by Adom Sample
“You are in an emotionally fragile state right now, and I don’t want to complicate things,” I said, hoping she would release her grip on my face.
“Are you in love with me, Dante? Just tell me, please!”
“Isabella, I—”
“I just want to know because I think I’m . . . I think I’m . . .”
“You think you’re pregnant!” I exclaimed with wide eyes.
“My God, no! I’ve been on a Depo injection for the last six months, and we’ve been using protection since we’ve been married. I don’t want to have children with Nathan until he adjusts his attitude, and seeing as he almost raped me and gave me all these bruises, it seems I made the right choice.”
“You use protection with your husband?” I asked curiously.
“Yes. It was his idea. He said he’s not ready for children just yet.”
I sighed in relief.
“So, Dante, please just tell me. Are you in love with me?” she asked again. With the utmost intensity, I wanted to blurt it out and tell her everything. “Oh my God, Dante! I feel so stupid right now. If you don’t care for me, then why did you come here?”
“I never said I didn’t care for you, Isabella.”
“Then you do? Just tell me.”
“I think I should go now.”
“You’re not leaving, Dante. Not this time.” She tightened her grip.
“Isabella, please.”
“Would you just talk to me! Why don’t you just tell me the truth?”
“Because I can’t,” I said firmly.
“Dante—”
“You’re married to him, and you still love him. Where does that leave me? If I tell you what I want to say, where would that leave me? Where would it leave you?”
She got quiet and let go of my head, leaving two sweaty palm prints on my cheeks. In my entire teenage and adult life, I had never shed a tear, never cried even when I saw my father buried at his funeral. The same man who taught me to always respect the virtue of marriage also taught me that men do not cry.
Nevertheless, as I sat here and looked this woman in the eyes, I couldn’t help but unleash a single tear. It rolled down my face, and she wiped it away and embraced me once more, putting her head on my shoulder.
“I can’t let him go, but I can’t let you go either,” she said, putting a dagger through my heart as she professed her love for that maniac again.
“Soon, Isabella, you will know everything about me. When you’re ready to let him go, I’ll be there,” I said, combing my fingers through her hair. I never thought things would go this far. What I didn’t understand was how she could still be in love with him. What power did he have over her? It was maddening to think about.
Chapter 26
Nathan
“I went to her hotel, but her bitch cousin Maya was there. She wouldn’t let me see her,” I shouted in frustration.
“If you screwed this up for us, I will end you. This isn’t a game, Nathan. Both of our asses are on the line here. You couldn’t control yourself for a few more months?” Oliver scolded.
“I just got a little carried away. I know my wife. I have her wrapped around my finger. She’ll be back in my arms wanting my love and affection in no time.”
Oliver looked at me dismissively. He wasn’t buying it, but I knew my wife. It was only a matter of time before she came crawling back to me. “If you put our plans in jeopardy, I swear to fucking God—”
“Everything will go as planned. Don’t worry your weak, feeble little mind.”
“All had better go as planned, Nathan. Embezzling your wife’s wealth and the profits from the company will only work if you two stay together.”
“I am all too aware, and don’t forget who the hell you’re talking to,” I hissed. He shied away because he knew I could release the monster anytime I chose. Oliver knew what was at stake, which was why he had no choice but to get involved when I told him what happened. She always stayed at the same hotel close by the office when she was too tired to make it home, so I figured she would have gone there.
With Valentina growing restless, I had to find a way to convince my wife to give up ownership of her company. Oliver had started to receive pushback from Gaspard on the financial information that led to the dismantled partnership with the Zinghai Ma Corporation. If Gaspard discovered the truth, it would mean not only the ruination of Oliver’s career, but also a potential prosecution for the both of us. While in South Korea, Isabella had instructed him to forward this information to the team of that billionaire partner of hers when they got back. However, Oliver still had yet to do so.
He would have to come up with something for their meeting tomorrow if asked about the information. I hadn’t spoken to Isabella the entire time she was in South Korea, and I’d lost valuable time in trying to convince her to sell. The lost time would have to be rectified, depending on Isabella’s willingness to come back home.
In the meantime, I had to find a way to keep Valentina’s impatience at bay before she did something that would destroy all our plans.
Chapter 27
Isabella
It had been over a week since I had seen Nathan, Dante, or Maya. I knew I couldn’t stay at this hotel forever, but my mind had been going in circles, and I didn’t know what to do. I had to postpone the meeting with Oliver and asked Maya to brief him on our standing in the Asian market a few days ago.
Oliver may not have agreed with my decision, but I went ahead and appointed Maya the interim COO of the company. We’re family and she understood the company just as well as I did. In all honesty, she’d been with me since its inception. She had the experience and knowledge, and I trusted her to run the company in my absence. I just hoped things would be all right as I got myself together.
“Hello, ma’am. Room service,” a man said, knocking on the door. I was a little surprised and mystified. It was strange because I didn’t order any room service.
“Just leave it outside,” I said.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you have to sign for this.” With my hair a mess and my face flushed red; I went to the door and let him in. He served me a piece of chocolate cake with a letter—the same type of letter I would see on my waterfront. It was the same configuration from my secret admirer. It couldn’t be. I ripped open the seal, and sure enough, it was what I believed it to be.
“Sir, excuse me. Who gave you this letter?” I asked.
“Letter, ma’am?”
“Yes! This letter here. Who gave it to you?”
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t even notice the letter until you pointed it out. I’m not sure how it got there,” he said sincerely. I was so confused.
“How could you not know it was there? Did the person who gave you this letter pay you to keep his identity a secret?”
“I promise you, ma’am, I didn’t notice it until you said something. Here, I’ll dispose of it.”
“No, don’t. All right, I believe you.”
“Very well.” He started to make his way back to the door.
“Hey, wait. You said I had to sign for this. Where do I sign?”
He smiled. “You don’t have to sign anything. Good day, ma’am.” He swiftly made his departure. That’s when I knew.
“Wait! Come back. Who gave you this letter?” I yelled down the hallway. But it was too late. He was already in the elevator. Sneaky bastard.
Did everyone in the entire city know I was staying at this hotel? I opened the letter, and there was my name at the top, written just as before. It was a poem. No other dialog addressed specifically to me, just words in the form of poetry. Was I so desirable that someone continued to send me letters, month after month? That one of the wealthiest men in the world wanted me? I was just an ordinary businesswoman trying to make a name for herself. I unfolded the rest of the paper and read the words written.
Dear Isabella,
Forbidden this gift of passion as it is drowning in secrets, dancing its dance and singing its songs
I hope you finally realize that it is I who have loved you for so long
The salted sea air blew through you hair during the sunset, gratifying my feelings yet tormenting my soul
You walked beside me, armor in right hand, heart in left as the story goes
Oh, yes. How I love your smile, your gaze, your scent that compels me to stay
But when you profess your love for another man, all that I am is slaughtered, and to rest I lay
It hurts.
Am I forever to be blinded and shunned by love’s daunting curse?
As long as I have watched you from afar, never have I dreamed that someday I would embrace you—oh, yes, that sensual embrace
To watch tears of joy flow from your eyes, I thought the emotion alone would cause me to suffocate
Forbidden this gift of passion as it is drowning in secrets, dancing its dance and singing its songs
What of logic, the unknown façade of reason that forces me to stay hidden for so long?
That night, you remember it well. Tell me you remember it well
It was reminiscent of the things they speak of in sweet, sweet fairy tales
We took each other in, letting go of our inhibitions
Those comforting moments helped us to toss aside the world when you gave me permission
I never wanted to let you go, never wanted to leave you alone
Letting you go would have turned my heart, my very soul, to stone
I love you well beyond death, forever and ever, dancing my dance and singing my songs
Tell me, Isabella. Look inside of yourself and tell me how can this be wrong?
I love you
I love you truly
I love you only
And I will love you always
Dancing my dance and singing my songs.
This was too much for me to bear, too much sensation, too much emotional disarray. This had to be Dante—it just had to be. I should have asked him flat-out when he was here. This poem was so sensual only someone who was truly in love could have written it. There was no doubt in my mind Dante wrote this. I’d started receiving these letters just months before Dante entered my life. He was the only man who knew such things, and he was the only one who could have written something so passionate.
We took each other in, letting go of our inhibitions—that had to refer to the night we spent together in Seoul. I didn’t want to leave my husband, but this man had shown me things I never knew possible. I felt something for him and even though it had only been a little over a week, I felt as if I were going insane since we had been apart. I never felt this way with my husband, and to tell you the truth, I enjoyed being away from him. I had to— My phone rang. Who was calling me?
“Hello?”
“Isabella, it’s been a damn week now. Are you coming home or not?” Nathan said in his raspy voice. Every time I spoke to him, every time I heard his voice, it pissed me off. After everything he did to me, he was still unapologetic and screamed demands at me as if I should just conform to his every whim. I hung up without saying a word. I still needed time to think. I had all these problems bouncing around in my life, and the man who was supposed to be helping me and comforting me through it all was doing nothing but adding to the problem. In fact, he was the problem. My phone rang again and I answered it, ready to unleash my fury.
“Stop calling me, Nathan. I told you I still need some space!” I screamed into the phone.
“Isabella. It’s me, Maya.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were Nathan. He’s been calling me nonstop all day.” I felt relieved hearing her voice.
“It’s okay. I’m glad you’re finally taking a stand against that asshole. Anyway, you need to come down to the office right away. I found some irregularities regarding our business deal with the Zinghai Ma Corporation. They were well hidden, but I found them. I asked Gaspard and Dante to have their team look into the matter so we can have an independent eye exam everything.”
“What’s happened?” I asked. This was the last thing I needed.
“You should come down here so we can discuss it in person.”
“Is Dante going to be there?”
“I haven’t seen Dante since we met at the hotel last week. I thought he was with you this whole time.”
“Okay, I’ll be down there later today.” I hung up the phone. Had Dante retreated from the world just as I had? I probably should have asked her if Gaspard had seen him. No matter how much I begged and pleaded for him to stay with me, he chose to leave. I supposed the love I still felt for my husband was too much for him to bear. I reread the words in the letter. But when you profess your love for another man, all that I am is slaughtered, and to rest I lay. It hurts… If Dante wrote this, that sentence was proof enough he was hurting just as I was. How I wished that moment in Seoul on the rooftop of the hotel could have lasted forever. It was so peaceful. It had put my mind at ease. I’d felt utterly free with him.
Chapter 28
Dante
I sat alone in my villa as I watched multiple women come and go from their house. Even after he abused her and left her alone in a hotel room to sulk in her misery, he still slept around as if nothing had changed. He didn’t deserve to breathe as far as I was concerned.
How could she love him? How could she even remotely feel the slightest speck of affection for this dissolute sack of shit? Desperate times called for drastic measures, and the time had come for her to see the truth. This had gone on for far too long, and I was sick of it. I couldn’t take another day of this. Being away from her for so long was driving me mad.
My every waking moment, all the hours, all the minutes, and all the seconds of each day, was consumed by thoughts of her. With that said, my love for her could not overshadow her suffering. To see her suffer killed a piece of me. It chipped away at my heart until nothing was left. I loved her, beyond anything I could ever fathom.
To see her like this was intolerable. I’d thought I would be able to sit back in the shadows and wait for her to discover the truth for herself, but no. The time had come. When she’d looked me in my eyes and asked me if I loved her, I’d seen something there — something, any grown man would long for his entire life.
I knew she had fallen in love with me, and all my heart’s desires had descended into a cocoon of bliss at that moment. How I adored her. I loved her so much, well beyond the physical. No longer would I sit on the sidelines and wait for her to discover the kind of man she married. No longer would I wait for him to abuse her again. No longer would my heart be a prisoner to the whims of our next business meeting or her crying and suffering. It was time to tell her what I had seen, what I had heard. Perhaps I should confide in Maya so she could help me with what I had to do.
That’s when the doorbell rang, pulling me from my thoughts. It was two o’clock in the morning. Who would be at my door this late? I made my way downstairs, hoping Isabella was on the other side of the door. I knew that couldn’t be true, however. I glanced at the security camera and found a petite woman wrapped in a robe. Probably one of his playthings he’d decided to abandon looking for help. I went to the door and opened it slightly.
“Can I help you?” I couldn’t help but notice this woman looked like a mixture of Isabella and Maya with subtle differences in her nose and lip features.
“Hi. My name is Valentina. Do you mind if I use your phone to call a taxi or an Uber?”
I looked her up and down. “You mean to tell me you don’t have a cell phone?” This woman gave me a suspicious vibe.
“The battery died,” she claimed. I scanned the area to make sure this wasn’t a trick.
“Just one moment,” I said before closing the door. I went to look at my security cameras to ensure no one else was out there. Debating whether I should let her in, I peered through the peephole and the security camera once more. She seemed harmless. I opened the door and sighed. “Sure, come in. But only to use the phone.” Her appearance was so mu
ch like Maya’s; I couldn’t help but think my eyes were playing tricks on me.
“Where are you coming from?”
She didn’t answer. She only stared me in the face for a moment. The same look Isabella had given me when we first met.
“Are you here alone?” she asked.
I took a seat on the couch. “I thought you just needed to use the phone. Here.” I tossed her my cell. Without another word, she took off her robe, revealing her red-and-black silk lingerie. I jumped up out of my seat and took a few steps back.
“I need you to help me,” she said.
I backed away. “Please leave right now before I have my security team escort you out,” I demanded. She stood there laughing. This was the last thing I needed right now—some strange woman showing up at my door, wearing lingerie. This had to be a dream.
“Are you going to help me?” she asked, putting her hand on my shoulder, moving her body closer to mine. I stepped back again and made my way to the front door.
“What is it that you want? My phone is right there.”
“I want you inside me,” she said, smiling.
“Leave . . . Now,” I said forcefully. Was she insane? She walked over to the door and pushed it closed.
“I just want you to help me, that’s all.”
“You’re one of my neighbor’s girls, aren’t you? What happened? Did he kick you out and now you’re looking for someplace else to stay?”
“What do you know about your neighbor?”
“I know he’s a fiend that I want nothing to do with. I also know his wife. If you’re not going to call an Uber, then perhaps I should call her to come pick you up,” I said firmly. She backed away, mouth gaping. Putting her robe back on, she rushed to the door but I blocked her way. “You’re hiding something, aren’t you? Tell me the real reason you came here.”
“You asked me to leave, so I’ll leave,” she said. I continued to block the door with my arms. Something was suspicious about this, and I was going to find out what.
After she backed away from the door, I sat on the chair next to the couch. She sat on the couch across from me “The only way you’re opening that door is through a code. And until you tell me the real reason you came to my door, you’re stuck in here,” I said politely with undertones of suspicion.