So, glad you guys liked this, as much as I do writing it. This will be full of angst, but I felt I needed to be true to how I feel Lulu should react, how Carly would reveal the secret and how Dante would deal with it. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2

Dante entered his empty loft, threw his keys onto the coffee table and went to retrieve a beer from the fridge. On the refrigerator was a note from Michael. Alexis and Mac had invited him to dinner and Dante should not wait up, because he was going to sleep over.

So, he was going to be alone in this loft. This bachelor pad that Lulu had found for him, he thought, sitting on the brown sofa and taking in his surroundings. The perfect place to remind him of his days in Bensonhurst, to bring a piece of the Big Apple to Port Charles. He had loved it the moment he saw it and the fact that Lulu had found it for him, proved how much she really knew him. She knew his likes and dislikes and could complete his sentences without even blinking.

The loft screamed Falconeri, the fully-stocked kitchen filled with every item needed to make an Italian feast, the sports magazines with the Yankees latest stats on the cover, the latest New York Times on his dining room table, the sports section in his bathroom. Everywhere you looked his stamp was seen. So,why wasn't Lulu's mark anywhere in his loft? They had practically lived together. He should see her stamp on something in his apartment. On the walls, a piece of furniture, the magazines and books that lay haphazardly across the table. Nothing. Not one single thing to show that Lulu was here. Even her favorite box of cereal was gone, removed from the kitchen, just as painfully, as she had extracted herself from his life.

Dante removed the cap from his Bismark, tossed it over his shoulder and heard it land somewhere behind him on the floor. He looked around him and saw nothing but emptiness, a cold, dark, somber place that mirrored the hole in his chest. He hated it. He despised everything this loft stood for, its nod to bachelorhood, its embodiment of the single man. He wanted to smell Lulu's perfume. He wanted to see Crimson magazines littered across his coffee table, files about the latest designer clothes and shoes, color swatches for next month's photo shoot, frozen pizzas in his freezer covered in sausage and mushrooms, boxes upon boxes of her favorite cereal lining his cupboard, her lingerie hanging over the shower bar, her toiletries in his medicine cabinet. He wanted her mark on every inch of his place, just as it had stamped every inch of his body, every place in his heart. He wanted to see Lulu, needed her with him so desperately that he ached. He threw the beer bottle across the room, watching as it shattered against the wall, it's glass shards mirroring his damaged heart. How could one secret destroy everything that he had, everything that he had ever hoped for?

Flashback

"Lulu, so glad you could make it," Carly said, taking Lulu's coat and handing it to the coat check person.

"The room looks beautiful, Carly," Lulu told her, glancing around at the array of red and white roses arranged throughout the room.

"Thanks, Lulu. Dante, it's good to see you too," Carly told him, a little too sweetly he thought.

"Carly," Dante answered, feeling no need to say anything more, "Baby, I see your brother, Lucky. I'm just going to say a few words. I'll be right back."

"Dante, you promised, no talk of work," Lulu scolded, her lips forming a slight frown.

"Two minutes, I promise," Dante answered, kissing her on those puckered lips.

"I'll be counting, Dante," she shouted to his retreating back, as Carly sidled up beside her.

Dante walked toward Lucky Spencer, nodding in greeting to those as he passed, "Hey Lucky, did Siobhan come with you?"

"She's off powdering her nose, or something like that," Lucky grinned, glancing around the room.

"Is Lulu with you?" Lucky asked him, searching the room for his sister.

"Are you kidding me? She's the one that dragged me here," Dante cringed, smiling as he grabbed a beer from a waiter nearby. He took a swallow, turned and spied Brenda Barrett across the room, alongside his father. The guests of honor.

"Anything new on the Balkan's whereabouts?" Dante asked, his tone turning serious, as he directed his gaze on Lulu and Carly.

"I talked to Interpol a few hours ago, it's been pretty quiet," Lucky answered, "Why do you ask? Do you know something that I don't?"

"I just got a feeling," Dante told Lucky, shrugging his shoulders, "it's probably just this party. I still can't get over the fact that Carly is throwing it. Did you find that the least bit odd?"

Lucky was about to answer when Jasper Jax stopped beside them and interrupted, "I gave up trying to figure out Carly's motives years ago. I'm just glad that she and Brenda aren't at each other's throats. How is the search for the Balkan going? Any leads?"

"Nothing. It's like he's just up and disappeared," Lucky said aloud.

"He's out there. He'll appear when we least expect it," Dante answered, knowing it to be true.

"Then why aren't you guarding Brenda, Dante? Isn't that what they hired you to do?" Jax asked.

"Actually, that's what you greased all your political buddies for, right Jax? A favor here, a favor there and all of a sudden I am being told to guard Brenda. Why me, Jax? Why not Detective Dimestico, Lucky, or anyone else on the PCPD?" Dante questioned him, taking another swallow of his beer.

"Because you seem to be the only one on the force who doesn't have a connection with Brenda and can't be bought. I need to know that she is safe, Dante. So, why aren't you doing your job?"

"I'm here for Lulu, Jax. And, as far as guarding Brenda, I'm not on duty until...oh, 8:30am tomorrow. Besides, she's in a room full of family and friends. I hardly think that the Balkan would try something here. The entire PCPD is here. Not to mention Sonny and the rest of the mob influences in Port Charles."

"You just keep your eye on her, Detective. If anything happens to Brenda-"

"I think that Dante is about as hands-on as you can get, Jax. I'm sure that Brenda is getting the royal treatment. Isn't that right, Dante?" Carly said, practically dripping syrup, as she walked up beside Jax, Lulu in tow, moving alongside Dante, "Oh, by the way, I heard the most interesting thing yesterday. I wasn't aware that you guarded Brenda Barrett in 2007. Small world. Did you know that Lulu?" Carly asked, as Jax and Lucky returned surprised looks.

"Well, actually, yes Carly. Dante told me," Lulu answered, as the grin on Carly's face turned to disgust.

"It was for such a short period of time. Brenda didn't even recognize him," Lulu answered, turning and kissing Dante on the lips, "That must have killed your ego. All those useless pick-up lines, just wasting away on a shelf."

"They were only meant for you. Besides, baby, why would I even look at a supermodel when I have you?" Dante replied, kissing her back.

"Good Answer," Lulu told him, grinning, as he pulled her closer, placing his arm around her shoulders.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to steal Dante," Lulu told them, reaching for his hand and pulling Dante toward the dance floor, "Dance with me?"

"If you're willing to put up with my two left feet," Dante grinned, drawing her into his arms, his hands wrapping around her. Out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed Brenda Barrett across the room, her eyes filled with uneasiness. Sonny said something to her, his dimples appearing on his face, as he smiled at her and her face transformed before Dante's eyes, her gaze at Sonny filled with adoration and love.

"Honey, you're so tense," Lulu told him, noticing his muscles clench beneath her fingertips, "What did you and Lucky talk about? Was it the Balkan?"

"Uh-uh, no talk of business, remember," Dante told her, holding her tighter, kissing her on the lips and swaying to the music, "I just want to concentrate on how good you feel in my arms."

How good she felt in his arms? Dante would give anything to wrap his arms around her at this moment, to tell her everything. This damn secret was weighing heavily on him, the truth playing havoc with his emotions. He wanted so much to share it with Lulu, to tell her what happened with Brenda Barrett several years ago. But, to reveal the secret would break his word to Brenda. A promise that they made together, a truth that was better off staying hidden.

But, it hadn't, the truth had a way of floating to the surface, just as Alexander's body had in the Hudson River over six months ago. He'd tried to cover it up, to keep what they had done a secret, but it was only a matter of time before the Balkan learned the truth and that knowledge led him to Brenda and Dante. The Balkan was dangerous and elusive, able to disappear without a trace, his drug smuggling empire known throughout Eastern Europe, followed by rumors of human trafficking. No, Dante couldn't tell Lulu the whole truth, to do that would be to include her in their cover-up, to bring the Balkan's presence one step closer to her.

Dante reached for another beer from the coffee table and took a swallow of the tepid beer, the liquid doing little to assuage the anguish he felt, the images that haunted his mind from that night. He could have stopped it. One word would have changed the outcome completely.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Dante asked Brenda, as she sat on a stool at the bar.

"I'm fine. I'm a little surprised to see you here? Carly isn't exactly in your circle of favorite people," Brenda said, smiling.

"Carly is Carly," Dante told her, downing the rest of his beer and setting the empty bottle on the bar, "I'm learning to take her in small doses. Can I get you anything?" Dante asked, as he waved a waiter over.

"No, I'm fine, but thanks."

Dante dismissed the waiter, leaning up against the bar, as he directed his gaze back at Brenda Barrett, "I want to tell her."

"Tell who? Lulu? Dante, have you lost your mind? You made a promise. We had a deal," Brenda answered, a look of fear on her face.

"I just don't feel right about this. Lulu and I have been through too much. I don't like lying to her, keeping things from her."

"Dante, you can't tell her. If the secret gets out, if he finds out what we've done-"

"That didn't seem to stop you from telling Sonny. Why not Lulu?" Dante accused, keeping his voice low, so no one would overhear them.

"I didn't want to tell, Sonny. It just happened. I trust him. He won't say anything about Alexander's death. Lulu could tell Carly and god knows she'll blab it to the entire world. It has to stay a secret, Dante."

"And the baby?" Dante questioned her.

"I told you, I don't want to talk about the baby, Dante. No one can know about that, especially Sonny," Brenda whispered.

"You guys look all deep and intense. Is everything all right?" Lulu asked, moving alongside Dante, as he put his arm around her and Brenda glanced at her nervously.

"Hey, baby. Did you miss my sexy smile already?" Dante asked, grinning.

"You've been away from me for less than ten minutes, Dante. I hardly think that is long enough for me to forget what you look like," Lulu smiled, as she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips.

"But, that must feel like years to you, baby," Dante answered, with a cocky grin.

"Is he always like this?" Brenda asked Lulu, smiling, as Sonny returned to her side.

"Worse," Lulu laughed, "Did he ever try his cheesy pick-up lines on you when he was guarding you in New York?"

"You know, Lulu, it was so long ago, I barely remember him sitting outside my door," Brenda Barrett lied, as Dante looked on nervously and Sonny glanced back with curiosity.

"That's probably for the best. His pick-up lines are pretty forgettable," Lulu grinned, as Dante looked at her with an affronted look.

"Hey, you love my cheesy pick-up lines," he said, kissing her on the lips.

"I do, honey. I'm just grateful the rest of the world didn't have to suffer through them."

"Excuse me, Dante. I see Maxie. I need to ask her about that photo shoot next week," Lulu told him, as he reluctantly let her hand slip from his.

"Baby, you said no work," Dante reminded her, with a slight pout, "I was hoping to find an empty room somewhere so that we could continue our conversation about my pickup lines."

"An empty room?" Lulu smiled, as Dante leaned in and whispered, "I have every intention of reminding just how good those pickup lines are. Before I'm done, you'll be putty in my hands," Dante promised, grinning, as he stroked the skin up and down her arm, "So, what do you say?"

"Hm. It sounds like heaven, Dante," Lulu whispered softly in his ear, completely turning him on,. Her cell phone vibrated in her purse and she pulled it out to check the caller id.

"Kate, I was just about to find Maxie and discuss the new Antonello line," Lulu answered, whispering to Dante, "Sorry, honey. Crimson business. I'll be right back."

"I've been abandoned for a magazine," Dante said aloud, shaking his head, as his gaze directed toward the front entrance of the metro court lounge, "What the hell?"

Security Guard, Brad Norman stood at the entrance to the metro court, contemplating why it was that he was here again. He knew plenty of Sonny Corrinthos, his reputation having preceded him, but had never met him personally and as far as Brenda Barrett was concerned, he would be surprised if she even remembered him. He had guarded her only a few days, back when he was an officer for the NYPD, so why he was here now, at their party, honestly baffled his mind.

"Brad?" Dante questioned, looking over his former colleague, surprised to see him.

"Dante, how the hell are you?" Brad Norman answered, patting Dante on the back. "I heard that you made, Detective, congratulations. You definitely earned it. Me, I found myself moving to the private sector. I'm work security now."

"That's quite a change. Forgive me, but I didn't think that you knew Brenda Barrett that well," Dante replied, with suspicion, as Carly walked up interrupting.

"Well, not as well as you, Dante. Huh, Brad?" Carly insinuated with a grin, "He's my guest. So, glad you came. Now, we can get started."

"Get started with what, Carly?" Dante questioned, his instinct telling him to bolt and take Lulu with him.

What the hell was Brad Norman doing here? Carly even having small-talk with him, set Dante's nerves on edge, the guy was hardly the kind of person she would be friends with.

Dante sent a nervous look in Brenda's direction, as she looked back with curiosity. Her gaze drifted across the room before it stopped on Carly and the gentleman by her side. He turned and Brenda's face became a mask of worry.

"Can I have your attention everyone?" Carly shouted, standing in the middle of the room, "I think that it is about time that we welcome our guest. So, everyone grab a glass of champagne. This calls for a toast," Carly told them, her grin spreading from ear to ear.

Lulu walked up alongside Dante, placed her cell phone back in her purse, as Dante turned to her and kissed her, "I missed you."

"Good," Lulu answered, smiling exuberantly, as Dante took her hand in his.

"Lulu, when this is over," Dante pointed at Carly's little introduction, "promise me you'll slip away with me. We need to talk."

"Is everything all right? You look worried. Honey, what's wrong?" Lulu asked him, forgetting the party and Carly and focusing on Dante.

"It's nothing. I promise," Dante whispered, as Lulu looked at him with concern.

"We can go now, Dante. Carly would understand," Lulu told him, wondering what was bothering him.

"No. It's not that important. It can wait. I've held it this long. What's a few minutes more?" Dante replied, brushing the hair from her hazel eyes.

He felt a sudden desperation, a shudder passing over him, an instinct that everything he knew at this moment would change.

"Dante-" Lulu cried out, as he swept her into his arms, and kissed her as if there were no tomorrow. It was elemental, his emotions churning inside him, his hands pressing behind her head and bringing her in closer. He kissed her voraciously, every nerve in his body set afire, his lips devouring hers. When he broke away, his gaze locked to hers, his one of fear, hers one of bewilderment, as she pressed her hand against her lips.

"What was that for?" Lulu gasped, still out of breath from the force of his kiss.

"I love you, baby," Dante told her, pulling her into his arms and clinging to her tightly, "So much."

"Honey, I know. I love you, too."

That was the last time that Dante had heard those words, until today. Even now, the words were said with so much pain and hurt. After Lulu had shared her past with him, her view on marriage and her cynical thoughts on relationships and love, he had made a promise to himself that he would spend every day of the rest of his life proving to her how wrong she was. That love could be honest, exciting, genuine and exhilarating all at the same time. And he had, never dreaming how good she could feel in his arms, how truly filled his heart was at finding her beside him in the morning. She was so entangled in his life that he didn't know where his life ended and hers began. He never thought that he would ever see a day without her in it, a night without her in his bed. For the first time in his life, Dante was actually thinking of marriage, a thought that would warm his ma's heart. He wanted to honor her, to keep her, to protect her. He just never realized that the one person he needed to protect her from was himself, from his past. That night haunted him, Carly's words, Lulu's, running through his head. He placed his hands alongside his face, cradling his head in his hands, as the tears filled his eyes and he recalled the moment when his life and that secret came crashing around him.

"I gathered all of you here to welcome our very special guest, Brenda Barrett, to Port Charles," Carly said, her voice sweet like saccharine, "Some of you already know her, and well, a few of you know her in every sense of the word."

"Carly-" Jax interrupted, as she sent him a look of silence.

"What? It's the truth. Brenda Barrett has more ex's in this room...I honestly don't think that there is a single man in here that Brenda Barrett hasn't slept with," Carly smiled, as everyone looked back at her in disbelief.

"Fine, so maybe not Edward," Carly answered, "She has a few redeeming qualities. That's what makes her so perfect, right? Little Miss, High Falutin, sitting high atop her pedestal, watching the men below drool at her feet. You must be so proud, Brenda. Having all that control," Carly berated.

"You should know, Carly. Isn't that your game?" Brenda answered, revealing her distaste for Carly.

"I'm not the one parading around Port Charles like I am the Queen of England. I've never claimed to be perfect. You must love all that attention. Knowing that you have men twisted around your finger, keeping your little dark secret. Was she like this when you guarded her, Dante?"

"I'm not playing your game, Carly. Lulu, are you ready to go?" Dante asked her softly, as she looked back at him in surprise.

"Are you kidding me, Dante. I'm a Spencer. We live for events like this. Aren't you the least bit curious as to what secret Carly has on Brenda?"

"Not a bit. Lulu, I just want to go," Dante urged her, a feeling deep in the pit of his stomach, growing, as he became more and more unsettled.

"Just one more minute. I promise." Lulu told him, like a passerby to an accident, who just couldn't help but look.

"I'm curious. All that time you spent guarding her in '07, not once did you step inside her room, sleep on her couch, comfort her. No, that's right, you're perfect. Aren't you, Dante?"

"Carly, I told you Dante barely knew Brenda. So, whatever secret she is hiding, it doesn't have anything to do with him," Lulu answered, surprised that Carly's rant was now focusing on Dante.

"That's right, Carly. This is between you and me. Leave Dante out of this," Brenda answered, as Carly turned toward her ,the bitterness in her voice as venomous as the strike from a rattlesnake.

"You'd like that wouldn't you? The thing is Brenda, I've always known what you are, a spineless, little bitch who wrecks every man you come in contact with. You were nothing more than a cheap thrill for Sonny, a distant memory, and Jax- I still don't get what he saw in you. But, it doesn't matter because he's with me now. You so much as sniff in his direction and I'll pull every last strand of hair from your head. And Jason, well, he didn't know any better. You have him suckered just like everyone else in this town. And Dante," Carly said, looking in Lulu's direction and shaking her head.

"That's just the sweetest irony of all. Sonny's oldest and most-prized son knew his long-lost love Brenda. I mean, the similarities between the two. However, did you keep your hands off of Dante, Brenda?"

"We're done here, Carly. I'm not going to let you say another word," Dante replied, disgusted with Carly's tirade.

"We wouldn't want to tarnish Brenda's image, now would we? Or, is it your image that you're worried about, Dante?"

"Lulu, I want to go," Dante told her, reaching for her arm and guiding her toward the exit.

"What's the rush, Dante? You have nothing to hide, right?" Carly baited him, smiling maliciously.

"Dante hasn't lied to me, Carly. We have an honest relationship," Lulu told her, her heart beating faster in her chest.

"Right? You keep deluding yourself, Lulu. The man has lied from the day you met him. He lied about who he was, what he was doing," Carly answered.

"Not to me," Lulu replied, as Dante pulled her closer.

"You handed Sonny and Michael and every one of your family members on a silver platter to him. You traded your family for that," Carly spat, pointing at Dante.

"But, I thought that we moved past that, Carly. You said that you forgave Dante, that you realized you and Sonny and Jason all had a part in what happened to Michael," Lulu questioned Carly, whose gaze was filled with hatred.

"Baby, I think that is just what she wanted us to believe," Dante told her, softly, his hand rubbing her back.

"I loved you, Lulu. You were like a sister to me. You betrayed every one of us when you chose him, over your family. I can't just forgive that. I waited. I watched. I knew that one day I would get the dirt on your perfect Dante. And, God the fact that I get to take that bitch, Brenda down with him, well, that makes it even sweeter."

"Dante loves me. I love him. Why can't you just be happy for us? Michael is out of prison. He and Dante have a good relationship. They're brothers, Carly, they talk to each other, trust each other, just like Dante and I," Lulu replied, Dante's hand moving from her back, to her side.

"Dante trusts you? He shares everything with you? If you think that Lulu, you really are the biggest idiot." Carly replied, as Dante raised his finger at her.

"You can talk all you want about me, Carly. But, if you say one bad thing about Lulu-"

"I won't have to lift a finger to her, Dante. You'll do it yourself. With your secrets, your lies, with Brenda," Carly told him, grinning.

"If you're relationship is SO HONEST, Lulu, then ask him. I'm dying to know. Who else wants to know? Tell her the truth, Dante. You weren't guarding her outside her room, were you?"

"Oh, come on , Carly, just drop it. No one wants to hear your delusional thoughts," Brenda replied, bitterly.

"You're lying. I know, Dante. He would have told me if-" Lulu answered, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Right? Because he trusts you? He loves you? He's lying to you, Lulu. You're just too stupid to see it."

"Tell her, what you told me," Carly demanded, looking at Brad Norman.

"It's true. Dante Falconeri and I guarded Brenda Barrett in 2007. I only watched her for a few days. She was hot. Everyone of us noticed. Dante was the one she asked for, the one that stayed inside her room. I don't see what the big deal is. She was, is a supermodel, who wouldn't want that."

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about, Brad," Dante said, angry, "You weren't there."

"I know that I asked you, Dante. Remember? I asked if you were sleeping with Brenda Barrett and you didn't deny it. Seems pretty clear to me."

"I don't understand. Why does Carly think that you and Brenda- that it was more than you said? You barely knew her, right? That's what you told me. You wouldn't lie to me," Lulu told Dante, turning her focus on him..

"Lulu, whatever did, or didn't happen, that's in the past. Baby, my future is with you," Dante told her, pulling her hand into his.

"Oh My God, Lulu. The truth is staring you right in the face. Take off the blinders!" Carly yelled, "He lied. I have the proof. A witness." Carly shouted, pointing at Brad Norman.

"Is it true?" Lulu whispered, feeling as if the walls were closing in around her, "Is that the secret that Brenda is hiding?" Lulu said softly, her voice starting to break, as her emotions escalated.

"Baby, none of that matters," Dante told her, his eyes locking on Brenda's shaking head, telling him not to divulge the truth. It was tearing him apart inside.

"You trust me, right?" Dante asked, placing his hands alongside her face, wanting desperately to see the love for him in her eyes, "You believe me when I say that I love you and only you."

"Did you sleep with her?" Lulu asked, watching as he averted his eyes. It was one of the lie-detector signs he had told her about so many months ago.

"Oh My God, did you? Look at me, Dante!" Lulu whispered, her heart breaking before his eyes, "Why would you lie to me?"

"Lulu, baby, I-"

"You made me think that you didn't even know her. Then, after weeks of pretending, you told me that you guarded her for just a few days, that she didn't even remember you. Now, you slept with her?"

"No, Lulu, it's not like that," Dante answered, pleading, "Please, you have to believe me. I can't lose you. I love you."

"If it's not true, then tell me, Dante? Tell me, that you never slept with her!" Lulu begged, the tears falling down her face.

"I can't. God, I wish I could. I want to," Dante told her, his voice breaking with his pain, "Please tell me that you understand. That we can get past this. Lulu, I love you," Dante told her, using his thumb to caress the top of her hand.

"You lied. Not once, not twice, but over and over, Dante. Something that we promised we'd never do. How can I trust you? You know how hard it was for me to let you in," Lulu shouted, punching him in the chest, "I pushed you away for months, I told myself so many times not to believe what you said, that it would only lead to pain. But, you wore me down with your stupid pick-up lines and your stupid cocky grin. Was it all a lie, Dante? Was everything you ever told me just a big lie?"

"No, never, Lulu. I was completely honest in my feelings for you. Never doubt that. You are the only woman for me, Lulu. The only woman that I've ever wanted."

"Except for Brenda, right? I mean, why else would you keep her secret..your secret?" Lulu sobbed, wiping her tears with her hands, and standing up straighter, "Carly's right, you know. I was stupid. A stupid fool that thought you loved me, more than anything."

"Lulu-" Dante interrupted, only to be silenced by her hand.

"No. No more lies. I want to go home," Lulu said, wrenching her hand from Dante's and backing away from him.

"I'll take you. We can talk back at the loft. You'll see. We can work this out," Dante told her, as she looked back at him in horror.

"Work it out? Dante, this isn't some little disagreement over where to move that stupid wooden rocket ship of yours. You lied. To me. The women that you swore you loved. I can't just work this out."

"What are you saying?" Dante questioned her, his heart sinking to the bottom of his chest.

"I think that I was right, what I said after I found you with Brooklynn. We really need a break. Only, I think that this time it should be a permanent one. Maybe you need to figure out if it's me you really want."

"You're breaking up with me? Lulu, you can't. We love each other. I don't need to figure this out. There's nothing going on with Brenda. I don't want Brenda."

"Then, why did you lie to me, Dante? I don't know, maybe we were just kidding ourselves. Feelings like we had, maybe they were just fleeting. Lust, not love. It was hot for so long, but it had to burn out eventually."

"It was love, Lulu. It is love. And dammit, baby, it isn't going anywhere. You know that. You feel that," Dante told her, placing her hand on his chest.

"I don't know what to feel anymore, Dante. I don't know who to believe. I thought that I did. I thought that I could believe in everything that you told me. But, I was wrong. So wrong," Lulu told him, turning her back on him and leaving the metro court.

Dante stood, absolutely stunned, something inside him breaking. She was leaving him. He felt crushed, like every weight in the world was pressing down on him.

"Dante, I'm sorry. Mrs. Jax just told me to tell everyone what you said-" Brad Norman told Dante, as he saw the fist come at his jaw, just before pain exploded and he hit the floor.

"I knew it. I knew that you were too good to be true," Maxie shouted, shaking her finger at Dante, "And you," Maxie said, directing her wrath to Carly, "You're nothing more than a vindictive, spiteful bitch. I hope that you lose everything. That people see what you really are and drop you like the rotten potato you are."

"As for you, Dante. You're not welcome at my apartment. And don't even think about dragging your sorry ass to Crimson, because I'm going to let the guards know that you aren't to set foot on the premises. She loved you, you idiot. I love her. So, now I'm going to protect her. From you." Maxie told Dante, storming out of the lounge.

"Who's next? I deserve every bit of it. I hurt her," Dante answered, his voice sounding broken.

"I'm not going to say anything, Dante. Who am I to judge? I'm surprised. We're partners. I'm here if you need to talk, but she's my sister. Whatever Lulu decides, I'm going to back," Lucky told him, his eyes reddened with emotion.

"Well, I'm not surprised. I saw this coming from day one. You used her, Detective. While you were undercover, during the trial and after Michael was released. I don't think that you ever really loved her and she deserves more than that. Much more," Tracy scolded, as Luke stayed silent, gauging Dante's every emotion and his body language, as Tracy dragged him from the Metro Court.

Dante stood over Brad Norman, clutching his injured wrist, the pain nowhere near what his heart felt. The thing he loved most in life just walked out that door and he had no idea when, or if she would ever forgive him.

Dante could still feel that crushing pain in his chest when she left that night, saw her back retreating out the door, leaving him. Why didn't he go after her? Why did he let Lucky and Maxie and Tracy sway him? He was shocked that her father was on his side. Even more shocked that Lulu's father had figured out the truth, that Sonny had told him. Dante prayed that he would keep it hidden, worried that somehow it would be revealed. Maybe he should have told Lulu when he had the chance, before Carly's plan was set in motion, but he had thought he had time. He had thought that it would stay hidden. And now, how Luke could possibly believe that Lulu would ever take him back, was beyond him. There had been so much damage.

He had tried to see her that first week, showing up at Crimson, at Maxie's. She was true to her word, Maxie was, having the guards throw him out at Crimson and slamming the door in his face at her apartment. He called Lulu, left voice mails every hour of every day, until her box was full. Not a one were answered. It had killed him inside. Not knowing how she was doing, how badly she was in pain. He started showing up at Jake's, looking for Lulu, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. But, she never showed. He continued to come, Coleman having a beer ready at the same time every day, an ear to lend if Dante wanted to talk.

Ronnie stopped at the loft that first week and Dante handed him his resignation for the PCPD. How could he work when his constant thought was of Lulu? He told Jason to keep an eye on Brenda, a move that probably was a relief on her part. The lie had to have hit the entire city of Port Charles now. Everywhere they went people would know the secret that Carly shared. The lie that they had told. Dante could take it, the innuendos, the snickers, but what he couldn't handle was all of that directed at Lulu. Seeing her today, knowing that she still loved him, had ignited every protective nerve in his body. He wanted to pull her into his arms, shield her from all of this.

And he could, with one word. So, why couldn't he? Why shouldn't he? A part of him hoped that divulging everything would help to mend the bridge that had broken between them, that it would forge some new bond that would be stronger than ever. But, another part of him, worried about the truth bringing the Balkan closer to Port Charles and directly into Lulu's path. Dante could handle losing Lulu, if it meant protecting her from the Balkan.

Dante tilted his head back and downed the rest of his beer, placing the empty bottle on the coffee table. He heard the buzzer, signaling that he had a visitor and stood, pushing the button next to the cage and waiting to see who it was. He wished it were Lulu, hell he would do anything at this moment if it would send her into his arms, but hanging his head low, he knew with every space in his heart that she was lost to him. Her anger today proved that. Love wasn't enough. Only the truth would bring her back to him. The truth. A lie that would put her in the path of a madman.

"Get dressed, pal. We have a bachelorette party to crash," Ronnie told him, with a huge grin plastered across his face.

"I'm not in the mood for your games, Ronnie. Besides, aren't you seeing Claire?"

"I'm not crashing the party for me, pal. You're doing it. It's Tracy's party and you can damn well believe that Lulu will be there. Lots of people, you can pull her away and start apologizing."

"It won't work. I saw her today. She said that she loves me, but that it just doesn't matter," Dante told Ronnie, solemnly.

"She told you she loves you? And you're sitting here! What the hell, Dante? Find your balls, man! If you don't get that woman back, I swear to God, pal, that I am going to sick the entire Falconeri family in Bensonhurst on you. Now, move! We're crashing this party, one way or another."

"I hate you," Dante told Ronnie, walking toward the bathroom.

"Good. But, while you're hating, could you get a move on it pal. I'm hoping we can make happy hour," Ronnie told him, thinking of the two dollar beers and his half-empty wallet.