Chapter 41: Meeting Dante’s Family
"With enough time, she’ll be able to recover, and she would be able to start therapy for her fingers and toes. It’s a good thing that it’s the pinky fingers and toes, which means that in no less than six months, she would be able to go back to her normal life!" The female doctor gently said, even as Maria snapped, unable to help herself.
"She would never be able to go back to her normal life!" Maria snapped, and as much as Dora wanted to remain there and wait for her to wake up, she couldn’t. She had to return to the set and do a couple more scenes, which she was able to do without the director yelling at her.
Her nervousness was still extremely high, but the timid nature of her character only made it seem like she was an expert actress who was beyond great at performing the role.
From the moment she was acting to when she left the set, Ettore didn’t move more than ten feet away from her, standing extremely close to her at all times — something Dora was relieved by, especially since the thought of what happened to her happening to her again plagued her beyond words.
It didn’t help that if they kidnapped her, whatever they had done to her sister would pale in contrast to what they were bound to do to her.
Done with the scenes she was in for the day, Dora left and returned to the hospital first before returning to the estate, not surprised to see Maria and her father still there, not having left. Even though it was obvious that they had ordered food and Elisa had also eaten.
Elisa was still asleep when she got there, even as her father spoke to her, Maria having taken a weird oath of silence as she simply glared at her without saying more.
"She woke up for a while and fell asleep not too long ago. We’re taking this very badly!" Her father informed her, even as he went ahead to ask, "You’ll pay for her treatment and everything that has to—" but he didn’t get to finish.
"Of course she would pay! Who else would do it? You?!" Maria snapped, anger obvious in every word she said as she met Dora’s gaze.
"You’re the one getting married to a billionaire while Elisa is tottering away on this hospital bed!" Maria snapped, and as tempted as Dora was to snap at her and tell her that, if not that she had gone out of her way to ensure that she wasn’t carted away like a pig, she would have been in the same condition or worse — she didn’t.
She understood her pain and simply nodded at her father before taking her leave, her stomach rumbling slightly in hunger since the last time she ate anything was in the morning before she left the estate.
Still, the thought of stopping at a restaurant and buying food only haunted her as she instantly allowed Ettore to get in the car along with the other bodyguards that followed them, after informing the driver to head straight to Dante’s estate.
She had just gotten back, walking through the door, relieved to see Guila, who seemed to have been waiting for her, her heart pounding with apprehension since the last thing she wanted to do at that moment was have a conversation with Dante.
Beyond relieved when Guila simply informed her that her food had been warmed in expectation of her return, Dora instantly headed to the dining room and was relieved afresh to see no signs of Dante, even as she settled down to eat.
"He might not be here now, but I’ll be dealing with more than him tomorrow!" She thought to herself, since the next day she was supposed to go and meet his extended family in preparation for the wedding.
The next day came faster than she would have liked, even as she picked out an elegant pink gown to wear, which she thought made her look adorable — something she hoped would help them not see her as a threat. Her hair she tied in a ponytail, having taken enough lessons to know how to do her makeup in a way that highlighted all her features,
making her look more attractive than she would otherwise have looked without it. She wore a pair of high white sandals and picked up a white bag as she headed out of the room.
Breakfast was ready, and she wasn’t surprised to see Dante seated at the table already eating. She settled beside him and slowly ate, more nervous than she would have liked, but the fact that she looked really good made her feel relieved.
"How is your sister?" Dante suddenly asked her, surprising her since it was the last thing she expected to hear him say, considering the fact that she was more than aware that he didn’t care about her sister in the slightest bit.
This made her wonder why he would bother to ask, as she fixed her eyes on him with a stunned expression, struggling for a response.
"If she’s awake, maybe she saw something that would be able to give us a hint as to who kidnapped her!" Dante pointed out — something that Dora had completely forgotten — even as she slowly nodded her head, understanding what he was trying to say as she slightly shook her head.
"No! She’s been sleeping. It’s been a lot for her to take in!" She informed him, her expression turning back to a more neutral one now that she understood why exactly Dante had been asking about the well-being of her sister.
Dante didn’t ask her any more questions, and neither did Dora speak to him again as she concentrated on her food until she was done with just enough that she didn’t feel hungry.
Dante also finished his food, and he got ready to leave, even as Dora picked up her bag to follow him with a slightly anxious look in her eyes.
"Would you like us to visit your sister first?" Dante asked as they got closer to the cars already parked right in front of the entrance.
"No!" Dora responded without having to think about it, aware that with how nice and well-dressed she looked, the last thing Elisa would want to see would be her.
