[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-2603134E5B19-22":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},22,4,"Chapter 4: The Unseen Wound","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Dante and his crew were already bored out of their minds, chugging drinks, when Celine burst in, the ring in her hand. Her sudden appearance made their expressions glitch for a hot second.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She looked like she’d gone through the wringer and then some.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Grime-covered, bits of grass sticking to her clothes, her blouse looking like a crime scene with bloodstains...\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">This chick was legit unhinged.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She was hurt, yet she’d stayed in the water for ages. His dark eyes locked onto her, a complicated mess of emotions swirling within.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Just as he was about to unload, his phone blew up.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Whatever was on the other line had Dante’s face doing a 180. Without a second glance at Celine, he grabbed his keys and bolted.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">“Whoa? Dante, you’re really bailing?”\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The gaggle of rich kids immediately ditched their drinks and followed suit.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">After they dipped, Celine finally crumpled onto the floor, weak.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">So done.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">So much hurt.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Dante didn’t grace their home with his presence that night.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Or the next few days, for that matter. He was a no-show.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Celine, with zero time to even nurse her wounds, hit up his usual hangouts—bars, clubs, racetracks—only to find out he hadn’t been out boozing or chasing skirts for days.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Major red flag. This was unheard of.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Then, Celine caught a news report on TV—\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">World-famous cellist Isabella Lopez was back in town, her concert tour about to kick off.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Isabella. She was back.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Celine’s eyes remained completely unfazed.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Only Isabella could ever tame Dante.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She watched the screen for a beat, then silently powered down the TV with the remote.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">After that, she stopped her frantic search for Dante. She knew he’d be glued to Isabella’s side.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Racing, drinking, women, the company, his buddies, even… her.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">No one else mattered as much as Isabella.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Tomorrow was their third wedding anniversary.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Celine sat solo in the Blue Bay estate. Dante was still MIA.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Ding.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Suddenly, a video call from an unknown number popped up on her phone.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Her lashes fluttered as she tapped to answer.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The video showed Dante and Isabella outside a club, going at it hard. Dante’s eyes were bloodshot.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Dante, I’m done with you! You don’t get to control me!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Damn it, I will control you! Isabella, you ghosted me for three years! Did you ever once think of me?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Did you think of me when you got married?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Their argument was fire. Finally, Isabella’s tears started to fall. She shoved him away, sobbing.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Seeing her tears, Dante’s whole demeanor shifted. The fiery tension evaporated instantly, and he folded completely.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Resigned and defeated, he pulled Isabella into a hug.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I messed up, Bella.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"My bad, okay? Don’t cry. You trying to kill me here?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">...\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The video cut out without warning, the player closing.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">A text message followed the video.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">«Celine, I gave you ten years, and you still couldn’t make him love you. Pathetic.»\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The sender of the video and the message was painfully obvious.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Celine stared at them, silent for a long moment, then switched off her phone.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Isabella really didn’t need to go out of her way to rub it in.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Ten years ago or now, she had always been Dante’s one and only first love.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Why stoop to such petty mind games?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Celine sat quietly on the sofa, her eyes completely blank.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Yeah. It had been almost ten years, after all.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">In this decade, she’d pulled off every insane stunt imaginable for Dante.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She’d bungee-jumped off the world’s highest spots just to lure him home.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She’d trekked through three cities in a blizzard, non-stop, hunting down a specific pastry that held a cherished childhood memory for him.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She’d searched for him all night after he’d run away from home…\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Everyone claimed she was hopelessly in love with Dante.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But it seemed no one had noticed that despite doing all those things, she had never once said to him:\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Dante, I love you.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272931718]