Chapter 337: I Don’t Give A Fuck About The Alliance, Father

POV: DIMITRI

The morning sun was just beginning to filter through the windows of the penthouse bedroom.

Dimitri was in bed with Eve, her body nestled against his, her head resting on his chest, her breathing slow and steady. She was still asleep,exhausted from everything she’d been through, from the intensity of the night, from the relief of being truly safe.

He wasn’t moving. He was content to just lie here, to feel her breathe, to understand that she was alive and here and his.

The phone rang.

Dimitri glanced at it without moving. The caller ID showed father.

He knew this call was coming. He’d been expecting it since the moment Marco had asked him about what he was going to do with Isabella, but Dimitri decided that whatever conversation his father wanted to have could wait until morning.

The phone continued to ring.

Eve stirred slightly, but she didn’t wake up.

Dimitri carefully extracted himself from the bed, moving slowly so as not to disturb her. He grabbed the phone and walked to the window, looking out at Manhattan while he answered.

"Good morning, Padre," Dimitri said, his voice steady despite the early hour.

"It’s almost nine o’clock at night in Rome," Antonio replied flatly. "Not morning here. But I assume you’re enjoying the sunrise with your new priority."

The dig was subtle but clear.

"What do you want?" Dimitri asked, not bothering with pleasantries.

"I want to know what you’re doing with Isabella," Antonio said coldly. "Because Lorenzo Russo just called me threatening to end the alliance if you don’t release her in the next twenty-four hours."

Dimitri felt a flash of irritation.

"Let him end it," Dimitri said flatly.

"Excuse me?" Antonio’s voice turned sharp.

"You heard me," Dimitri said. "Let him end the alliance. I don’t care,"

"You don’t care," Antonio repeated, his voice cold. "You don’t care about an alliance that has been the foundation of this family’s power for three decades? You don’t care about the connections, the territory, the business interests that depend on maintaining this relationship?"

"No," Dimitri said simply. "I don’t."

There was a long silence on the line.

"Dimitri," Antonio said finally, his voice taking on a different tone...a tone that suggested he was trying to be patient with a difficult child. "I understand that you’re focused on the woman you love. But you need to understand the larger implications of..."

"No, you need to understand something father," Dimitri interrupted, his voice turning lethal. "That alliance? You made that when I was a child. I had no choice in it. I had no say in it. I didn’t agree to spend my life tied to Isabella because of a promise you and Lorenzo made when we were kids."

"Dimitri..."

"I’m not finished," Dimitri continued, his voice absolutely cold. "You decided my future for me before I was old enough to even understand what that meant. You decided that I would marry Isabella. You decided that I would tie myself to the Russo family. You decided that my life would be dictated by a promise you made."

Dimitri paused, his hand clenching into a fist as he spoke.

"Well, I’m making a different decision," he said. "I’m choosing my own path. I’m choosing the woman I love. And I’m choosing not to be bound by a promise that was made without my consent when I was too young to object. and i thought i had made this clear to you on several occasions"

"And what about your family?" Antonio asked. "What about the business we’ve built? What about the men who depend on this alliance for their livelihoods?"

"The business will survive," Dimitri said coldly. "We don’t need the Russos. We’re strong enough on our own. And i am sure you can take care of any man who depends on this alliance for their livelihood.

At that moment, Eve stirred in the bed. She sat up, her hair messy, her eyes sleepy, and she looked at Dimitri with a question in her expression.

Dimitri held her gaze as he spoke into the phone.

"Eve is not part of any negotiation," he said, his voice absolutely certain. "She is not a bargaining chip. She is not something that can be traded away for political advantage. She is mine, and she is not up for discussion."

Eve’s eyes widened slightly as she understood what was happening.

"Is that what this is about?" Antonio asked. "You’re refusing to maintain the alliance because of this woman?"

"No," Dimitri said. "I’m refusing to maintain the alliance because I never agreed to it in the first place. And even if I had agreed to it, even if I had made that promise myself, I would break it for her. Because she matters more than your alliance. She matters more than territory. She matters more than business. She matters more than anything else in this world."

He moved to the bed and sat on the edge, taking Eve’s hand in his, maintaining eye contact with her even as he spoke to his father.

"I don’t give a fuck about the alliance, father," Dimitri said flatly. "I don’t give a fuck about what you and Lorenzo promised each other decades ago. That was your deal to make. That was your choice. I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t want it. And I’m not going to sacrifice the one thing that actually matters to me for it."

"Dimitri, you’re being reckless," Antonio said, his voice tight. "You’re letting emotion override judgment. You’re making decisions based on passion instead of strategy."

"Maybe," Dimitri said."

Eve squeezed his hand, her eyes full of emotion.

"What about Isabella?" Antonio asked. "What are you going to do with her?"

Dimitri was quiet for a moment.

"She’s secure," he said. "She’s unharmed physically."

"And?" Antonio pressed.

"And if you need me to release her to maintain your precious alliance with Lorenzo, then I’ll release her," Dimitri said coldly. "But not because I care about the alliance. Not because I’m obligated to honor a promise I never made. But because I’m done with this distraction. I want her out of my life so I can focus on what matters."

"What matters?" Antonio asked.