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“No, it was just Dante and Malachi.”

Myla’s head was swimming. Dante told her that his brother lost his life while driving an ambulance. How could he be driving an ambulance if he was bedridden?

“You must be confused about his brother. Dante—”

“Dante is a liar. Habitual, pathological, and any other word with an -al on the end. Dante hated all of the attention that he claimed Malachi received after being hit. He even began telling people that Malachi was faking his injuries and could walk. His vertebrae were severed in the accident. He could not walk,” Sunny admitted truthfully. “It was almost as if Dante lied just to see how many lies he could tell within a day.

“He told everyone I was cheating on him, even though it was him doing all the cheating. My pregnancy was a horrible experience because of him. When I gave birth, he brought Chancellor a teddy bear and a rattle. Then he left. When I saw him again, our son was two years old.

“I assumed he was gone for good, so I never changed my locks. That was stupidity on my part; as I said, I was young. One day he walked into my house, and Chance asked him who he was. Instead of saying, I’m your dad, he said, ‘I’m Mr. Dante.’

“I should’ve made him leave; kicked him out. But I forced myself to believe that he would change. I wanted to believe that he would stop being so childish and selfish, but he hadn’t. I remember when I made the choice to leave. One day, he said to Chance, ‘You’re a cool kid. I wish I had a son just like you.’ That was it for me. What type of man would tell his biological son that he wished he had a son like him? I couldn’t do it anymore; I’d had enough.

“Dante was the worst type of person. Manipulation, guilt, and humiliation were his weapons of choice. He used to make me call him the n-word, with the hard ER, when we had sex. It was as if he had a humiliation and degradation kink. There were acts that he forced me to participate in that brought a lot of shame. Things that felt right carnally but made me feel unclean morally. His hypersexual needs were deplorable.

“The more uncomfortable I’d be, the better he’d react. Then there were the multiple failed business ideas. Always having a new idea for something, wanting me to participate in or fund a dumb ass business venture that never takes off. Forming tons of LLCs, like he’s actually running a business.

“I couldn’t tolerate Dante’s dumb ass business logic, hot-and-cold behavior, the mind fucks, and all the damn lies anymore. As soon as I was able to, I broke my lease and filed the protection order. From one woman to another woman, please be careful. There is no limit to how far he will go to get what he wants. Everyone is expendable,” Sunny admitted.

It looked like Sunny had taken ten years off her life after unburdening herself of the things Dante had taken her through. But as she looked at Myla, she could tell that Myla didn’t believe anything that was said.

“Sunny, I hate that you experienced that version of Dante. But people do change. I hope with time and prayer you’ll be able to heal and move on from the past. I accept walk-ins on Wednesdays if you ever want to talk,” Myla offered.

Sunny wanted to laugh because somehow, she knew that would be Myla’s response. She couldn’t judge her or blame her. How could she? Someone had once tried to warn her about Dante, and she hadn’t listened. When you’re blinded by love, obvious red flags somehow appear green. Myla would have to learn her lesson the hard way.

“I had a feeling you’d say that. I’ve taken up enough of your time. I’m going to get out of your hair so you can handle the things you need to handle. I just need to tell you one more thing before I go.”

“I’m listening,”

“The American Express that Dante tried to use wasn’t active, and he knew that. The card that he swiped when the two of you came to my restaurant was the old credit card that I reported stolen many years ago. That card was stolen from my sister’s house during a burglary. Be careful, Dr. Pleasant. If you ever need to talk or need more insight, call 904-555-6071,” Sunny said as she handed Myla a manila envelope, the scrap paper with the number on it, and walked away. She had done her part. It would be up to Myla to save herself from the destruction that Dante would unleash in her life.

21

The weight of everything Sunny shared nearly crippled Myla. Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to let one fall. So much was going on in her head that she couldn’t hear any of the sounds within the hospital.

“There is no way Dante did those horrible things. Typical female lying for attention. I would’ve respected it more if she said she wanted him back because why would he use her stolen card in her restaurant? That’s just fucking stupid,” Myla said as she tried to convince herself that Sunny was a liar.

She knew Dante could have a temper, and as she recently discovered, he’d do things that could be considered trickery, but she refused to accept the fact that her man would do all the insane things that Sunny had accused him of.

“Hey, Dr. Pleasant. What are you doing in this neck of the woods? Is there a seminar here today?” a nurse called from the nurses’ station.

If it hadn’t been for someone calling her name and pulling her out of the mental hell that Sunny put her in, she would’ve probably continued walking aimlessly throughout the hospital. Shaking the mental fog from her head, Myla approached the nurses’ station.

“Hey, Nurse Mindy. No, there’s no seminar today. I’m just here to pick up a friend. Can you point me to Dante Helgard’s room?” Myla asked.

Horror quickly flashed on Nurse Mindy’s face.

“Dante…Helgard?” she repeated slowly. Just saying his name put a foul taste in her mouth. She refused to say what she wanted to say, because Myla had referred to him as a friend, not a patient.

She only knew Dr. Pleasant professionally, so she refused to speak to her on a personal level. Besides, she knew how some women became defensive when they were told something they didn’t want to hear. Instead of giving her the tea, she forced a smile into her voice before saying, “He’s on the third floor in room 317.”

“Thanks, Mindy,” Myla said before walking toward the elevators.

So much was on her mind; she didn’t know if she should ask Dante about Sunny, their child, his brother, or if she should ask him about sitting outside her job. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she approached his room door. Tapping lightly, she stepped inside and instantly forgot about asking him anything.

“Myla, baby, I knew you’d come. You’re the only person I can depend on right now,” Dante said softly. Unshed tears filled his eyes.

Myla was stunned. Dante did not look like himself. If he hadn’t called her name, she would’ve assumed that she stumbled into the wrong room.