Page 54 of The Wrong Fiancée

Dante set his glass down on the small table between us. "This has nothing to do with respect,amico. What you feel for her is deeper, no? You're not fooling anyone,capisci?"

I laughed, but it was hollow. He wasn't wrong, though. Not at all. I stared out the window, watching the clouds shift beneath us. "Yeah. I do think that she and I can have…something real. It's not just sex. Though that was fucking mind-blowing. It'sher."

Dante didn't say anything, waiting for me to continue. The guy had a way of getting people to talk without saying much at all.

"You know, I went from her not being my equal to realizing that I don't deserveher. The tables,amico, have turned."

Dante raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his seat. "So, what's the plan now, huh? You're gonna go back and sweep her off her feet?"

I let out a short laugh, shaking my head. "If only it were that simple. She doesn't trust me—hell, I don't blame her. I didn't exactly treat her well before. And now, after everything…I don't even know if she wants anything to do with me."

"Women like Elika don't come around often," Dante said, his tone more serious now. "But make sure that you want her for the right reasons. You already fucked up with one wrong fiancée."

"Tell me about it." I traced the rim of my glass. "Elika's always meant more to me than I wanted to admit. Back then, I was too busy trying to fit into some version of myself I thought I needed to be. But now? Now I just want a chance to be with her. No boxes. No expectations. Just her."

Dante studied me for a moment, his expression thoughtful. "Sounds like you're ready to step out of that curated life you've built for yourself,si?"

"Yeah." I met his gaze. "It's time, don't you think?"

He nodded slowly, his eyes distant. "Yeah, well, not everyone gets to choose who they end up with." He took another sip of his bourbon, the bitterness in his tone catching me off guard.

I frowned. "Your grandfather is still pushing for that archaic arranged marriage shit?"

He let out a humorless laugh, running a hand over his face. "My Nonno is relentless, you know that."

"I know he's old-school Italian, but this is straight out of another century."

"Yeah, man," Dante said, shaking his head. "The old ways, you know? My grandfather is determined tokeep the bloodline strong. He's got all these ideas about what's right for me, but he doesn't care about what I actually want."

"And what do you want?" I asked, curious. I'd never seen Dante rattled like this before.

"Freedom," he replied without hesitation. "To live my life on my terms, not according to some ancient family tradition. But you know how it is. When you're the heir to an empire like mine, it's never just about you."

"Have you met this girl?" I asked.

Dante stared into his glass for a moment, then looked up at me. "I don't even want to. I mean, he's probably given her all kind of hope that she'll marry me.Accidenti, this is such a mess."

"For two men who thought they were fucking kings, we're both in some deep trouble here."

"I'm trying to stay away fromtrouble," Dante protested. "You, on the other hand, dodged a bullet with Felicity and are in love with a woman who hates you like bad wine at a good dinner."

"She doesn't hate me. She just doesn't trust me or like me."

"Yeah, that sounds much better," Dante mocked. "Also, I just said that you were in love with her, and I didn't hear you say you're not."

"I think I've been in love with her since that first time I saw her across a bar in Honolulu," I confessed. "But being in love and being together are two different things. When I get back, I'll do everything I can to convince her to give us a chance to explore what we can be."

Dante didn't say anything at first, just nodded, a hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Good luck,amico. Because something tells me that woman isn't going to make it easy for you."

"I don't expect her to."

Elika was fucking special. And that's what made her worth the hard work I knew I'd have to put in to win her heart.

Chapter Twenty

ELIKA

It had been four days since Dean had left. Four days since he'd ended his engagement with Felicity. She'd come to see me, blaming me for the end of their relationship.

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