His three rules

Chapter 7

If he truly believed I was so dull, then who was I to challenge that perception and prove him wrong? It was evident he had no interest in getting to know me, let alone loving me. So, the best course of action for my own sanity was to make the upcoming decades as bearable as possible.

The days that followed our heated argument fell into a monotonous routine, a routine that had become my life. It was rather disheartening...

Wake up.
Get dressed.
Have breakfast alone.
Read a few chapters of my current book.
Go for an afternoon swim.
Have lunch alone.
Read some more.
Have dinner with him.
Back to bed.
And...repeat.

Admittedly, it was quite dull. Yet, there wasn't much else to do in this confined existence. Occasionally, I would swap out my pre-dinner reading for a movie or a new series, but everything seemed to revolve around relationships and couples, inevitably leaving me feeling despondent. I despised what Dante was doing to me – making me feel trapped in this stifling lifestyle with no autonomy. I hated that I had lost that bet, the catalyst for this whole situation.

"What are you doing?" Dante inquired as I began stacking the empty dishes.

"I'm just making the workload lighter for the kitchen staff by consolidating everything into one pile."

"Just leave it; that's what I pay them to do," he retorted, returning to his steak. However, I paid no heed. "I said, leave it, Sophia," he spoke up again, this time with a more threatening undertone.

"Why are you like this?" I asked, meeting his eyes for the first time in two weeks.

"What?" he replied, sounding almost bored.

"You heard me. Why are you like this? Why do you treat me this way? You impose all these rules to keep me in line, and yet, when I try to make even the smallest decision for myself, like wanting to help the staff, you try to take that away too. I know you think you 'own' me now or whatever, but I'm still a person – someone who could have filed for divorce, someone not legally bound by a bet to be with you. Yet, for some bizarre reason, I'm still here. Dante, take a good look in the mirror. This is not how you treat people you care about or, at the very least, a person in general," I declared, walking out, leaving him gaping like a goldfish.

I hadn't planned on confronting him, but he needed to hear it. He needed to grasp the reality of what it was like to live with him – a horrible person with an even more grotesque personality. How anyone could love him remained beyond my comprehension; he was impossible to live with. It felt like we had been fighting since the day we met – over everything and anything. It seemed like he was purposefully keeping me at arm's length, preventing me from getting too close. But, at the end of the day, he succeeded. I had never felt so alone before in my life.

Exiting the shower, I held the towel close as the cold night wind swept through me, prompting me to close the window.

"I'm sorry; I didn't realize you were not dressed," Dante's voice rang out as I turned to see him still facing the door.

At least he had some sense of decency.

"Just give me a minute," I replied, hastily putting on shorts and a shirt. "Alright."

"I wanted to apologize for treating you the way I did. It was uncalled for."

An apology? I was genuinely surprised. He almost sounded sincere.

"Thank you," I responded as he turned to leave.

"I have abandonment issues, you know," I revealed, watching him take a deep breath and respond, "I know," sounding genuinely heartfelt.

It was true; I didn't just say it to make him feel bad. Everyone in my life had left me, and to this day, I was still damaged by it.I watched as he reached for the door handle once again, and before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "Dante?" observing him turn to face me. "Would you stay with me tonight?"