Chapter 54: Tolerated your insults

Early in the next morning, Santino drove to the Dalias mansion.

He hadn’t slept a wink last night. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Soraya’s tearful face, and her words kept repeating in his head.

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

He had spent years getting whatever he wanted through money, power, or fear. Yet none of those things could bring Soraya back to him.

The moment his car stopped in front of the Dalias mansion, he stepped out and walked towards the entrance. The guards recognised him and moved aside, but before he could reach the door, one of them stepped forward.

Santino entered the mansion without hesitation, but the moment he stepped into the living room, he found Antoine and Angelo sitting together as both men looked up in surprise.

Antoine put down his newspaper. "Santino? What are you doing here?"

"I came to see Soraya," Santino said straightforwardly.

Angelo glanced at the clock before looking back at him. "It’s barely morning; she’s still asleep."

"I know," Santino replied. "But I can wait for her." He started towards the staircase, but Antoine stood up and blocked his way.

"There’s no need. You should leave," Antoine said in a firm tone.

Santino’s expression tightened. "I haven’t come here to argue, Antoine. I need to speak with my wife."

"How dare you barge in and act as if it’s your territory, Santino?" Antoine stepped closer, his displeasure clear on his face. "I trusted you with my daughter. I believed you would keep her safe, especially after everything she had been through. Instead, you lied to her, interfered in her past, and gave her another reason not to trust anyone."

"I never wanted to hurt her," Santino tried to defend himself. "And not everything she was told is true."

"But you did hurt her," Antoine said in a disappointed tone. "Will it matter if she had misunderstood some parts, at this point?"

Santino pressed his lips together but he still defended himself. "I made mistakes, and I’m willing to admit that. But I love Soraya, and I’m not going to walk away from my marriage because of one terrible misunderstanding."

"Don’t call it a misunderstanding when you deliberately kept things from her," Antoine almost lost his composure and yelled at him.

"Don’t get too worked up, Dad," Angelo got up from the sofa. "Let him speak first."

Antoine turned towards him. "You think he deserves another chance after what he has done?"

"I understand how you feel," Angelo glared at Santino and the corner of his lips, which was still slightly torn from his punch.

Santino looked at Angelo. "I just need a few minutes with her."

Angelo shook his head. "She’s exhausted. I prefer not to disturb her precious rest."

Santino’s jaw tightened. "I need to explain what happened."

"Then wait until she’s ready to listen," Angelo stated firmly. "You can’t keep forcing your way into her life and expect her to forgive you."

Santino fell silent. His gaze moved towards the staircase, but Angelo stepped closer. "Give her some time, Santino. She needs to calm down before she can even think about having this conversation."

Santino dragged a hand over his face. Every instinct told him to go upstairs and find Soraya, but he knew that doing so would only make things worse.

"Can’t I just see her, even if it’s from afar?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Angelo looked at him, feeling a pang of sympathy. He had never seen Santino like this. The man who could make an entire room fall silent with a single glance was now standing there, practically asking permission to catch a glimpse of his own wife.

But before Angelo could respond, a firm voice came from behind.

"No!" Antoine stepped forward, his expression hard. "You are not seeing my daughter against her wishes, not even from afar."

"Dad!" Angelo pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced at his father. He had wanted to handle the situation his own way, but Antoine clearly had no intention of making things easy for Santino.

"Do not stop me, Angelo." Antoine turned towards Santino and held his gaze. "I always treated you like my own son. I trusted you, welcomed you into my family, and even gave you my daughter’s hand in marriage. But you know better than anyone why I agreed to that marriage."

Santino remained silent.

"I sent Soraya to you because I wanted her to be safe. I knew she hadn’t wanted this marriage, but I believed you would take care of her and give her a reason to be happy with you."

Antoine’s jaw tightened.

"Instead, you made her cry. You gave her another reason to regret trusting someone."

"Antoine, I never intended—" Santino gritted his teeth but he couldn’t react impulsively at the moment, giving another reason to Soraya to hate him.

"I don’t care what you intended!" Antoine cut him off. "Look at what you’ve done. My daughter came back here last night looking completely broken. She wouldn’t even eat. Do you know how painful it was to see her like that?"

Angelo frowned, looking between them. "What do you mean you sent Soraya to him because you wanted to keep her safe, Dad?"

Antoine turned towards his son, his expression changing slightly. "That’s not something we need to discuss right now."

"Why not? You’re talking as if there was something more behind the marriage."

Santino’s eyes shifted towards Antoine. He, too, seemed interested in hearing what the older man had to say.

Antoine let out a slow breath before looking back at Santino. "Whatever the reasons were, one thing hasn’t changed. Soraya is my daughter, and I won’t allow anyone to hurt her. Not even you."

Santino’s words were filled with both warning and desperation.

"I’ve tolerated your insults because you’re Soraya’s father, Antoine. Don’t mistake my restraint for weakness. If I wanted to, I could walk past you and see my wife. But I’m standing here because she’s the only person whose wishes matter more to me than my own."