His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 121

Chapter 121

Isabella’s POV

The house felt full when I walked in that evening.

Not loud. Not chaotic. Just occupied in a way that made my steps hesitate for a fraction of a second before I crossed the threshold.

When I stepped inside, I realised Dominic’s aunt and uncle were already there.

They sat in the living room with Caterina, their posture relaxed in a way that suggested familiarity, like people who believed they belonged wherever they chose to sit. Alessia was there too, angled just slightly towards them, composed and attentive. Mateo sat cross-legged on the rug between them, happily animated as he talked. Dominic sat behind him on the sofa, completely absorbed in what his son was saying.

For one strange moment, it looked almost domestic. Like Alessia, Dominic and Mateo were the perfect family with another one on the way while I was practically a nobody.

Dominic’s aunt was the first to notice me.

Her gaze slid over me from head to toe, precise and assessing in a way that made me feel exposed in a way I wasn’t used to feeling. Then she turned back to Caterina without a word, almost as if she had already decided I wasn’t worth her time. Her husband followed suit, his expression polite but distant, as if I were part of the furniture rather than a person.

Neither of them smiled.

Neither of them greeted me.

His aunt tilted her head slightly when she noticed I was still standing there. “Is someone needed?”

The question landed wrong immediately.

“I” I began, then stopped, too stunned at the sudden question and what it had implied to say anything substantial. But I knew I had to correct her.

Before I could do that, Mateo was already on his feet.

“That’s my mamma,” he said firmly, moving towards me like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The word hit me square in the chest.

Her brows lifted. “Oh.”

She looked me over again, this time with clearer intent. “I didn’t realize.”

His uncle cleared his throat. “You must forgive us. It was a misunderstanding.”

Dominic stepped forward then, his presence filling the space beside me. “Isa is Mateo’s mother.”

The phrasing stung.

Not my wife.

Just Mateo’s mother.

Maybe that’s what I was reduced to yet again. Or maybe that’s what I’d always been to him.

I swallowed, forcing my face to remain neutral.

Caterina reached for my hand. “Isabella helped me that day,” she said firmly. “If she hadn’t acted so quickly and taken me to the hospital right away, things could have been much worse.”

His aunt smiled thinly. “How admirable.”

The words sounded more like an obligation than something she had been genuinely grateful for.

“Yes,” her husband added. “Very kind of her.”

But the way his aunt’s gaze lingered, cool, and dismissive, I knew exactly what she thought.

I wasn’t enough.

Not refined enough. Not strategic enough. Not the right fit.

Alessia met my eyes briefly, something unreadable flickering there before she looked away again.

Mateo tugged at my hand. “Mamma, can you help me with my homework?”

“Of course,” I said quickly, grateful for the

escape.

He led me away without another word, his small hand warm in mine.

In his room, we sat side by side as he spread his books out on the bed.

“They were looking at you funny,” he said matter-of-factly.

I smiled faintly at his inherently observant nature. “Some people just do that.”

“Well,” he said seriously, “you’re my mamma. That’s what matters. So, they shouldn’t.”

My throat tightened at his innocently spoken words. I realised he had deliberately gotten me out of there because he thought that being there had been making me uncomfortable. Which was true.

God, I was so lucky to have him in my life.

“Yes,” I said softly, brushing his hair away from his face almost lovingly. “It is.”

After he was settled, I slipped back downstairs quietly, heading for the kitchen to get some water. My head ached, not from the day, but from the effort of holding myself together.

I stopped short when I heard the unmistakable voice of Dominic’s aunt,

“She was never the right fit for him,” she said coolly. “You know that.”

My hand froze on the counter.

“Vittoria-” Dominic began.

“You should’ve married Alessia long ago,” she continued. “She understands this world. She belongs in it.”

There was a pause.

Dominic spoke again, carefully. “Isa is… different.”

Different.

Chapter 121

“She’s emotional,” he added. “She doesn’t always see things the way we do.”

The words landed like a slap.

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This was not a defense. He was not trying to defend me when I wasn’t there to do it for myself. He was explaining away that I didn’t belong in his world, that I didn’t always understand things the way he wanted me to.

I’d expected him to counter her cutting remarks with some of his own. I knew in my heart I would’ve done the same for him had I been in his place without a moment’s hesitation. And here he was, manipulating his words so he wasn’t openly criticising me, but wasn’t fully defending me either.

My chest caved in on itself.

Suddenly, I didn’t wait to hear anymore.

I turned and went upstairs, my vision blurring as I closed my bedroom door behind me. The silence there was deafening.

I sank onto the edge of the bed, pressing my hands to my face.

So this was how it would always be.

No matter what I did, no matter how much I gave, I would never belong.

Why was he giving those papers to me everyday, then? Why was he trying to win me over again?

Because he’s feeling guilty over what he did. If he really wanted to include you in his life, he would’ve told about Nico from the get go, my subconscious whispered to me, the words cutting deep.

you

the truth

And it was true, wasn’t it?

I didn’t know.

The only constant, the only thing that felt real and unquestionable, was Mateo.

He was mine.

And maybe, that would have to be enough. Holding onto hope that maybe I could forgive Dominic, learn to live in his world, was futile.

Tears slipped free then, quiet and unstoppable, as I stared at the wall and let the truth settle into my bones.

Love, in Dominic’s world, had rules.

And I had never learned how to play by them. Maybe, I never would.

田

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