His three rules

Chapter 21

I walked back up to the front door as the morning sun nearly blinded me and I raised my hand to knock on the door.

One of the kitchen maids opened the door with a smile as she welcomed me back inside, just mere moments before a frantic Dante came running down the stairs.

"Thank goodness you're okay !" He exclaimed relieved as he instantly engulfed me in a tight hug. A foreign feeling that was unfamiliar between us. "Where did you go?" He asked as he motioned to the servers to pour me coffee and bring food.

"I just walked around the neighbourhood for a while and then I came across a little pond, so I sat there until the sun came up. "

"I was so worried about you." He replied while pushing the plate closer to me.

At first, I wanted to scoff at the fact that he could actually be worried about me, but then I looked into his eyes and I could tell it was true. I've never seen so much pain, regret and sorrow in his eyes before. The dark circles around his eyes also led me to think he had been up all night.

"Well, I'm back. "

"When you've finished your breakfast, could we maybe...talk? Please?" I've never heard him say please before, or even beg for anything. I guess I caused him more stress last night than I had realised.

"We can talk now," I replied, curious to hear what he had to say.

"Uhm, okay. Yeah, sure. Do you want to go somewhere more private?"

"I guess," I answered as I followed him to his office. "Rule number 2 ?" I asked apathetic, feeling indifferent to his charms after last night.

"Forget rule number 2, just come in." He replied as I walked in and sat down on the big, brown, leather couch.

"I wanted a chance to explain myself to you. No bullshit."

"That's a first," I remarked with a scoff.

"Please, just hear me out." He asked as I sighed, motioning for him to continue.

"Okay, so, the reason I keep you at arm's length is for your own protection. I know you feel like you don't need protection but you don't know my father. He's a piece of work. Like really. "

"Sounds like it runs in the family," I commented as I listened to him skip over it.

"I didn't want my father to take away the one person that means the world to me. And I knew that in our family, love was weakness and if he knew how I felt about you, he would find a way to ruin it."

"And how do you feel about me, Dante? Because right now I'm not so sure anymore."

The room fell into silence as I impatiently waited for him to explain himself. After a minute had passed without an answer, I got up and said "See. I'm done."

"I love you dammit !" He yelled out behind me, making me stop in my tracks.

"You love me? You don't even know me. We've been so-called 'married' for 5 months now and you still don't know anything about me! " I watched as he stepped forward, his tall figure hovering over me as I waited for him to say something, anything.

"I know that you're extremely impatient. I know that you wiggle your nose when it itches and you don't want to sneeze. I know that you love animals and helping people. I know that your eyes turn a different shade in the moonlight and your hair gets curly when wet. I know that you've always hated being alone, and that you play with your necklace when you're nervous. I also know that you hate the sound of our own voice, and you believe that every person has a little bit of good in them. Even me. "

"How do you -"

"I pay attention to you. More than you realise. "

I couldn't deny that he was starting to break through my walls at this point. He was very charming and I didn't know if I wanted to fight his charms.

"You know that doesn't change the way you've treated me these last 5 months, right? Not even to mention that I'm sure there's more to the story than just your father."

"There is, but if you would allow me to, I'd like to get to know you better first. Really get to know you." He suggested as I felt conflicted about whether or not to trust his motives. I could either say yes, and try to build a relationship with him, or I could say no and potentially lose it all and everything stays the same.

I had no idea what I wanted to do...