It happens three months later, during a dinner where Dante is discussing business with one of his captains.
The captain makes an offhand comment about "the boss's woman" and how she's changed things. How she's "softened" the organization. How Dante isn't as ruthless as he used to be.
Dante doesn't respond in the moment. But after the captain leaves, there's a tension in the house that Elara can feel.
She finds him in the study, reading but not actually processing the words.
"That bothered you," she says. It's not a question.
"It's nothing," he says.
"It's not nothing," she says. "You went quiet. You always go quiet when something's wrong."
He sets down the book.
"They think I'm weak," he says. "Because I'm with you. Because I prioritize you. Because I'm not making decisions purely
