The Heiress' Revenge Chapter 187: The Wedding

Dante’s POV

I just got out of a eting and had just settled into my office.

I sat and leaned back in the chair montarily resting my head, but the door bursting open had my brows furrowed, but I didn’t look up.

I didn’t care who it was. Could be Marcus or an assistant.

"Dante." Her voice was sharp and Familiar.

My mother.

Of course, it was my mother; she had been calling for weeks and leaving ssages demanding to see .

I had been ignoring her.

I didn’t have the energy to deal with her. I didn’t have the patience for her lectures. I didn’t have the strength for her disappointnt.

"Mum," I said, still didn’t look up. "What do you want?"

She walked to the chair across from my desk. She sat down with her back straight, and her hands were folded in her lap.

"I want to talk to you about sothing important," she said. "Sothing that can’t wait any longer. Sothing that I should have done a long ti ago."

I finally looked at her.

Her hair was perfect.

She looked like she belonged on the cover of a magazine. She looked polished for her age.

"I’m listening," I said, but I wasn’t really. My mind was sowhere else.

Mother leaned forward. "It’s been two years, Dante. Two years since Ariana died. Two years since you’ve been alone, and the children have had a mother."

I felt my jaw tighten. "The children have . They have nannies and teachers. They have—"

"They have no one," Mother interrupted. Her voice was sharp. "They have a father who spends all his ti at work. Who barely looks at them. Who barely talks to them. Who barely acknowledges their existence. They have nannies who co and go. Teachers who don’t know their nas. Drivers who don’t know their faces have no stability and love ."

I stood up and walked to the window.

"You don’t know what you’re talking about," I said. My voice was low. Tight. "I love my children, I provide for them. I protect them. I—"

"You ignore them." Mother’s voice was hard. "You co ho after they’re asleep. You leave before they wake up. You spend weekends in your room, staring at the walls, crying over a woman who is never coming back. You are not there for them, Dante. You are not present. You are not engaged. You are not a father."

I turned to face her; my hands were clenched into fists. "How dare you. How dare you stand there and tell I’m not a father? I have sacrificed everything for those children. I have given them everything. I have—"

"You have given them things," Mother interrupted. "Things don’t love them. Things don’t hold them when they cry or when they need a parent figure in their life. They need a mother, Dante. They need a feminine figure in their lives. Soone who can give them the love and attention and care that you cannot."

I felt the annoyance co. I blinked them back. "I can’t replace her, I can’t find soone new. I can’t pretend that everything is okay when it’s not. I can’t—"

"I’m not asking you to replace her." Mother stood up, walking toward . Her heels clicked on the floor. "No one could ever replace Ariana. She was a wonderful woman, a wonderful wife, and a mother, but she’s gone. She’s been gone for two years, and you need to accept that. You need to move on. You need to live."

I shook my head. "I can’t, I don’t want to. I won’t."

Mother stopped in front of with her eyes hard. "I have already made arrangents."

I stared at her. "What? What arrangents?"

Mother pulled an envelope from her purse. She held it out to . "Her na is Natasha. She’s the daughter of an old friend of mine. She lives in England, and she’s sweet, kind, and intelligent. She has a good character. She cos from a good family. She’s perfect."

I looked at the envelope I didn’t take it. "What are you talking about? What arrangents?"

Mother’s voice was firm. "You are going to marry her, Dante. The wedding is set to take place in two months in England. At her family’s estate. Everything is already planned."

I felt the blood drain from my face. "You can’t be serious. You can’t just decide who I’m going to marry. You can’t just plan a wedding behind my back. This isn’t the Middle Ages. This isn’t an arranged marriage. I have a say in my own life. I have a choice."

Mother shook her head. "You’ve had two years to make a choice. Two years to find soone on your own and to give your children a mother. You’ve done nothing. You’ve wallowed and pushed everyone away. You’ve made yourself and your children miserable. So I’m taking matters into my own hands."

I grabbed the envelope and held it up. "You think this is going to fix anything? You think marrying a stranger is going to make happy? You think bringing so woman into my ho is going to make my children forget their mother?"

Mother stepped closer with her face inches from mine. "I think it’s a start. I think it’s better than the alternative. It’s ti you stopped living in the past and started living in the present for yourself, your children, and your family."

I threw the envelope on the floor. "I won’t do it. I won’t marry her. I don’t care who she is, I don’t care how sweet she is. I don’t care how perfect she is."

Mother’s face softened. Just a little. "I’m not asking you to love her, I’m asking you to give her a chance to give your children a chance and yourself a chance."

I shook my head. "No. No. I can’t. I won’t."

Mother walked to the door. She paused. She looked back at . "The wedding is in two months, Dante. In England. You will be there. You will marry Victoria. And that’s final."

She walked out, and the door slamd behind her.

The room was quiet again.

The only sound was my breathing.

I stood there for a long ti.

What the hell just happened?