The recovery was slow, but it brought us closer in a way that s*x never could. For two weeks, I was the one taking care of him. I changed his bandages, brought him tea, and read to him while he rested in the oversized leather chair in the library.
We talked. Really talked. He told me about his childhood, about the weight of the family legacy, and the loneliness of the top. I told him about my dreams, my fears, and the way I had started to love the monster.
One evening, as the moon cast long, silver shadows across the room, Dante reached for my hand.
"I have something for you," he said.
He produced a small velvet box. Inside was a ring—a massive, pear-cut diamond surrounded by a halo of smaller stones, sparkling with a cold, brilliant light.
"I don't want you as collateral anymore, Ele
