Chapter 19
The group caught the last flight to Los Angeles, landing before dawn.
As they stepped off the plane, the cool California air hit Dante’s face, but he felt nothing except the urgent fire burning inside him–the desperate need to see Rosalie again. Each minute away from her felt like torture now that he’d finally acknowledged his feelings.
Leaving the airport, his friends exchanged meaningful glances.
“You realize this is insane, right?” Marcus said quietly. “You and Lima have been at each other’s throats for years. You both swore you’d never set foot in each other’s territories. Now you’re walking straight into the lion’s den.”
Dante remained silent, obsessively adjusting his cuffs with an anxious energy his friends had never seen in him before. His laser focus, once reserved for corporate takeovers, now centered entirely on reaching Rosalie.
“Seriously, Wolf,” Tyler pressed. “Are you absolutely certain about this? The moment you show up begging for his sister, Lima wins. Everything you’ve built against him–gone.”
Dante finally looked up, his eyes reflecting a certainty that silenced them.
“I’d give up everything. I just want her back.”
Jason whistled low. “The great Dante Wolf, ready to throw away an empire for a girl. Never thought
I’d see the day.”
“Lima’s going to lord this over you forever,” Tyler added, shaking his head.
Dante strode toward the waiting car, Romeo rushing to his Juliet, deaf to anything that wasn’t the
promise of seeing her again.
By the time they arrived at the address they’d tracked down–a newly opened dance studio in an
upscale arts district–dawn was breaking over Los Angeles.
Dante stood at the entrance, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.
Inside, Rosalie was dancing.
Her body moved with ethereal grace, each movement flowing into the next as if she were water
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The Ultimate Payback: When I Married Your Enemy, My Stepbrother
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Chapter 19
rather than flesh and bone. It was exactly how she’d looked when he first saw her perform three
years ago before the scheming, before the betrayal–when something in her pure artistry had first pierced his carefully constructed armor.
Watching her now, Dante felt that same unexpected tightening in his chest. This was what had started it all, though he’d been too blind to recognize it then,
Behind him, Tyler whispered to Marcus, “Damn, no wonder he’s gone crazy. Look at that body.”
Dante shot him a look so venomous that Tyler physically stepped back.
“Jesus, just making an observation,” he muttered, raising his hands defensively. “Not like she’d give any of us the time of day anyway.”
Dante turned back to watch Rosalie, each movement she made etching itself deeper into his memory.
When the music ended, Rosalie turned and froze when she saw him. Her expression shifted from surprise to something harder, more guarded–walls she’d built specifically against him.
She immediately gathered her things, clearly intending to leave, but Dante stepped forward, blocking her path.
“Rosie, I…” his voice was rough with emotion. “I came to apologize. What I did was unforgivable. I used you, hurt you. I was wrong.”
Rosalie regarded him with cold detachment, her voice flat and emotionless. “If you came just to apologize, consider it accepted. I’d rather forget everything between us ever happened.”
Dante felt his heart sink, desperation rising in his throat. “It’s not just an apology. I’m here because I want you back. I’ve fallen in love with you. This past month without you has been hell. I can’t eat, can’t sleep–you’re all I think about, all I see when I close my eyes.”
Rosalie’s laugh was bitter, cutting through his confession like a blade. “Do you really think a few pretty words erase what you did?” Her calm delivery made her words even more devastating.
“You recorded intimate videos of us with the intention of using them to humiliate my brother. You orchestrated an assault against me. You lied to me every single day for three years. What part of that am I supposed to forgive?”
Each accusation landed like a physical blow. The color drained from Dante’s face as the full weight of his actions crashed down on him through her eyes.
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Chapter 19
“Rosie, please,” his voice broke, all his usual confidence stripped away.
“I know what I did was monstrous. I don’t deserve forgiveness. But I’m begging you–give me one chance. Just one. I’ll spend every day for the rest of my life making it up to you.”
He dropped to his knees in front of her, something the old Dante Wolf would have died before doing
“Please. I’ll do anything. Just tell me what you want.”
Rosalie said nothing, her expression unmoved by his display.
Pain constricted Dante’s chest until he could barely breathe. In a desperate move, he rose and pulled
her into his arms.
The moment he held her, something inside him clicked back into place–as if his soul had finally returned to his body.
“Don’t give up on us,” he whispered against her hair, clinging to her like a drowning man. “Tell me what I need to do. Anything at all. I’d die for you if that’s what it takes.”
The next moment, a fist connected with his jaw, sending him staggering backward. He looked up to see Alistair Lima standing protectively in front of Rosalie, his perfectly tailored suit and calm demeanor belying the fury in his eyes.
“Get your fucking hands off my sister,” Alistair said, his voice deceptively quiet but vibrating with controlled rage.
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