Garden of Roses ✔️

Chapter 41

Zara

          I shove the phone back into Luca's hand, but he's not having it. He turns up the brightness and positions the phone to lean on a bowl that is sitting on the kitchen counter. That way, I can see clearly what's going on.

Dante comes out of the car looking flawless as usual. The sleeves of his dark dress shirt are pulled back, making tattoos on his forearms visible. Now that I've seen all of his body art, the bits and pieces on his arms and collarbone make much more sense. For a second there, the extremely detailed tree on his chest flashes my memory, and I regret not asking him about it when I had the chance.

His Armani sunglasses frame his face perfectly, and it makes him look even better. There is something about men wearing sunglasses.

Not that this is the right time to think about that.

It doesn't exactly surprise me that he came after me, but I hoped to have at least a little bit more time to sleep, shower, and rest before I had to face him.

Luca asks me if he should open the garage doors to let him in. I shake my head no without even thinking about it.

Dante is probably furious at me right now, and I don't think letting him in would be a good idea. I watch him on the phone screen as he searches for the way in. He doesn't find one, but he does find the camera. As he looks up, I almost slip off my bar stool. It feels like he's looking straight at me. Chills spread through my body even though I know he can't see me.

I see his lips moving, but no sound is coming from the phone. I look up at Luca, and he quickly takes the phone, turns up the volume, and hands it to me.

This time I decided to hold onto it.

"Zara, I came here to say I'm sorry..."

Oh? Well, I wasn't expecting that. I thought he would be mad, that he would come here with guns blazing, but I notice his gun is safely tucked away at his side.

I can't exactly read his face since the camera is too far away, but I can hear the sound of his voice loud and clear. It's strong and decisive. At the same time, he sounds remorseful. I listen to his every word. The way he says my name kind of hurts and feels surprisingly nice at the same time.

"I do understand..."

He does? I mean, I wrote him that note with only a tiny bit of hope that he would maybe, after some time, begin to understand where I was coming from. He couldn't possibly put himself in my position, so it would be crazy to think he could actually understand me. But he does. Somehow, he does.

Then he continues to talk about how I hurt him, and my chest contracts as his voice becomes weaker. I know what I did wrong even before he says it, but hearing from him how I made him feel just makes things so much worse. He is the last person I'd expect to speak so openly about his weaknesses, but he's doing it anyway, and it doesn't seem like he is about to stop.

There is a pause, and I see Camilla coming into view. She says something to Dante that I can't make out. Her eyes are teary as Dante pulls her into a tight hug.

What the hell are they talking about?

As Camilla pulls back and walks towards the car, Dante turns around so I can again see his front side. His eyes are glued to the ground as he's saying something about talking to himself. I can't quite understand his mumbled words, but I think that's what he's saying.

"I have something of yours." I hear him say, and now he's going through his pockets while I try to figure out what it might be. What could I have possibly left there that was mine? We came there with nothing and left only with several things they gave us.