Billionaire Blood

chapter 26 - the stakeout

DANTE MORALES

"Athena! Come here girl! Ares! Come here guys!"

I hear Katerina's faint shouts from outside. A sigh comes out of me as I walk up to shut the window. I see her. Running around on the grass. Throwing the tennis ball. She clutches her stomach and falls. Molly and Helena rush to her side immediately but she ushers them away.

I scoff at myself when I check the time and realise I've been staring at her for the past 5 minutes. I slam the window shut and close the curtains, not letting a speck of sunlight enter my room.

Although I tried distracting myself with work, my mind kept wandering to Katerina. When she was punching me I saw tears fall from her eyes. Her composed, technical facade had broken.

She really was my match.

No other person - man or woman had ever come close to what she did. She hated me for what I did to her cousin.

She needs to know the truth.

Even if it'll break her.

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"Dante? Dinner is ready," Helena announces from behind the door.

"Thanks. I'll be down in 5."

As I walked down the corridor, a voice stopped me in my tracks. I hid behind a wall as I continued to listen.

"It's ok Cela. you don't have to worry. I'm just a little sore. Please don't tell Mum and Dad. It'll cause more problems... I know. I'm trying, I really am. I hate this Cela, I miss you. Ok bye... I love you too."

I snuck a peek and found Katerina with her eyes closed and resting her head against the wall. A single tear rolled down her face. She started blinking back the tears and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She let out a few deep breaths and walked into the dining room.

As I walked in, the room looked elegant and intimate. It was obvious that Helena, Molly and Evan had decided to spruce it up a bit. A dimly lit room, with a vase of roses in the middle. The aroma of the dishes wafted around the room as we were left by ourselves.

We ate not daring to look up at each other, only hearing the clink of the silverware and the fire in the background. We were focused on everything but the person in front of us.

"How many horses do you have here?"

I look up surprised. I wasn't expecting Katerina to say anything.

"We have 12."

"Do you ride them often?"

"I used to when I was younger. It's been a while now."

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KATERINA SOLDANO

"Will you be staying at the house for the rest of the week?" Dante asks.

"I can't let anyone see me like this... so yes," I reply coldly, "If you'll excuse me, I want to go lie down."

"You've barely touched your food," he says with his brows furrowed.

"I'm not that hungry," I say, leaving before he can say anything else.

As I lay in bed worried about the next six days, I heard a knock on my door. I frowned and wondered who would be asking for me at 12AM.

Behind the door was someone I never expected to be seeing at this time. Dante stood before me, holding a drink and empanadas.