She Loved in Silence, Left in Silence Chapter 05

She Loved in Silence, Left in Silence Chapter 05

Sofia’s question made the whole table go quiet.

I reached down and scratched Oreo under the chin. The husky leaned into my palm with a contented

rumble in his throat.

“Yep. My new profile picture’s Oreo.”

The previous month, my company had done a team retreat at a mountain inn.

I couldn’t really walk yet, so I’d skipped most of the activities.

Somehow the inn’s dog had picked me–the lazy, useless human-as his favorite person. Every day he’d come find me with his ball in his mouth.

Dante had told me Oreo usually didn’t pay attention to guests. He’d never seen him this attached to

anyone.

“You own this restaurant too?”

Dante nodded. “I was taking Oreo for his bath today. I thought I’d swing by since we were nearby. I couldn’t figure out why he started dragging me toward the entrance the second I parked. Now I know-it was you.”

Sofia clapped her hands together, delighted. “Perfect! You two already know each other. Let’s all hang out this weekend!”

Dante smiled. “On me. There’s actually something I’ve been meaning to ask Vera.”

Enzo let out a cold scoff. “Aren’t you the elite who studied abroad? What could you possibly need to ask her about?”

Dante kept his face perfectly serious. “Vera, that pitch you mentioned to everyone at the inn-it was incredible. They tried it out as a teaser campaign on Instagram, and our DMs literally exploded. The manager keeps raving about how sharp and creative you are. He wants me to ask if you’d come back and run a workshop for the staff. Name your fee.

Enzo’s expression shifted. The way other people described me wasn’t lining up with the version of me he carried in his head.

After the party, Dante walked me to the door.

“The restaurant’s launching a new fall menu. The chef can’t find a picky enough taster. Help us out?”

I tugged my coat collar up. “Sure. I get to eat for free.”

Out of nowhere, a hand clamped around my wrist from behind.

Enzo yanked me back hard.

“She’s not going. She can barely figure out a takeout menu what’s she supposed to taste? Don’t

waste good ingredients on her.”

I tried to twist free. His fingers only tightened.

“Enzo. Let go.”

He bent down close to my ear. “Are you done with this little tantrum yet? You really don’t need to drag some random guy in here to make me jealous. It’s beneath you.”

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Dante’s eyes dropped to where Enzo was crushing my wrist. “Mr. Enzo. Mind your hands.” Enzo gave a cold laugh and squared up at Dante. “This is between her and me. You don’t get to interfere-you have no idea who my family is or what we do.”

Dante calmly pried Enzo’s fingers off my wrist, one by one.

The neon sign over the restaurant flickered. Red light slid across Dante’s calm face.

“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what your problem with her is. But my friend just asked you

to let go, and you didn’t. That’s not a great look. As for what your family does-I don’t care. I run legitimate businesses.”

Enzo’s mouth hung half-open. His Adam’s apple bobbed several times. His outstretched fingers trembled.

“Vera. Look at you. So you actually believe he’s interested in you? You’re a novelty to him. That’s

all.”

Dante turned his head and looked me right in the eye. “Knowing Vera is an honor. She’s a fascinating person. She’s worth taking the time to actually know.”

Enzo’s breathing went heavy. He glared at Dante, but couldn’t find a single word to fire back.

I didn’t look at him again. “Dante. Let’s go.”

Oreo barked happily and trotted ahead of us, leading the way.

Behind us came the dull thud of someone kicking a trash can, followed by the clatter of cans hitting

pavement.

I didn’t even turn my head.