabella replays in my mind and I fight the urge to get up and run like hell toward the door. Even if I tried, I doubt the attempt would be very successful. I probably wouldn't even get to the door before Dante catches me.

What am I supposed to say to him? How am I supposed to explain what happened without telling him everything? And I'm certainly not planning on telling him everything. I can't.

The memory of what Isabella told me about my father flashes in my mind and I try to blink away the upcoming tears as they start to burn my eyes, threatening to run down my cheeks any moment now.

"I went to see Isabella," I whisper, my eyes looking down so he doesn't see my watery eyes.

"So I've heard," Dante whispers back. As the words leave his mouth, I feel as if someone poured ice-cold water all over me. My head snaps up to look at him.

What if she told him? What if he knows everything that she and I talked about? Would she do that? I hope not. If she kept her mouth shut for this long, I don't see why she would spill my secret now. I held onto that little faith that Isabella was amused by keeping Dante in the dark and wouldn't tell him a thing.

"Oh... Why are you crying? I didn't mean to make you cry," he cups my cheek with his hand as he catches a glimpse of my watery eyes. His touch feels warm and comforting on my skin as I close my eyes and give in to his palm.

We stay like that, in silence for a good minute, his thumb continuing to caress my cheek. I try to come up with a way to get out of this while Dante seems to search for a way to continue the conversation without making me even more upset. He leans closer so our foreheads are almost touching and I can feel his warm breath on my face as he sighs.

"I just want to understand, that's all." His voice is now weak, threatening to break as he begs me to give him something. He needs me to give him a reason for what I tried to do yesterday. He needs to know why I would try to leave his home like that. Leave him.

Yesterday I wasn't thinking about anything but escaping this place. I didn't think about my team, I didn't think about Camilla. And I didn't even think about Dante. He knew nothing about my reasons. All he saw was me suddenly intending to leave without saying goodbye.