His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Isabella’s POV

“I need to tell you something.”

He said it like a man walking towards his own execution.

I was still sitting half in his lap when he began.

He told me everything.

The psychologist. The dependency. The way Alessia had anchored herself to him like he was oxygen. The way the doctor had suggested reminding her of happier times. The way she had brightened the moment he spoke about their childhood, their travels, their meetings, their shared history.

Each word felt small at first. Manageable. Then he told me about her touching her stomach. About her slipping again. About her mother saying they could have another baby. And about how he didn’t say no. Couldn’t say no.

By the time he finished, my entire body had gone cold.

I slid off his lap slowly.

He let me. For half a second.

Then he reached for my wrist.

“Isa.”

I stepped away.

“Say it again,” I whispered.

“What?”

“That

you didn’t

say no.”

His jaw tightened. “I couldn’t.”

I laughed. It didn’t sound like me. It sounded hollow. Broken. “You couldn’t,” I repeated.

“She lit up,” he said, frustration creeping into his voice. “You didn’t see her. It was the first time she looked alive.”

“And what about me?” I asked softly.

That made him go still. “What about you?” he echoed.

“Yes,” I said, my voice trembling now. “What about me, Dominic?”

He stood up. “It’s temporary.”

That word. Temporary.

“You need to understand,” he continued urgently. “She’s unstable. If she spirals again—”

“And the solution is to promise her another child?” I demanded.

“It’s not a promise.”

“It sounded like one.”

He raked a hand through his hair. “It’s to keep her steady. Until she’s stable. That’s all.”

“That’s all,” I repeated hollowly.

He stepped towards me again. “She stood by me,” he said. “When I thought you were dead. When the organization was falling apart. When I was losing my mind.”

My heart cracked at that. “She stood by you,” I whispered. “Because you let her.”

He frowned.

“You gave her that place,” I continued, my voice breaking. “You gave her that privilege. You never gave me that.”

“That’s not fair.”

“No?” I shot back. “How many meetings did you take her to? How many trips? How many nights did I sit alone while you were out with her handling ‘business’?”

His silence answered more than his words ever could.

“I would’ve stood by you too,” I whispered. “If you had let me.”

His face shifted. “Isa-”

“And now,” I continued, tears blurring my vision, “now you’re telling me you might have another baby with her.”

“I’m not-”

“You didn’t say no.”

The room felt too small, too tight. I pressed a hand against my chest, trying to breathe. Old images flashed violently behind my eyes. Alessia at his side at every event. Her laughter in rooms I wasn’t invited into. The way she looked at him. The way he never seemed to notice.

“I can’t share you,” I said quietly.

He stared at me. “What?”

“I can’t,” I repeated. “If you come to me, it’s all in. Everything is mine. Your heart. Your loyalty. Your future.”

“It is yours,” he insisted.

“Is it?” I asked.

“Isa, there is no world where I actually have a child with her.”

“But there is a world where you just told her you might.”

He stepped closer again. “It’s strategy,” he said.

“I am not a strategy,” I snapped.

“I know that!”

“Then what am I supposed to do?” I demanded. “Stand to the side and watch you play house with her until she’s stable? Wait for my turn?”

His face fell. “I just want to help her.”

“And I understand that,” I said, my voice cracking open now. “I do. But understanding doesn’t mean I have to sit here and watch it.”

He reached for me again.

I stepped back instinctively. “Don’t.”

His hand froze mid-air. That hurt him. I saw it. But I couldn’t help it.

Dear God. What was I supposed to do?

I loved him. I loved him enough to know he was trying to do the right thing. And I loved him enough to know that this would destroy me slowly if I stayed.

“I can’t watch you build something with her,” I said, tears spilling freely now. “Even if it’s fake. Even if it’s temporary.”

“It’s not building anything.”

“It feels like it.”

He went silent. Because he knew.

“I’ll move out,” I said finally.

The words shocked even me with how steady they sounded.

His face went pale. “No.”

“For however long this takes,” I continued. “Until she’s stable. Until this ‘temporary’ thing is over.”

“You don’t have to carry it alone.”

His head tilted forward slightly as my fingers worked along his neck.

For a few moments, neither of us spoke. The kitchen lights were dim, the house quiet. It felt almost like before. Before everything fractured.

“Isa,” he murmured after a while.

“Hmm?”

“Stop.”

“Why?”

Before I could react, he turned in the chair, grabbed my waist gently, and pulled me forward. I gasped softly as I ended up half seated in his lap, his hands resting on my hips, not possessive, not heated, just holding.

I looked down at him. His eyes were dark. Heavy. There was something in them I hadn’t seen in a while.

Vulnerability.

And something else.

Guilt.

“Dominic?”

He swallowed. “I need to tell you something,” he said quietly.

The words made my stomach drop instantly.

“I was going to wait,” he continued. “But I don’t want secrets between us.”

My pulse started pounding. This was it. The other shoe. I braced myself without meaning to.

“Whatever it is,” I said carefully, “just tell me.”

His fingers tightened slightly at my waist. “I hope you won’t get angry,” he said.

My chest tightened.

Why would I get angry?

Unless it involved Alessia.

Unless something had happened.

Unless-

“Dominic,” I whispered.

earlier wasn’t exhaustion.

It was hesitation.

Whatever he was about to say, it had already changed something inside him.

And I didn’t know if I was ready to hear it.

田

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