Page 142 of Dex

They exchange glances.No one speaks for a long beat.

Finally, Matteo grins.“Damn.I kind of love it.”

Enzo lets out an exhale.“He’ll be pissed when he figures it out.”

“That’s the point,” I say.“He doesn’t figure it out until it’s too late.”

“How does this help you?”Enzo asks.

I look at Rio.“It helps me get my wife back.”

Matteo cocks his head.Enzo’s dark eyes glitter, and I can sense he has questions, but doesn’t push.

“Are you guys in?”Rio asks them.

They nod.

“Then let’s drink to it.”Rio calls a server over and places the drinks order.But to me this doesn’t feel like a celebration just yet.

It won’t do until the shares are signed over to Daniela’s father.

***

The tension is sky high.

Where I used to lie in bed with Daniela in my arms, now I’m alone in my bed.We’re sleeping in separate rooms again.I leave for work early in the morning.I hit the gym at five a.m.to take out my frustration.By 6:30, I’m at the office, buried in deals.After work, in the evenings, we convene at Rio’s place.Me and the Italian Knights.During the day it’s business as usual in the offices, but after work, we all work hard putting this deal together.

I’m grateful to Matteo and Enzo, that they’re helping, and our bond becomes stronger, over drinks and takeout as we work around the clock.

It’s been a week and the silence is unbearable.

Daniela’s been working from home.By the time I get back, she’s getting ready for work.Sometimes she goes out in the evenings.I check with her security detail and discover that it’s usually to meet Cari at a bar or restaurant.

I’ve tried to talk to her, to get back some of the friendly banter we used to have.I care for her, but she’s frozen me out.Maybe I shouldn’t have told her about me wanting to walk away after seven months, but I didn’t want any lies between us.It’s the lies that destroy people.

But she’s been distant, and I don’t want to push too hard.She needs her time and space, and I need to give it to her.I just can’t tell her anything about what I’m working on because I don’t trust the old man to coax it out of her.He’ll find a way, and I can’t risk that.

But I feel confident that this is going to work.And once my father-in-law gets his company back, Daniela will see we’re going to be okay.

Chapter 36

DANI

This week has been hard.I’ve been figuring out the course of my life, and now I’ve landed back in my beloved São Paulo.

It’s late in the evening and I’m going to surprise my parents.I’ve deliberately kept them in the dark until now, and showing up on their doorstep seems like the right way to break the news to them.

I feel happy to be back, though I’ve carried a dull ache with me on my journey, like extra baggage I didn’t need.It’s been with me ever since I left Dexter’s apartment.

I’ve kept my head down, figuring out my plan, with Raquel’s help.He’s been working long days.He’s out of the apartment before I’m up and he’s been coming home later than usual every day.

I don’t even bother asking him where he’s been or who he’s been with.I want to forget everything we shared, all our precious memories which will soon be replaced.While I still miss him with all my heart, Paul Knight’s betrayal cuts deep; as deep as the shock of Dexter’s exit strategy.

I knew it was never about helping me.He despised me as soon as he saw me.It wasn’t about him helping his father, a man he clearly hates.I should have dug deeper to find out why Dexter decided to marry me, maybe if I hadn’t been so deluded myself.What I shouldn’t have done was gone and fallen in love with him.

It all makes so much sense now that I know what truly motivated Dexter.Hate.Revenge.Spite.

And getting close to me?He did what most men who meet me want.He wanted my body.This was all about desire, about him getting his pleasure.I didn’t see the point of telling him about the latest bombshell, the one I found out about when my father sent me the original contract.The one Paul Knight never gave to me and Dexter.There, in the fine print, was a clause, buried in a ton of legalese, that I only managed to decipher with Raquel’s help.

---