Chapter 338: You’re burning Bridges That Took Decades To Build

Dimitri looked at Eve, who was watching him with eyes full of love and admiration.

"This," Dimitri said simply. "Her. Building a life with her. Understanding what it means to actually choose my own path instead of following the one you laid out for me."

Antonio was quiet for a long moment.

"I will keep telling you that you’re making a mistake," Antonio said finally. "You’re burning bridges that took decades to build."

"Then I’ll burn them," Dimitri said flatly. "Because I’m not spending the rest of my life trapped in an alliance I never agreed to, bound to a woman I don’t love, living a life that someone else planned for me before I was old enough to have a say in it."

He paused.

"Release the message to Lorenzo," Dimitri continued. "Tell him that Isabella will be released within forty-eight hours. Tell him that the alliance still stands, but on new terms. Tell him that those terms don’t include me marrying his daughter."

"And if he refuses to accept those terms?" Antonio asked.

"Then he refuses," Dimitri said. "And I’ll deal with the consequences of that. But I won’t compromise on Eve. I won’t trade her for any alliance. I won’t pretend to be someone I’m not to maintain political relationships."

"Dimitri..." Antonio started.

"I’m done talking about this," Dimitri interrupted. "I’ve made my decision. Isabella will be released. The alliance will continue, but it will be under new terms. And if Lorenzo doesn’t like it, then we’re enemies, and I’ll treat them as such."

He looked at Eve, who was sitting up in bed, completely focused on him.

"Is there anything else?" Dimitri asked coldly.

"No," Antonio said finally. "But understand that this decision has consequences."

"I do understand," Dimitri said. "And I’ve already accepted them."

He hung up the phone without waiting for a response.

For a moment, Dimitri just stood there, the phone in his hand, understanding fully what he’d just done.

He’d rejected the alliance his father had been building for decades.

He’d refused to marry Isabella Russo.

He’d chosen Eve completely and absolutely, with no compromise, with no hesitation.

And he didn’t regret a single word.

Eve was out of bed now, moving toward him, her expression a mix of concern and something else...something that looked like awe.

"Was that..." Eve started.

"My father," Dimitri confirmed. "Calling to tell me that Isabella’s father wants mt to release her, and to remind me about the alliance"

"And you told him..." Eve continued.

"That you’re not negotiable," Dimitri said, pulling her close. "That I don’t give a fuck about an alliance."

Eve’s eyes filled with tears.

"You shouldn’t have..." she started, but Dimitri cut her off.

"Yes, I should have," he said firmly. "And I would do it again. A thousand times, I would do it again."

He kissed her forehead, then her lips, a tender kiss that conveyed everything he felt.

"You are the choice I make every single day," Dimitri said. "You are the only priority that matters. And anyone...including my father, including the entire underworld...who has a problem with that can go to hell."

Eve wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I know," Dimitri said, holding her tightly. "And I love you more than anything else in this world. That’s not changing. That’s never changing."

They stood there in the early morning light, wrapped around each other

*LATER THAT MORNING*

Dimitri was in his office, reviewing Marco’s reports about Isabella and making arrangements for her release, but deep down he knows that he didn’t want to release her without teaching her a lesson.

She would be given to Lorenzo’s men within forty-eight hours.

But she would be broken psychologically scarred from her time in captivity, he would make her understand the cost of her choices, he would make her understand that he had shown her mercy she didn’t deserve.

But she would be alive.

And that was what the alliance required.

Marco entered the office without knocking.

"Boss," Marco said. "The arrangements for Isabella’s release are proceeding. She’ll be ready within forty-eight hours."

"Good," Dimitri said simply.

"And the message to her father?" Marco asked.

"Send it," Dimitri said. "Tell him his daughter will be released unharmed. Tell him she faced consequences for her actions."

"Very well, boss," Marco said.

He turned to leave, then paused.

"If I may, boss," Marco said. "What about Dante?"

Dimitri looked up from his desk.

"What about him?" Dimitri asked coldly.

"He’s still out there," Marco said. "Still a threat. Luca got him out of the warehouse, but he’s still breathing. Still dangerous."

Dimitri was quiet for a moment, considering.

"Let him keep running," Dimitri said finally. "Let him bleed. Let him understand that he came at me and lost. Let him spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder, knowing that I could end him at any moment."

"And will you?" Marco asked. "End him?"

Dimitri smiled...a cold, dangerous smile.

"If he ever comes at me again," Dimitri said. "Then yes, I will end him. But for now, let him live with the knowledge of his failure."

Marco nodded and left the office.

Dimitri returned to his work, but his mind was on Eve.

She was still in bed, probably sleeping, recovering from everything she’d been through.

And just thinking about her alone made his dick hard and ache.

She completes him. Consumes him. Owns every part of him, mind, body, soul, everything. He could be buried in work, buried in strategy and politics, but one thought of her and nothing else matters. The way she looked at him this morning, the way her body responds to his touch, the way she whispers his name when she comes....it’s all consuming.

He adjusts in his chair, his erection straining against his pants. Fuck, he needs her. Not in a few hours. Not tonight. Now.

But there’s work to be done. Isabella to release. Dante to monitor. An empire to run.

And Eve to come home to.

The thought alone makes him throb with anticipation.