Garden of Roses ✔️

Chapter 43

Zara

Dante laughed at my soap collection. He literally doubled over, laughing his ass off at a bowl full of small soaps that I never use and the way I approached him with it. I keep them because they look like little pretty pebbles and they smell really nice. Dante thought it was absurd, but the way he laughed made me laugh along with him. Seeing this man act so casual and carefree was something else. It was a rare scene, but when it occurred, it was like the whole room lit up.

"You know what? I don't care what you think. I'm bringing them with me." I snatch the bowl out of his hands and take it back to the bedroom so I can carefully pack the little soaps.

"Love, you can bring whatever you want. The soaps are just hilarious, that's all." Dante finally manages to inhale properly as he wipes the tear that formed in the corner of his eye.

The packing didn't last as long as I thought it would. In just a few hours, we were all packed and ready to leave. After I've spoken to my team, I've gathered the rest of my people in the armory to inform them about the transition. As Dante said, neither of them objected, but instead nodded their heads and accepted what they've been told.

By the time evening came, dozens of black cars had already left the underground complex and were on their way to the Salvatori estate.

I was in the car with Dante, Camilla, and Lorenzo. For the first ten minutes of the drive, I noticed Camilla glancing over at Dante every few seconds from the back seat.

Lorenzo leaned over between the two front seats, only to return to his position without saying anything. I had no idea what was going on. They seemed anxious about something, but Dante just ignored them.

The next time Lorenzo leans in, his hand flies to the dashboard, and Dante smacks it out of the way.

"Okay, fine, fine. Just... sit back and don't touch my dashboard." Dante snaps at him, and I'm even more confused than before. He turns up the volume on the radio, which makes the two of them in the back give each other a high five. I don't get what the big deal is until I hear them.

They are singing. No, they're shouting. They know every song, without an exception. I find their enthusiasm hilarious and fun, but Dante looks like he's seriously contemplating throwing them out of the car. I join them for a few songs that I know the words to, Dante looking at me like I've just betrayed him.

After a while, I give up. Lorenzo and Camilla continue going strong for quite some time. I zone out, staring out of the window. Every single thing that happened in the last couple of days starts replaying in my head. And now we're here, all together and on our way home.

Home.

It amazes me how the estate felt more like home to me than the bunker ever did. Even though I lived in the bunker for eighteen years, it never felt right. It was the place where I was brought when my parents died. It was a place where I was forced to stay so people wouldn't know I even existed. Yes, I had good memories of the bunker too. I knew that the place meant my safety. But still, it was always haunted by what brought me there in the first place, and apparently, I never got over it.

I felt relieved and excited to start over while at the same time feeling anxious and terrified. When I wasn't thinking about it, everything was peachy. I was happy and excited to start this new chapter of my life. But when I did think about it, my mind was flooded by overthinking and slight panic.

I've spent a very good part of my life simmering in rage, in a wish for revenge. I was raised with a picture of how and who I should be. It was implanted in my brain, and I went from there. Every move, every decision, every action I took was to get closer to my goal. And my goal was to become an assassin and take down the Salvatori family.