His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 186

Chapter 186

Chapter 186

Dominic’s POV

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The call with Isa ended, but I remained standing in the middle of my office for a long moment, my phone still in my hand, the silence stretching around me in a way that felt almost unfamiliar.

Pregnant.

The word had not left me since I’d found out about it. It had followed me through meetings, lingered at the back of my mind during conversations, threaded itself through every decision I had made since I walked out of that hospital room.

Isabella was pregnant. With my child. Our child.

My jaw tightened slightly, though not from tension this time, something steadier, deeper settling beneath my ribs. A quiet, immovable certainty.

Nothing else mattered more. Not the alliance. Not the war. Not the empire I had spent years holding together with control and blood and strategy.

If it came down to it, I already knew the answer.

I would choose them. Every time.

I exhaled slowly and finally moved, shrugging off my suit jacket and tossing it over the back of a chair before rolling my sleeves up. The plan had already begun forming in my mind the second I had left Isabella’s place.

I would not rush anything.

Not with her. Not now.

But the rest of the world, that still had to be handled carefully.

My phone rang.

I didn’t need to check the screen to know who it was, but I did anyway.

Alessia.

For a brief second, I just looked at her name flashing across the display. Not with hesitation, but calculation.

I could end it now. Say the words. Break the engagement. Let the fallout come. And watch everything burn.

My gaze hardened slightly.

No. It would be too fast. Too exposed. Too dangerous.

Alessia will spiral if she knew I was planning on ending the whole marriage thing. If I pulled away abruptly, she wouldn’t just react emotionally. She would become unpredictable. And unpredictable meant dangerous..

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Chapter 186

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There was no saying what she might do to herself. I didn’t want a repeat of last time, so I had to ease her into

I would postpone the wedding as much as possible before cancelling it entirely. It would buy me enough time to figure out who the mole was, eliminate them and then stabilize my organisation. I knew it was incredibly selfish of me to use the Morettis like this but this was my unborn baby, my family. They were all that mattered. Delaying the wedding might also slowly help ease Alessia out of this whole idea of marrying me. I was hoping a talk with her therapist would better help me figure out how to approach this. For now, the first step was to postpone things.

My thumb moved before I could think any further.

I answered. “Alessia.”

Her voice came soft and warm through the line. “Dominic, I’ve been trying to reach you.”

“I was occupied,” I replied evenly, my tone familiar, controlled. “Is everything alright?”

There was a small pause, the kind that suggested she was studying my voice for something beneath it. “I just wanted to talk,” she said. “About the wedding.”

Of course.

I leaned back slightly against the edge of the desk, my gaze drifting to nothing in particular as my mind worked ahead of the conversation.

This needed to be done carefully.

“No one is stopping you from talking about it,” I said calmly.

“I’ve been thinking about the timeline. We need to fix a date if we want to finalise the venue,” she continued, a hint of eagerness creeping in. “The sooner we finalize everything, the better it will be. My father agrees, too. It sends the right message if we don’t delay.”

There it was. Pressure, political and strategic. Expected.

I let a quiet breath pass through my nose before responding, my voice steady but thoughtful. “I think you’re rushing it.”

Silence. Not long, but noticeable. “What do you mean?” she asked, her tone shifting just slightly.

I straightened, one hand slipping into my pocket as I spoke, choosing each word with precision.

“I mean exactly that,” I said. “There’s too much happening right now. Too many moving parts, too many things that require attention. A wedding of this scale deserves more than being put together in a hurry.”

“I don’t mind if it’s sooner,” she said quickly. “I don’t need-”

“You do,” I cut in gently, not harsh but firm enough to guide the conversation. “And you should.”

Another pause. I continued before she could push back again, my tone softening deliberately.

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Chapter 186

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“You’ve waited long enough for this,” I said. “If we’re doing it, it should be done properly. Everything you want. Everything you deserve. Rushing it doesn’t achieve that.”

I could almost hear the shift in her breathing. Hesitation. Consideration.

“I just….” Alessia started, her voice quieter now. “I don’t want to keep waiting, Dominic.”

I closed my eyes briefly, just for a second, before answering. “We’re not canceling anything,” I said, letting reassurance settle into my tone. “We’re giving it the time it needs,” I explained, a careful truth wrapped in a lie.

“It’s better this way,” I added. “For both of us.”

Another silence, longer this time. Just when I thought she was going to argue more, she agreed. “Alright.”

I opened my eyes again.

“We’ll postpone it,” she said, though there was still a trace of reluctance there. “But not for too long.”

“Of course not,” I replied smoothly.

“When are you coming back?” she asked.

“Soon.” I said. “We’ll talk more when I do.”

“Okay, I’ll wait.”

The call ended.

I lowered the phone slowly, expression unreadable for a moment before something faintly resembling guilt flickered through me.

I had just manipulated her calmly and deliberately.

But the feeling didn’t linger long. Because the alternative was worse. Much worse.

I pushed myself off the desk, running a hand through my hair as my thoughts shifted away from Alessia, away from the politics, away from the careful balancing act I was maintaining.

Back to Isabella. Back to the life growing inside her. Our child.

A quiet, unexpected warmth settled in my chest again, this time stronger, more tangible.

By the time I was done reviewing shipments and giving orders to my men how I saw fit, it was late in the afternoon. Then, I moved towards the kitchen without another thought.

If I was going to see her tonight, I wasn’t going to do anything in half measure.

The fridge door opened, and I scanned its contents with a level of focus that would have seemed almost absurd in any other context.

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Chapter 186

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“You’ve waited long enough for this,” I said. “If we’re doing it, it should be done properly. Everything you want. Everything you deserve. Rushing it doesn’t achieve that

I could almost hear the shift in her breathing. Hesitation. Consideration.

“I just…” Alessia started, her voice quieter now. “I don’t want to keep waiting. Dominic.”

I closed my eyes briefly, just for a second, before answering. “We’re not canceling anything.” I said, letting reassurance settle into my tone. “We’re giving it the time it needs,” I explained, a careful truth wrapped in a

lie.

“It’s better this way,” I added. “For both of us.”

Another silence, longer this time. Just when I thought she was going to argue more, she agreed. “Alright”

I opened my eyes again.

“We’ll postpone it,” she said, though there was still a trace of reluctance there. “But not for too long.”

“Of course not,” I replied smoothly.

“When are you coming back?” she asked.

“Soon,” I said. “We’ll talk more when I do.”

“Okay, I’ll wait.”

The call ended.

I lowered the phone slowly, expression unreadable for a moment before something faintly resembling guilt flickered through me.

I had just manipulated her calmly and deliberately.

But the feeling didn’t linger long. Because the alternative was worse. Much worse.

I pushed myself off the desk, running a hand through my hair as my thoughts shifted away from Alessia, away from the politics, away from the careful balancing act I was maintaining.

Back to Isabella. Back to the life growing inside her. Our child.

A quiet, unexpected warmth settled in my chest again, this time stronger, more tangible.

By the time I was done reviewing shipments and giving orders to my men how I saw fit, it was late in the afternoon. Then, I moved towards the kitchen without another thought.

If I was going to see her tonight, I wasn’t going to do anything in half measure

The fridge door opened, and I scanned its contents with a level of focus that would have seemed almost absurd in any other context.

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Light. Nutritious. Something she could eat without feeling overwhelmed.

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I started pulling things out methodically-fresh vegetables, lean protein, ingredients I knew would sit well, even if her appetite was unpredictable right now. I worked with quiet efficiency as I chopped up the meat and vegetables before going to work on the pasta, but there was something different in the way I moved tonight. Less urgency. More intention. Every choice deliberate. Every step considered.

I adjusted seasoning carefully, making sure nothing was too heavy, nothing too sharp. I remembered enough, read enough, to know what would be better for her right now.

And Mateo. Mateo didn’t need careful balancing or nutritional strategy disguised in subtlety. Mateo needed something he would love.

A faint smile touched my lips as I reached for the ingredients to make brownies. I knew he would love those for dessert.

I knew it was something simple, something comforting, something that would make him smile the second he saw it. The thought alone did something strange to my chest, something tight and unfamiliar, but not unpleasant.

By the time I finished, the kitchen smelled warm, inviting, alive in a way the rest of my world rarely did.

I stepped back slightly, looking over everything. It wasn’t just food. It was a lot of things. Effort. A step. A quiet offering.

I exhaled slowly, my expression softening just slightly.

Tonight wasn’t about decisions.

It wasn’t about pressure or expectations or the weight of everything still unresolved between us.

Tonight was just dinner. Time. Presence.

I would not push her. Would not corner her into answers she wasn’t ready to give. She could take all the time she needed. All the space. I would be there. Steady. Consistent. Unmoving.

My gaze lowered briefly, my hand resting against the edge of the counter as a single thought rose again, quieter this time.

I hope she keeps the baby. Not because I needed it. Not because it would bind her to me.

But because it was ours.

And this time, I wouldn’t fail them.

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