---- Chapter 10 Dante POV: | stayed for days, living out of the rental car. | watched her from a distance, a ghost haunting the edges of her new life. | saw her walking through the small village, talking and laughing with her friends. She looked healthy, peaceful. She carried herself with a new confidence, a quiet strength that had been suffocated in the gilded cage I'd built for her. She didn't need me. The realization was a constant, dull ache in my chest. My phone buzzed incessantly with frantic calls from Chicago. My empire was in chaos. My absence had created a power vacuum, and my rivals were circling like sharks. Deals were collapsing. A shipment had been hit. It was the kind of crisis that, weeks ago, would have consumed my every waking thought. Now, | just listened to my second-in-command''s panicked voicemails and felt nothing. The world | had built, the power | had killed for, it all seemed like a cheap imitation of a life. A hollow distraction. | called Leo. "I'm not coming back," | said. ---- "Dante, what are you talking about? The business is on fire." "Let it burn," | said, my eyes fixed on the smoke curling from the chimney of Elara's cabin. "The only thing that matters is here. And she doesn't want me." "So you're just giving up? Everything you've worked for?" "I'm not giving up," | said quietly. "I'm starting over." | hung up, turned off my phone, and threw it into a snowbank. The next day, | used the last of my cash to buy a small, derelict cabin on the outskirts of the village. It was barely standing, the roof sagging and the windows boarded up. It was perfect. | started to work. | bought tools from the local hardware store and taught myself how to repair the roof, how to frame a wall, how to lay a floor. | sought advice from an old carpenter in the village, a man named Thomas, who looked at my soft hands and expensive boots with amusement, but shared his knowledge freely. The work was brutal. My muscles ached in ways | never knew they could. My hands, once clean and manicured, became calloused and scarred. | got splinters. | smashed my thumb with a hammer. And with every drop of sweat, with every strained muscle, | felt a piece of the old Dante sloughing away. The pain was a penance. It was cleansing. For the first time in my life, | was building something with my ---- own hands instead of buying it or taking it. And this small, broken-down cabin felt more real, more mine, than the entire Sovrano Tower. My appearance changed. The expensive suits were replaced with flannel shirts and work boots. | lost weight. The hard lines of my face softened, replaced by a weariness that was earned, not inflicted. One afternoon, | was in the village picking up lumber when | saw her. She was coming out of the small grocery store, her belly now a gentle, round curve under her coat. Our eyes met across the snow-dusted street. She stopped, her eyes widening in shock. She wasn't looking at the phantom Don of Chicago. She was looking at a man covered in sawdust, his face smudged with dirt, his hands rough and calloused. She was seeing the man | was becoming, not the monster | had been. My first instinct was to go to her, to speak, to explain. But | stopped myself. | had learned a hard lesson. Words were meaningless. My actions were the only currency | had left. So | just held her gaze for a long moment, then gave her a small, simple nod. A quiet acknowledgment. | didn't smile. | didn't ask for anything. Then | turned, loaded the lumber into the back of my old truck, and drove away. ---- | didn't know what she thought. | didn't know if my penance meant anything to her at all. It didn't matter. | would keep building. | would keep working. | would make myself into a man worthy of being near her, even if it was only from a distance. Actions were the only prayer | had left. Title: A Princess? No! I'm the Female General! In "A Princess? No! I'm the Female General!" by CrushReel, Adela Taylor, a noble family's daughter, disguises herself as her brother to secure their Duke title by joining the army. Despite facing obstacles, she achieves remarkable success. However, upon her triumphant return, her brother betrays her, setting off a chain of events that will test her resolve and reveal hidden truths. This captivating novel delves into themes of secrets, reincarnation, revenge, murder, and drama. Adela's journey from deception to betrayal is filled with intrigue and suspense as she navigates through a world where power dynamics and family loyalties collide. What sets this story apart is its strong female lead who defies expectations and challenges societal norms in a quest for justice and redemption. Experience the riveting tale of Adela Taylor online at CrushReel and witness the transformation of a princess into a formidable female general.