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Myla’s gasket finally blew.

“You know exactly what this is. It’s a medication that induces vomiting. But you knew that since it was downstairs in your pants pocket. So let me get this straight: you bought outdated medication, took it as a way to get my attention, then ended up in the hospital because you nearly destroyed your kidneys. Am I right?” Myla screamed. She was so angry her hands shook. But now, so was Dante.

“Why are you going through my stuff? Do you violate everyone’s privacy, or is it just me that gets that special privilege?” he asked angrily.

He refused to acknowledge whether he had bought discontinued medication or acknowledge whether he had taken it as a way to get her attention. The only thing he was concerned about was that she had gone through his personal items without his permission.

Myla couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Are you crazy! My housekeeper quit because of you. Somebody has to clean up the mess you constantly make!”

“Nah, fuck that!” Dante screamed so loud that Myla stumbled backward. Her horrified reaction to his performative outburst made him smile internally.

Myla’s eyes watered. No one, not her father or any other man, had ever spoken to her so gruffly.

“Dante.”

“You went too far. You intentionally went through my things, just so you could make up lies and start a dumb ass argument. It’s hard to believe that you’re a doctor sometimes. You do and say the dumbest shit on purpose. As a doctor, do you really think a person with a high IQ, like me, would do something so stupid just for a woman’s attention? Be for fucking real, Myla,”

Myla felt like an idiot. The fire that had been running through her veins seconds ago had completely simmered down.

“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t snooping,” she said, her voice now calmer. “I was cleaning up and—”

“Oh, so now I’m dirty?” Dante cut in sharply. He was twisting the meaning of her words into something grotesque.

“I didn’t say you were dirty. All I said was I was cleaning up.” Myla’s voice now sounded like a scared toddler’s. The bravado that she recently had disappeared as if it were never there. Her chest tightened, making it hard for her to breathe.

“I swear, I’m sick of this shit. You always create problems when there aren’t any. Then you expect me to fix your hurt feelings,” Dante said as he grabbed the bottle labeled ipecac and twisted the top off.

“The bottle says ipecac, but I didn’t know that when I grabbed it. This bottle contains cocoa butter lotion. The original bottle of lotion burst, and I needed something to put the salvageable lotion in,” Dante said as he squeezed the Palmers Cocoa Butter into his hand.

There was no need to tell her that he had poured the outdated poison control meds out after damn near going into renal failure. No, the only thing she needed to focus on was what was going on right now.

The scent of the lotion hit Myla, causing her to drop her head in shame.

I shouldn’t have gone through his pockets. I overreacted. I knew better, Myla thought, completely embarrassed.

“Dante, I’m so sorry. I just…I just thought that you had. I just let my anger for how you’ve been keeping the house make me believe the worst. I’m so sorry,” Myla said as she looked at the floor like a child.

Dante shook his head, scoffing, as if she had disappointed him. Somehow, the look that he gave her hurt more than his angry outburst. A dull ache spread through her chest. To avoid being the one to damage their relationship, she knew now that it was best that they returned to living separately.

“Dante, you know what? I think it’s best that you go back home to Windsor Wellington. You’ve already had your follow-ups and have been cleared to go back to work. There is no need for us to bud heads, and I don’t want to ruin our relationship when you have an entire mansion. I just think this is for the best,” Myla said. She couldn’t understand why, but her stomach instantly felt queasy.

“No.”

Myla’s eyebrows rose in confusion. “Excuse me.”

“I said no. I’m not going anywhere,” Dante said as he stepped into her comfort zone. He towered over her. Standing impossibly and menacingly close. Myla was terrified.

“The day you told me to have my mail delivered here while I went out of the country, I did exactly what you told me to do. Since my mail has been coming here, it just made sense to have the address on my driver’s license changed also. Since I’ve been giving you money for the bills and I can prove residency, I’m not going anywhere. You’re going to have to evict me to get me out of here. One more thing, I have a business meeting in two weeks. Wear something pretty,” Dante said as he grabbed his phone, walked past Myla, and reopened the hookup app he was viewing before she entered the room.

22

Dante stood in the mirror and smiled at his reflection. Smooth dark chocolate skin, chiseled jawline, and a physique that would make a bodybuilder bow down.

He was sinfully handsome, and he knew it. The designer suit that he wore complemented his well-toned body exquisitely. So far, everything was going his way. There was only one accessory needed to complete his look for the night.

Human accessories are the best. Dante thought while smirking in the mirror.

With Myla, a successful doctor, on his arm, he was sure to get access to all the grant money he needed.