FOREVER MINE

C H A P T E R 19

He looks down at his hands and then whispers to himself, "I love her."

I understand why Dante is reacting the way he is. He's been cheated on by all of his previous girlfriends so cheating has always been something he deeply despised.

I stand up and make my way towards him. Placing my hand on his shoulder, I nod towards the door. "Go talk to her. I'm sure she has calmed down by now."

He nods mindlessly before slowly turning towards the door.

"Dante." He looks back at me. "She's not cheating on you. Trust me."

He doesn't say anything and quietly leaves my office.

●◇●◇●◇●

The occasional barking of faraway dogs broke the silence of the night. I cross my arms and lean back against my car, staring across the street of a small neighbourhood.

I wasn't planning on being here tonight, but after the talk with Dante, I needed to check up on a few things.

It's not that I don't trust Dante. I trust him with my life. But if I want things to go according to plan, then I need to do this on my own. I can't risk anything getting out and everything going south.

Partly hidden in the shadows, I watch as Nicole walks out of an already burned down house. The walls are barely standing and the roof looks like it could collapse at the slightest breeze.

She looks around before ducking her head and crossing the road. She doesn't notice me standing here when she silently passes and continues to walk with her eyes downcasted.

"I thought I told you to be more discreet when you leave the house." The sound of my voice immediately causes her to freeze. She slowly casts a look over her shoulders before exhaling deeply.

I nod my head towards my car before getting in while Nicole softly climbs into the passenger seat after.

"Did you talk to Dante?" She asks after a few silent minutes.

"I chould ask you the same question."

She sighs before turning towards me, facing me head on. "Look, I know that I should have been more careful but all of this isn't my fault. I didn't want to lie to him in the first place."

I lean back in my seat and look over at her. Her eyes are narrowed as she glares at me, clearly irritated.

"I didn't want to lie to him either but you know that this is the best way to do things without anyone finding out." I say and lean closer towards her. "Don't forget why we're doing this."

She only stares at me before huffing and turning away from me. "We had another fight this morning." She mutters under her breath.

"Elaborate."

She sighs deeply while running her hands over her face. "He thinks that I'm cheating on him." She let's out a humorless laugh while looking out of the window. "If only he knew..."

My phone dings with a notification from Lorenzo telling me his location and asking if we could meet up. I send a quick reply before turning my attention back to Nicole.

She reaches to grab the door handle but I swiftly catch her wrist. "You don't tell him or anyone else for that matter about any of this. This stays between you and me." I let go of her wrist and pin her with a glare of my own. "You put yourself in this position and now you have to fix it."

She stays quiet as I turn back to the steering wheel and start the car. She mutters something under her breath but I don't care to know what it is as I pull out of my spot and speed down the street. "I'll drop you of at the house." I say and she nods.

"And please make up with Dante, I can't work in peace with him pouting and frowning all day."

She just nods and I don't mind the silence that follows after that.

I rub my temple as my headache annoyingly decides to get worse. These past few weeks have been brutal but it's worth it. I'll do anything to keep the people I care about safe.

I can't risk anyone getting hurt - especially not her...