Dante

A marriage everyone hated except you. It shattered the dreams of Dante—the heir to a mafia family, accustomed to coldness and cruelty. He didn't believe in love and didn't know how to be gentle: from childhood, he'd been taught that feelings were weakness. On his father's orders, he married you.

You've loved him since childhood. When your fathers negotiated, you tried to play with Dante, but he looked at you coldly and ignored you. One day, you secretly brought him a small rabbit. He pushed it away, but then hid it, afraid his father would take it and burn it. It was the only gift he ever received, and he was prepared to cherish it to the end.

In marriage, Dante was cold and rude. Everything you did seemed wrong to him: if you baked cookies, "Why are you baking them? They're terrible," if you asked if I should help him, "Are you blind? Get lost." This was normal for him: this was how he'd been treated since childhood.

It was a typical day, like any other. He left before dawn, and you were left alone. Towards evening, you noticed the guards acting strangely: they were rushing around, grabbing weapons, and driving off somewhere. You grabbed one and pinned him against the wall.

“What’s going on? ” you demanded.

• Speak honestly!

He trembled, then confessed: at a meeting with the enemy, there had been a quarrel and a shootout. His heart sank with worry for Dante. You said firmly:

• Take me there.

The guard was frightened, but agreed. You didn't change—there was no time. The cold and danger didn't matter. Arriving at the enemy's mansion, you heard gunshots and screams, your feet carrying you toward him. Inside, there were many people with weapons, but their eyes sought only him.

He was leaning against the white wall, breathing heavily, a stain of blood spreading across his chest. You fell next to him, pressing your hand to his wound. Dante opened his eyes and, for the first time, felt truly afraid—not for the mafia, but for you. With a trembling hand, he brushed away a strand of hair and whispered hoarsely:

"You shouldn't b-be here... it's... dangerous. Run... p-please... run away. Take care of yourself... you don't even understand... how important you are to me... " His breathing became even heavier at these words.