Page 13 of Theirs to Rule

Dante said nothing, just watched as I set the stone back down.

I kicked off my shoes and crawled onto the bed, staying on top of the covers. Dante’s scent surrounded me anyway, faint and comforting in a way I wasn’t ready to embrace. Curling into myself, I closed my eyes, but the image of Daniella flashed behind my eyelids, sharp and unrelenting. Her perfect face, her perfect life. Everything I wasn’t.

How had I let myself fall so hard for someone who’d made it clear we were temporary? My chest tightened with the weight of it all—Kage’s secrets, Bianca’s warnings, the constant swirl of danger and betrayal.

The mattress dipped behind me, and then Dante was there. He wrapped himself around me, his warmth seeping into my skin. For a moment, I resisted. Then I turned and clung to him, burying my face in his chest.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I feel dead inside.”

His hand stroked my hair, his lips brushing my forehead. “I know. But you’re not. And when you remember that, I’ll still be here.”

His words wrapped around me like a safety net, and sleep pulled me under before I could answer.

* * *

Sleep pulled me in and held on to me for what felt like days. It provided a comforting cocoon away from my pain, so I continued to chase it. Dante tried to get me up and talking, but I told him I needed to rest. Physically, aside from the stitches at my temple and some bruises, I was fine, but I don’t think I’d ever felt so broken, not even when Ty had ended things with me over text two years ago. In between sleep, the room turned bright then started to darken again.

“Sit up, Peaches.”

I jerked at the sound of Dante’s voice. When I opened my eyes, he was standing above me carrying a tray. “What time is it?”

“Mid-afternoon,” he said. “Sit up.”

His voice was firm and while I wanted to resist, I found myself doing as he said. He placed the tray on my lap. A bowl ofsoup sat in the middle, along with a spoon rolled up in a napkin, a glass of my favorite soda and a single pink rose sitting in a vase.

I wasn’t hungry in the slightest.

I stared at the soup. “What’s this?”

“Soup,” he replied with a trace of a smirk on his lips.

I made a face at him. “Obviously. I meant what kind of soup.”

“Chicken and kale.”

“Kale?” My nose wrinkled. “What am I, a rabbit?”

He chuckled, the sound low and warm. “Just try it. You might surprise yourself.”

I took a tentative bite, then another. He was right—it was good. Before I knew it, the bowl was empty.

“Thank you,” I said softly, setting the spoon down.

“Of course.” He took the tray and set it aside before sitting on the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Well, I’m not hungry anymore,” I said, managing a weak smile. “But my heart still feels like it was hollowed out with a spoon.”

His hand covered mine, his touch steady. “I know you’re hurt. I’m not excusing what Kage didn’t tell you, but it’s obvious how much he cares about you. Daniella’s his past?—”

“She’s his future,” I cut him off. “That’s the whole point of being engaged to someone, Dante. You’re promising them your future. He never promised me anything. We were always temporary.”

“Then he’s a fool,” Dante said, his voice low and firm.

My mouth trembled, and I looked down at our hands. “Do you think he’ll really marry her?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But maybe you should wait to hear what he has to say before writing him off completely.”

The suggestion twisted something inside me. A part of me wanted to go back to the hospital, to see him, to demandanswers. But another part of me, the part still raw and aching, couldn’t bear it.

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