Page 59 of No Longer Mine (Rags & Riches #2)

Chapter Fifty

Scarlett

Dimitri shifted in his chair as we waited for our food. He didn’t look happy at all that his family paid me a visit, and now here I was, trying to meddle in his past. I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. I didn’t want this date to end up like the last one.

So I decided to pivot. “I’m curious,” I took a sip out of my wine glass. “Why did you ask me out?”

His brows bounced on his forehead. “Isn’t it obvious?”

I tilted my head as I watched him. Then I let my gaze roam the empty room we’d been brought to. It was quiet and intimate, nothing like the last date. “Why did you ask me out if you brought me to this small room at the back of the restaurant?”

There was nothing small about it. It was cozy and comfortable, but also held grandeur that the rest of the building didn’t have.

He’d paid a lot of money for this experience, so why did I feel like I was as much of a secret as the stripper before me?

Was that what this was? I didn’t mind secrecy; my entire life depended upon it, but I would’ve been lying to say I wasn’t disappointed by being hidden.

We could be secretive while still showing others we were off limits, right?

Was that even what this was, or was I simply getting ahead of myself?

“Does this have something to do with the grannies and my sisters?” He said it so casually, but I could see the annoyance under the surface; he didn’t like that they had visited me. They were unpredictable, and he was worried about what they said.

I shrugged, playing is cool and calm. I didn’t want him to feel as nervous as I had when he’d dropped the Vanewood bomb.

None of that was what tonight was about.

But I did want open and healthy communication.

There was no point in secrets now that he knew everything and he didn’t think differently of me.

I would extend the grace he’d shown me, it was only fair.

“Kind of. I guess I thought you’d be the type to show me off or any woman you’re interested in.

You have the… possessive vibe.” I chose all of my words carefully.

He let out a breath as he swirled the wine around his glass.

His eyes looked at anything but me. “You know what my father is capable of…” His eyes got a faraway look in them before he blinked out of the trance.

“He took a lot from me in my childhood, but also my love life. I do not want that to happen again. I would like to protect what’s mine. ”

And there it was, the possessive vibe the girls mentioned the night before. To anyone else it would probably scare them, but to me? It was refreshing to be wanted.

“I get it,” I murmured, setting my glass down. “But I don’t want to be hidden, Dimitri.”

His head snapped up, those sharp blue eyes locking onto mine.

I didn’t back down. “I understand secrecy. I understand safety. But I also know what it’s like to be someone’s secret for all the wrong reasons.” I tilted my chin, meeting his gaze head-on. “And if you want me, really want me, you can’t make me feel like I’m something to be tucked away.”

His fingers tightened around his glass, his jaw ticking. “That’s not what I’m doing.”

I arched a brow. “Then what are you doing?”

His breath came out slow and measured as he leaned forward. “I’m keeping you alive, Scarlett. I’m making sure you don’t end up on my father’s radar more than you already are.”

I swallowed, heat curling low in my belly at the way he said my name. At the way he looked at me—like I was already his, like I was something worth protecting, worth fighting for.

But still.

“Being alive and being hidden aren’t the same thing,” I said softly.

His gaze flickered, his lips parting just slightly before he snapped his mouth shut again. He was listening, really listening.

I reached across the table, my fingers brushing against the back of his hand. “I don’t need grand gestures. I don’t need you to scream my name in the middle of the city.” A small smirk played on my lips. “Though, I wouldn’t mind hearing it in other settings.”

His nostrils flared slightly, and I could feel the restraint in his body.

“But I do need to know this isn’t something you’re going to be ashamed of.” I squeezed his fingers, my voice softer now. “Because I’m not.”

He exhaled slowly, flipping his hand so his palm pressed against mine, his fingers threading between mine. His touch was warm, grounding.

“I’m not ashamed of you,” he said, his voice rough. “I just want to keep you.”

My heart melted within my chest. “What happened?”

He pulled his hand from mine, and I almost felt his pain enter the room. “Where would you like to start?”

I licked my lips. “Wherever you would like to.”

The waiter interrupted us with the first course, and I felt some of the tension leave the room. Was this really good for our second date? The food looked like something that belonged in an art gallery and not really in my stomach. I wondered if that was why Dimitri had chosen this place.

As if he read my mind, he smiled and it was devastatingly beautiful smile.

I was lost in it. “This is the first restaurant my mother brought me to. She loved the food but, she loved the way it looked even more. She’s the one who instilled a love of art within me.

It was my first fine dining experience.”

“You speak fondly of your mother, so is she nothing like your father then?”

His brows furrowed. “She’s light to his dark. It was an arranged marriage for political and monetary reasons. My father’s father wanted everything that her father wanted.”

“The grannies’ husbands?” I was practically on the edge of my seat.

“Yes, and now they’re both dead.”

I blinked. I hadn’t expected that. “The grannies killed their husbands and became best friends throughout it all. Sometimes I wonder why my mother didn’t kill my father and live the life that they do.

” He tapped his fingers on the table. “She’s too soft for that though.

She wasn’t built for ruthlessness and the darkness that would come with it. ”

I studied him, letting his words settle between us. The contrast between his parents was stark, and yet… it made sense. He was the product of both—a man molded by darkness but with too much light in him to fully become his father.

“Do you think she regrets it?” I asked softly, picking at the delicate dish in front of me.

“No, she doesn’t regret my father, though I know she’s making moves to be rid of him. She’s waiting for us, I think. But I know that she loves him too.”

I almost choked on the little bit of food in my mouth. “How could she love him?”

He smiled again, but this time it was haunted. He nodded slowly, swirling his wine. “I know. It doesn’t make sense. But I think… I think she sees something in him no one else does. Some version of him that existed before the power, before the corruption.”

My stomach twisted. “Or maybe she’s just afraid of what happens if she stops loving him.”

Dimitri’s gaze snapped to mine, sharp and assessing. “Maybe.”

Neither of us spoke for a moment. I swirled my fork in the air, gesturing at our surroundings. “So this place, it reminds you of her—of your mother.”

“Yes,” he admitted, a ghost of a smile pulling at his lips. “She was the first person to make me believe there was something more to life than the world my father built.”

I leaned forward slightly, my voice softer now. “And what about now? Do you still believe that?”

His eyes darkened, his fingers still curled around his glass. “I’m starting to.”

Heat curled in my chest, spreading outward like wildfire.

He took a bite out of his food, and there was silence as we ate.

I wasn’t sure it was the best meal of my life, but I could appreciate it for Dimitri.

He’d put a lot of thought into this date, this was a special place for him.

I was glad he’d shared why it was so special to him.

It felt like a door had opened between us, and I was excited to see what was on the other side.

“Why would you want to be paraded around if you’ve lived your life hidden for so long?”

I considered his words carefully. “Since I was eighteen, I’ve lived my life because I was afraid.

I was afraid of the men who hurt me, and I was afraid of the men who were lurking, trying to take control of me.

I never truly lived, and now, I realize I’m so tired of living my life for others.

I want to live for me. Whatever this is,” I motioned between us with my fork.

“It’s the most alive I’ve ever felt and I don’t want it to go away.

I want to feel more, I want to experience more.

If that means we don’t live our lives hidden… So be it.”

“That’s a dangerous thing to want,” he said, his voice rough. “Living in the open. Being seen.”

I tilted my head, challenging him. “Then why are you here with me? Why did you ask me out on a date? Why did you bring me to a place that means something to you if you want to keep me in the dark?”

His jaw ticked. “Because I can’t stay away from you.”

The honesty in his words—the raw admission—sent a shiver down my spine. My grip tightened around my fork.

“Then stop trying,” I whispered.

Dimitri let out a slow exhale, like he was trying to temper something wild inside him. “Scarlett…” he warned, but it was only half-hearted.

I leaned forward, my voice softer now—coaxing.

“I know it’s complicated, Dimitri. I know you want to keep me safe.

But I don’t need you to put me in a cage to do that.

” I licked my lips, my chest tightening.

“I want to be something that you’re proud to have.

Something you claim—not just in the dark. ”

His fingers flexed around the stem of his wine glass, the candlelight casting sharp shadows over his face. He was at war with himself, I could see it.

“I’ve spent my whole life watching powerful men take whatever they want,” I continued, voice steady, gaze unwavering. “But you—you’re different. You have a choice.” My lips curled slightly. “So, tell me, Dimitri. What do you want?”

Silence stretched between us, thick with tension. His nostrils flared, his pupils blown wide. And then, finally, his resolve snapped.

“I want you,” he growled.

The air whooshed from my lungs.

“Then take me,” I whispered.

Dimitri’s chair scraped against the floor as he stood as his eyes burned into mine. “Dinner’s over.”