Page 70 of My Husband’s New Fiancée

“Are you sure you want to marry Bianca?”

My jaw tightens. The question unsettles me because it forces me to look at parts of my love life I’ve been refusing to examine.

He takes my silence as permission to continue.

“I mean... Valeria’s back. And it’s obvious there’s still something between you.”

“She didn’t come back for me.”

The words taste bitter because they’re true. And because that truth hurts in ways I hadn’t anticipated.

“All she cares about is her precious formula,” I continue.

“And why couldn’t it be both?”

His persistence irritates me deeply.

“Didn’t you hear what Stephen said? Her memories came back gradually. Not last week. And she never—”

I cut myself off abruptly.

The pieces click into place.

I understand.

“She knew there would be cyberattacks. And that they’d escalate until whoever’s behind them got what they wanted.”

But how? And for how long?

*

After leaving instructions for Andrea and Yasin, I cancel the rest of my meetings for the day.

Then I leave the company without looking back.

Inside the Huracán, engine running, I stare at my phone for several seconds before typing:

DANTE: Don’t wait up for me tonight. I have an emergency to deal with. Meet me tomorrow morning at eight at the Trianon Palace for breakfast.

I know it’s brutal.

But I can’t talk to Bianca right now.

Not while Valeria’s face occupies every inch of my mind.

Bianca calls almost immediately.

I hesitate before answering.

“So that’s it? You’re not coming home tonight?”

Her voice is already trembling.

“There are only three days left before our wedding, Dante. Three. And you disappear without explanation? Don’t tell me you’re with her.”

The her lands like an insult.

Her voice rises, cracks.