Black Dahlia Flowers

When Dante woke up the next morning, Scarlett had disappeared from his room. The woman came with a clamor but left without saying goodbye.

The only thing Scarlett left behind was a note she had placed on the table.

'I have to settle my business before our wedding, so please prepare our wedding as good as possible, or I will detonate our wedding altar.'

— From Your Beautiful Darling.

Dante chuckled as he read the letter. The letter's contents were not a request but an order that Dante had to carry out.

"I thought she wouldn't care about the wedding ceremony." Dante got out of bed and walked towards the balcony of the room.

While lighting his cigarette, Dante called Saro. "Saro, use black dahlia flowers as my wedding decorations."

Saro, "Don, are you serious? I mean, doesn't the black dahlia symbolize sadness and negative emotion?"

Or rather, these flowers are more often used to decorate funerals than wedding ceremonies.

Dante took a deep drag on his cigarette before replying, "Black dahlias also represent passion and power. Aren't those two things fitting to symbolize my marriage to Scarlett?"

Saro sighed. "Don, your expression of love is a bit eccentric."

Dante frowned. "Watch your mouth. I didn't marry her out of love but out of necessity and biological need."

"Understood, sir."

Saro no longer continues the conversation because he doesn't want to face Dante's rage. However, after seeing Dante let Scarlett roam in his mansion and sleep in his private bedroom, Saro was unsure if their relationship was just a matter of obligation.

• • •

On the other hand, Scarlett had just stepped into the Lombardi Familia mansion, but a tall man was already running towards her.

"Sister! I thought you were dead from being killed by The Night!" Silvano hugged Scarlett's body so tightly that Scarlett felt she could die if she didn't try to escape from Silvano's embrace.

Scarlett patted Silvano on the back. "Fool! There's no way a bunch of little mice like The Night could kill me!"

Silvano let go of their embrace and spoke with an irritated expression. "All of your underlings escaped from Hamary with injuries on their bodies, so it's only natural that I also think The Night has injured you and made you can't escape from Hamary."

He showed the screen of his cell phone in front of Scarlett. "I've even called you more than a hundred times, but you never pick up! Even Cerano can't be reached either!"

Scarlett immediately reached into her trouser and shirt pockets to find her cell phone. "I think I lost my phone on the run."

"Sister! How can you be that careless?!"

When Silvano snapped at Scarlett in front of the Lombardi Familia members, Scarlett's gaze turned sharp, and she pointed her index finger in front of Silvano's face. "Don't you dare raise your voice at me."

Silvano folded his arms across his chest and looked back at Scarlett fearlessly. "Or what? Do you want to confiscate my debit and credit cards? Or do you want to lock me in the room? Scarlett, I am no longer your ten-year-old little brother."

Scarlett grunted, then grabbed Silvano's hand to take him to her room. "Silvano, I don't like the way you talk to me."

Silvano chuckled as if he was mocking Scarlett. "Sister, how you talk to others is even more annoying."

Scarlett pressed her lips together after hearing her younger brother's words. She immediately took a bottle of red wine from inside the cabinet and drank it straight away.

"That's fair." Scarlett rubbed her alcohol-stained lips. "After all, you are my brother, and I think the annoying behavior had indeed run in our family blood."

"Scarlett, I'm serious." Silvano snatched the alcohol bottle from Scarlett's hand. "You've worried me all night, and now I have a right to know where you went yesterday?"

Scarlett sighed roughly. She sat on the bed, putting her hand under her chin. "Guess it. I know you tried hard to guess where I slept last night."

Silvano tried hard to reduce the anger in his heart, then sat beside Scarlett.

"You're staying at the Moretti residence."

Scarlett clapped. "Correct! How did you know?"

"I've heard about your relationship with Dante at Hamary from one of your underlings, Diego." Silvano looked at Scarlett with a severe expression. "Sister, did you sleep with him?"

Scarlett laid back on the bed and replied, "What do you think? Man and woman slept in the same bedroom all night. What else can they do besides playing in bed?"

Silvano was speechless when he heard Scarlett say it very lightly as if she didn't take it seriously.

"Scarlett, I've never interfered in your bedroom affairs. Whether you want to sleep with any man, I won't protest." Silvano pulled Scarlett, so she sat back down. "However, this time is different! This time you sleep with Dante Moretti! The one who almost killed you in the warehouse the other day!"

Scarlett waved her hand. "That was just the past. We've had a truce, so we won't be trying to kill each other anymore."

Silvano looked at Scarlett with a skeptical look. "Don't tell me you've fallen in love with him?"

Scarlett hit Silvano's arm lightly. "Don't talk nonsense. Getting married doesn't mean I have to love him."

"You guys have even decided to get married?"

"Geez, you are so fussy." Scarlett snatched the alcohol bottle that Silvano was holding. "If neither of us dies, then we have to get married. Otherwise, the consigliere of our bastard father will strip our position as the leader."

Silvano had seen Scarlett spend the night with different men many times, and in all this time, he had never said anything and let his sister have fun.

However, marriage was a different matter. For Silvano, marriage was sacred and the beginning of a better circle of life. Therefore, Silvano didn't want to hand over Scarlett to any man, even if it was the head of the Moretti Familia.

"What do you think of Dante?" Silvano asked in a softer voice.

Scarlett, "Handsome, hot, and good in bed."

"Scarlett!" Silvano sighed, "I mean, how is his character? Is he nice to you? Or is he often being rude to you?"

Scarlett took a sip of red wine as her memories returned to the night before. Dante often humiliated Scarlett in bed and even enjoyed bullying her until she cried. Even though Scarlett was happy, whether it is an act of rudeness?

Should she tell Silvano about Dante's insolence behavior?

"He's not bad," Scarlett whispered as she turned her face away from Silvano. For some reason, she felt embarrassed when discussing her bedroom affairs with Dante to other people.

"If you say so, I can be relieved." Silvano smiled. "When will your wedding be held?"

Scarlett leaned her head against Silvano's shoulder as she started to feel drunk, "Tomorrow."

Silvano immediately stood up in surprise. "Your wedding is tomorrow, but you haven't prepared anything?!"

"I have a lot of work today. Dante will take care of the party."

"At least prepare your own wedding dress!" said Silvano as he pulled Scarlett's hand, so she stood up.

"I have a lot of dresses."

Silvano, "Sister, are you lost your mind?! You didn't want to go to your wedding in the dress you had in your wardrobe, did you?"

When Scarlett didn't reply to his words, Silvano believed Scarlett underestimated her wedding ceremony and would come to her wedding looking like a mere guest if Silvano didn't take care of her.

"Come on, get up right now." Silvano forced Scarlett to stand up and forbade her from drinking any more alcohol. "Let Cerano take care of your work today while you go to the boutique to buy a proper wedding gown."