C17 Not Worth Knowing

Hellcat.

That suited her perfectly. Isabella was no hellcat. She had always been the perfect woman for him. Not until he coldly agreed that they should marry after his father died.

He knew she had suggested it because she thought that would calm him down. So he had agreed just to prove her wrong.

They had the wedding, but he went out of his way to let her know that he was not to be controlled.

He saw her unhappiness and ignored it.

He saw her withdrawal and didn't pay it any attention.

Not even when she started acting out. He had only made sure she had enough resources and security while he went on his way.

Then that neglect had killed her.

Dante's hand fisted around the bottle in his hand as he wondered what he was doing with this girl.

She was no Isabella. Nothing he did for her was going to redeem his sin against Isabella.

If one thing was sure, it was that she hated him just as much as Isabella must have hated him in her last moments.

“Ungrateful bitch” he thought, as he took a swig from the bottle anyway.

If not for him, her motherfucking stepfather would have finished what he started.

He had manipulated the bastard into thinking they had a deal.

All because he wanted to help her.

But did she see it as help? Fuck no. She trembled at his touch while he chafed badly from holding back from his basest instinct.

“I need to get rid of her.” He thought vehemently. “For my sanity, that hellcat needs to leave. I will sort out this noble foolishness I have towards her, and then the moment I find her sister, I will send the two of them as far away as possible from me. Whatever happens to her after then is not my business.”

“Even you can't ask me to do more. You can't ask that of me,” he muttered as he saluted the sky with his almost-emptied bottle.

His gaze narrowed when he heard footsteps behind him.

“Were my instructions not clear enough…?” He stopped talking when he saw who Angelo was accompanying.

“What is with that look, Tay? Is that how you greet your favourite person in the world?” She said as she hurried towards him with her arms open for a hug.

As much as he wanted to scowl at her, Dante smiled and said, “Antonia”

She ignored his perfunctory hug and hugged him tightly with a little hum in her throat.

“Uhm, now it feels like a welcome.” She leaned back and wrinkled her nose at him. "You can curb your excitement now, Tay. I know you missed me so much. I think I missed you a little too.”

Dante's smile increased, and he was about to say something half as amusing when she looked at his forehead and gasped.

“What happened to you? Oh my God! What is this? Are you going soft now, Tay? How did someone get close enough to touch your beautiful skin? This could leave a scar!”

Any part of him being called beautiful made Dante wince more than the way she was patting his face like that would get the bruise off.

Angelo, who had gotten closer, also saw the bruise and frowned in confusion. Then he looked back towards the house and back to Dante as he asked in surprise. “She did this?”

“Who? Who dared to….?”

Antonia’s look turned contemplative as she looked from Dante to Angelo and back. “You mean that girl? The rude one we met? Who is she, Tay?”

“Rude?” Well, Dante supposed if someone as sweet as Antonia called anyone rude, it just meant that the hellcat had done something to her as they met.

What did she do now? He wondered.

He couldn't see any bruises on Antonia though, so he figured she hadn't gone lashing out at everyone she met on her way.

“Tay?” Antonia's insistent tone made Dante realise that he had zoned off while looking towards the house.

He gave her a small smile as he rubbed his throbbing head like it was nothing. “She is nobody worth knowing,” he said with a dismissive wave.

Antonia's sweet smile blossomed on her face as she nodded and tucked her arm through his.

“Come, I have a lot to tell you. And I brought gifts too.”

Dante sighed inwardly and resolved to give her some minutes before he escaped.

Antonia's family was important to him because they were important to his father. Their parents had even turned the joke of a betrothal between the two of them into something serious before Dante left for Hartville. But then Dante had met Isabella and any talk about betrothal, whether serious or not, had been off the table.

Antonia had been like a sister to Isabella and still blamed herself that she was not with Isabella on the day of the terrible incident.

“Have you seen Mik? How is your dad?” He asked as they sat.

“Mikhail? Pfft,” she blew raspberries with a dismissive wave. “Dad is still grumpy as ever, and driving his caregiver nuts.” She said with a beaming smile. Then she added, “He wants you to come around for dinner.”

She collected the bottle of drink from him and drank straight from it with her mouth firmly against the tip.

“Yeah, I will do that one of these days,” Dante answered automatically. “There is a glass here, you know. Or they can get you another.”

She wrinkled her nose again as she said, “Who cares? Talk about food. I am starving. I want to eat a boatload of your cook's Risotto. They don't make it elsewhere like he does. Not even our cook could get it right.”

Dante looked at one of his men and he quickly headed towards the house. “I am sure Alfredo would be glad to hear that. He might give you extra portions just for that.”

She clapped her hands excitedly as she removed her heels and placed her legs on the table.

A memory flickered in Dante's mind as his gaze was drawn by her movement.

“You are eating with me, of course.”

“Of course,” Dante said automatically.

Her smile bloomed again as she clapped her hands excitedly as she said “You are the best. Now let me tell you about…”

As Dante listened to her animated talk and gestures, something niggled at the edge of his mind.

“Was something different about her?” He wondered uneasily.