The hate me, Dante
1121 Words
Dante stood there, his gaze piercing through Evans and Paulo as if his glare alone could cut them down.
“Who the hell is this?” Paulo sneered, irritated by the interruption from a stranger.
“Woah! Maybe he’s one of Emilia’s little boyfriends trying to play hero,” Evans teased, still holding Leo, who kept screaming for him to let go.
“Stay put, kid, or I’ll smack your a*s now!” Evans barked when Leo continued struggling.
“Let go of the child…” Dante seethed from where he stood.
“Oh, really? You desperate to play hero, boy?” Paulo grinned, his voice thick with anger and jealousy.
“It seems she’s let you have a taste of her,” Evans hissed, stepping forward. “Now I can get really… really competitive.” His eyes burned into Dante. “You’re not leaving here today.”
Dante’s jaw ticked—not with fear, but irritation.
“Competitive?” he echoed with a low scoff. “She is my wife. And you bastards who have tormented her…” His fingers curled, knuckles cracking like warning shots. “…will finally learn what it means to pick on the wrong woman.”
Paulo barked a laugh. “Man enough? Come at us, then! We’ll beat you to a—”
He never finished.
A gust of wind sliced between them.
Evans blinked—and Dante was suddenly right in front of him.
“What—?”
Dante’s voice whispered past his ear.
“I warned you to let him go.”
A sharp, brutal chop landed at the base of Evans’ neck—precise, surgical. Evans’ body buckled instantly. His legs gave out, and he dropped with a strangled cry. Leonardo stumbled free, scrambling behind Dante as Evans writhed on the ground, one arm twitching helplessly.
“E-Evans!” Paulo lurched forward, his face drained of color. “What did you do, you bastard?!”
Dante didn’t answer. His stance was relaxed—almost lazy—yet his eyes held the cold precision of a predator calculating distance.
“You crazy fool!” Paulo shouted. “I’ll teach you a—”
He charged.
Dante didn’t even look at him.
He shifted one foot, rotated his hips—and drove his knee upward with flawless timing.
Paulo’s momentum impaled him onto the strike.
A sickening thud echoed.
“ARGHHH!” Paulo collapsed, clutching himself as he rolled in the dirt.
Evans whimpered. Paulo howled. The air trembled with their cries.
Behind Dante, Leonardo peeked around his leg and threw both hands up.
“WOW! Daddy is AWESOME!” he squealed, clapping until his palms turned red.
Only then did Dante turn—slowly, gently—to look at his son.
The fury melted. The hardness in his eyes softened like dawn breaking through storm clouds.
He didn’t know when the battlefield had faded—only that his boy was smiling up at him.
“Are you okay?” Dante squatted beside him. Leonardo nodded quickly, still smiling.
“Good. Good.” Dante patted his head, chest swelling with relief.
Just when they thought it was over—
“Die, you bastard!” Evans roared. He had stood up and was charging at Dante with a plank of wood.
Before Dante could react, someone else struck first.
“Arghhhh!” Evans’ scream reverberated through the woods as Dante instinctively shielded Leonardo.
Evans fell again, revealing Emilia behind him, breathing hard.
“I said stay away from my family!” she yelled at Evans, who dragged himself toward Paulo.
“The next time you dare come near us, I’ll kill you with my bare hands! You hear me?!” she shouted after them, while Dante stood up, trying not to laugh.
“I had everything under control,” Dante said when she turned to him. Her expression spoke volumes—anger, fear, admiration… he wasn’t sure which.
“Mummy! Daddy saved me from the bad men!” Leonardo chimed in.
“Daddy? Who says he’s your—” Emilia stopped, eyes drifting from Dante to the way he held Leonardo’s hand.
He really had saved Leonardo. If he hadn’t, she didn’t want to imagine what might have happened.
And as for Leonardo calling him daddy—it was instinct. A child’s simple longing for a father like other kids his age.
“It seems you’re desperate to come back into our lives. Well, if you care to know, we’re the black sheep of Monterio. Society has scorned me, so if you think I’ll marry you and move back to that town where—”
“It’s fine. I’ll live with you here, if that’s what you want,” Dante said quickly.
Emilia eyed him suspiciously.
“Yeah, whatever. Do what you want. But you won’t freeload off us. You just came out of prison and don’t have any real job. How will you feed yourself?”
Dante smiled. “Don’t worry. I had some savings before going to jail. It’s enough to take care of myself and both of you.”
Emilia’s brow furrowed. “Savings?”
She knew his story as a fallen Virelli. She assumed his savings were crumbs. But she could see he sincerely wanted to stay.
Meanwhile, Dante kept his smile steady, trying not to sound like he was lying. Emilia clearly hated rich and influential people—they had stomped on her for years. If she learned he was still at the top of the food chain, she’d cut him off instantly. Better to let her think they were equals.
“Mummy! Can we go home now? Remember it’s Grandfather’s birthday today. And you said you’d introduce me to your family,” Leonardo said.
“Ah… yes. Your grandfather’s birthday.” Emilia bit her lip and bent down beside him. “Baby, do you really have to meet them? They’re not important. Aren’t you happy staying here with mummy?”
“Of course I am. I just want to see your papa, mummy. And your mama. And other family members. Julia has a huge family and she says it’s fun. Let me see them, mummy. Please. You promised when I turned five.”
Dante could feel how tense she was. She had promised to introduce him to the very people who chased her out, scorned her, despised her. No child could understand that kind of cruelty.
“I’ll accompany you,” Dante said, breaking into her thoughts.
“What?”
“I said I’ll accompany you to your father’s home. Let’s pay them a surprise visit, Emilia.”
His tone was steady, but her heart thudded anxiously.
I hope we aren’t the ones getting surprised in the end.
- Writer
