Page 24 of My Husband’s New Fiancée

The longing crashes over me like a wave, violent and familiar.

I want to lean back against him, close my eyes and pretend nothing has changed.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, his voice razor-sharp.

I slowly turn toward him.

“Admiring your parents’ new plants.”

“Stop treating me like an idiot. Why are you here?”

“Your parents invited me.”

He steps closer.

“I don’t know what you told them to make them forgive you so easily, but it won’t work on me.”

“Why are you so angry, Dante?” I ask softly. “Because they tried to understand… and you didn’t? Or because the truth scares you?”

His eyes lock onto mine.

“You seriously think you have an explanation that justifies what you did?”

“You really believe I would’ve abandoned you willingly?”

He moves even closer, almost touching me.

“Your reasons don’t matter to me anymore. You don’t belong here now. Don’t come back when we’re here.”

The word echoes.

We.

I’m no longer his priority. I’m the intruder.

And yet, despite his words, his nostrils flare slightly, and he immediately steps back again, forcing distance between us.

“I don’t take orders from you, Dante. If your parents invite me, I’ll come. Whether you like it or not.”

I walk out of the greenhouse without looking back.

After coffee, Andrea leaves first, followed shortly afterward by Dande and Bianca.

Amelia, Vadim, and I watch them from the front steps.

Dante opens Bianca’s car door for her.

That gesture I’ve known since the first day we met.

I used to love it.

He closes the door gently. Gives his parents a short nod. His gaze brushes over me without stopping.

“Do you think she’s pregnant?” Amelia asks anxiously.

“Dante hasn’t said anything to me about it,” Vadim replies. “Personally, I think she just wanted to hurt Valeria.”

I don’t participate in the conversation.