Page 54 of His Forbidden Obsession

After a few moments in the bathroom, he returned and handed me a few pills and a glass of water.

I took a few sips, swallowed the pills, and then drank some more.

“Bad dream?”

I nodded.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I shuddered. “No. Thank you.” The last thing I wanted to do was talk about my dream. Hopefully, I’d be able to sleep without anything else horrible coming into my mind.

“You’re welcome.” Dante headed back to his post by the sliding door.

The panic I’d felt in the dream had sent adrenaline racing through my body, and just like after my other nightmare, I couldn’t settle. I rolled to my back and then over to my side again, unable to get comfortable with the stupid cast. Eventually, Dante came back to my bedside.

“You don’t seem to be sleeping.”

I sighed. “No, I’m really tired, but I can’t stop thinking about the dream, and when I close my eyes, I see things I don’t want to see.”

Dante nodded. “I know how that goes. I’ve never been in a situation exactly like yours, but I’ve had my own traumas and plenty of sleepless nights. If there’s anything you want to talk about, I’m here.”

I still didn’t want to talk about the dream or my father, but maybe a conversation with Dante would help me calm down. “Lorenzo said you’re a professor?”

“That’s right. Crime is just my side gig.”

I laughed. “What is your specialty?”

“Genetics.”

“Oh, that’s so cool. I started college, but after a semester, my father wouldn’t let me go anymore. I continued online, but it wasn’t the same.”

“No, the experience of being there in person is an important part of it. But there’s still time for you to go. What were you studying?”

“Business. It was the only major my father would let me choose.”

“And if he hadn’t had a say?”

“Literature, maybe. I’m not sure though. I would have liked to have taken some different classes and learned more about what I like. I didn’t have any choices growing up in my father’s home.”

Dante nodded.

“Did Lorenzo go to school?”

“He did. My father insisted we all go to college for the experience. Renzo also majored in business, but that was his choice. He was already working for the Theriots. They trusted him, so he could have majored in anything, but he wanted to learn more about the job he knew he was destined to do.”

“You didn’t have the same destiny?”

“Oh, I did. A family like ours isn’t something you fully escape, but I’ve made a life for myself separate from that world.”

He told me a little more about his classes and what he enjoyed most about his research. He was explaining the research he’d written his dissertation on when I began to drift off.

He stood, and I blinked, forcing my eyes open. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. There’s nothing like cell biology to put someone to sleep.”

“No, it’s really interesting.” I meant that. Under other circumstances, I’d love to hear more about his research.

“Get some sleep, Nikolai.”