Chapter 5 : The things he doesn't say
1321 Words
The storm lasted all night.
By morning, the mansion felt colder somehow, the silence stretched thin between the walls. I stood by the bedroom window, staring at the rainwater sliding down the glass, trying not to think about Dante’s words from the night before.
You make me lose control.
I should’ve been scared.
Maybe I was.
But fear wasn’t the only thing growing inside me anymore, and that was the dangerous part.
A soft knock sounded at my door.
I turned slowly. “Come in.”
The door opened, and one of the house staff stepped inside carefully. “Miss Ava, Mr. Valente asked me to let you know breakfast is ready.”
Mr. Valente.
Even hearing his name made my stomach tighten now.
“Thanks,” I murmured.
A few minutes later, I headed downstairs, my nerves tangled tighter with every step. The closer I got to the dining room, the more I could feel it again—that invisible pull Dante seemed to have over every room he entered.
He was already sitting at the table when I walked in.
Dark sweater. Sleeves pushed slightly up his arms. Coffee untouched beside him.
Waiting.
His eyes lifted the second he saw me.
“There you are,” he said quietly.
Something about the way he said it made heat crawl up my neck.
I sat across from him, trying to ignore the tension sitting heavy between us. “You make it sound like I disappeared.”
A faint smile tugged at his mouth. “You do that sometimes.”
I looked down at my plate, pretending to focus on the food instead of the way his attention stayed fixed on me. It was exhausting, being watched by him all the time.
And somehow addictive too.
My phone buzzed suddenly beside my hand.
Jay.
Dante noticed instantly.
Of course he did.
His expression didn’t fully change, but I caught the slight tightening in his jaw, the shift in his posture. Tiny things. Dangerous things.
“You should answer it,” he said calmly.
I hesitated before picking up the phone. “Morning.”
“Finally,” Jay groaned dramatically. “You vanished yesterday.”
Despite myself, I smiled a little. “I was busy.”
Across the table, Dante leaned back in his chair, silent, listening.
“You still coming out later?” Jay asked.
I opened my mouth, but before I could answer, Dante spoke.
“She’s staying here tonight.”
The room went still.
Jay paused on the other end. “...What?”
I slowly lowered the phone, my heart pounding. “Dante—”
His gaze met mine immediately. Calm. Certain.
Possessive.
And somehow, that scared me more than if he’d raised his voice.For a second, nobody spoke.
Rain tapped softly against the windows, filling the silence that had suddenly become too sharp, too tense.
Jay laughed awkwardly through the phone. “Uh… okay. Am I interrupting something?”
I forced a breath into my lungs. “No. He just—”
“She’s not going anywhere tonight,” Dante said again, quieter this time.
The certainty in his tone sent heat rushing to my face, equal parts anger and something far more dangerous.
I stood up too quickly from the table, gripping the edge for balance. “Can you stop talking about me like I’m not standing right here?”
Dante’s eyes lifted to mine slowly.
There was no apology in them.
Only patience. Like he was waiting for me to realize something he already knew.
On the phone, Jay’s voice lowered. “Ava… do you want me to come get you?”
The question hung heavily in the air.
For one brief second, Dante went completely still.
Not relaxed stillness.
The kind before something breaks.
I looked at him instinctively, and that was my mistake.
Because the second our eyes met, I saw it—that dark flicker underneath all his control. Jealousy. Possession. Fear.
Fear of losing something he already thought belonged to him.
“I’m fine,” I said quickly into the phone.
Dante’s jaw loosened slightly.
Jay didn’t sound convinced. “You sure?”
“Yes.”
Another pause.
Then quietly, “Okay. Call me later?”
“I will.”
The second the call ended, I set my phone down harder than I meant to.
“You can’t do that.”
Dante leaned back in his chair, watching me carefully. “Do what?”
“Decide things for me.”
Something unreadable crossed his face.
“You think I’m trying to control you.”
“Aren’t you?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he stood slowly from the table and walked toward me. Every step made my pulse climb higher. I hated how aware of him I’d become—his voice, his movements, even the silence around him.
When he stopped in front of me, close enough to steal the air from my lungs, his expression softened slightly.
Barely.
“You don’t understand what it’s like in my head right now,” he admitted quietly.
The honesty caught me off guard.
I frowned. “Then explain it to me.”
His eyes searched mine for a long second before he finally spoke.
“I see him look at you…” he said softly, “and it makes me want to ruin things.”
A chill ran down my spine.
Not because he sounded angry.
Because he sounded sincere.stared at him, my heartbeat uneven.
The room suddenly felt smaller than before, the air thick with something I couldn’t escape. Dante looked calm standing there in front of me, but I was starting to realize that calmness was the dangerous part. He hid everything behind it.
“You can’t say things like that,” I whispered.
“Why?”
“Because it’s insane.”
A faint smile touched his lips again, but there was exhaustion behind it this time. “I never said I was normal, Ava.”
I looked away first.
That seemed to happen a lot around him.
My fingers tightened around the edge of the table as I tried to steady myself, but Dante stepped closer again, forcing my attention back to him without even touching me.
“You know what the worst part is?” he asked quietly.
I swallowed hard. “What?”
“I don’t think you’re scared of me anymore.”
The words landed harder than they should have.
Because part of me knew he was right.
I should’ve been pulling away from him. I should’ve called Jay back, left the mansion, gone literally anywhere else. Instead, I was standing here memorizing the way Dante looked at me like I was becoming something important to him.
Something dangerous.
A slow silence stretched between us before he finally lifted his hand, brushing his thumb lightly against my wrist.
The touch was brief.
But it sent warmth racing straight through me.
Dante noticed.
Of course he did.
His gaze darkened slightly as his fingers lingered for half a second longer than they should have.
“Ava,” he said softly, almost like a warning to himself.
I looked up at him, my breath catching.
And suddenly, neither of us was moving.
The tension between us felt unbearable now, sharp enough to cut through every rational thought in my head. Rain hammered harder against the windows outside, but inside the mansion everything had gone quiet.
Too quiet.
Then Dante exhaled slowly and stepped back.
The distance should’ve relieved me.
Instead, it disappointed me.
His eyes stayed locked on mine as he ran a hand through his dark hair, frustration flickering across his face.
“You need to stay away from me today,” he said finally.
I blinked. “What?”
“For once,” he muttered bitterly, “I’m trying to do the right thing.”
And somehow, that scared me more than anything else he’d said so far.
- Writer
