His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 206

Chapter 206

Isabella’s POV

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Morning sunlight spilled softly across the dining room, warm and golden, making the entire apartment feel calmer than I actually felt.

For a moment, standing there in the doorway, watching Caterina move around the kitchen like she owned the place-and honestly, at this point, she practically did-I let myself breathe.

She was humming something under her breath, stirring a pan with the kind of focus usually reserved for surgery.

Maria had already surrendered control of the kitchen three days ago. Smart woman.

The smell alone made me hungry, which was saying something considering how unpredictable my appetite had been lately.

“Sit,” Caterina ordered without even turning around.

I smiled faintly and obeyed. “Yes, chef.”

She pointed a spoon at me. “Do not mock the person feeding you.”

“I would never.”

“A liar and dramatic. Dominic always did like difficult women.”

I nearly choked on air. “Good morning to you, too.”

She laughed softly and brought the plate over.

It looked simple, warm, comforting-frittata with spinach and ricotta, fresh toast, and something herbal she insisted would help with nausea.

I stared at the herbal concoction like it might personally offend me. “What is that tea?”

“Magic,” she said.

“Concerning answer.”

“Drink it.”

I took a cautious sip.

Actually, it wasn’t that bad. And it seemed to instantly sooth my stomach.

I sighed dramatically. “Where were you during my first pregnancy? Because I needed this so much back then.”

Caterina settled into the chair across from me, looking entirely top pleased with herself. “I was dealing with my idiot son, unfortunately.”

“Fair.”

I smiled, taking another bite.

“No, seriously. When I was pregnant with Mateo, the first trimester was horrible. I was nauseous all the time. Everything smelled offensive. I cried once because someone microwaved fish in the museum office.”

She blinked. “That is a reasonable reaction.”

Chapter 206

Apr

61

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“Thank you. Finally, someone understands.”

We both laughed.

I leaned back slightly, my hand unconsciously resting against my stomach. “This time is better,” I admitted quietly. “Still tiring. Still weird. But better.”

A small pause.

“And even when I don’t feel like eating, somehow you appear with food like some terrifying Italian fairy godmother.”

She smiled softly at that. “That is because this baby deserves a strong mother. And you deserve to be taken care of too.”

Something warm and unexpectedly emotional tightened in my chest. I looked down at my plate for a second. Because sometimes kindness was harder to handle than cruelty.

“Thank you,” I said quietly. “Really. For being here.”

Her expression softened. “There is nowhere else I would rather be.”

And before I could say something that would probably make me cry before nine in the morning, her phone rang.

She glanced at the screen and sighed. “That depends,” she muttered.

I raised an eyebrow. “Threat level?”

“My sister.”

“Ah. Maximum threat,” I nodded sagely, my mind instantly going back to Vittoria and her husband, Salvatore who had come to visit Caterina back in Florence after her health scare.

“Exactly,” she replied dryly before answering the call anyway.

“Vittoria.”

Even from across the table, I could hear the sharp, familiar voice coming through the speaker faintly. Not the words exactly. But the tone.

Judgment traveled very well over phone lines.

Caterina leaned back. “Yes, I’m alive. Thank you for the concern, even if it sounds like an interrogation.”

I bit back a smile and focused very hard on my breakfast.

A pause. Then, “Yes, I’m still in Milan.”

Another pause, longer this time.

Her expression flattened. “No, I am not with Alessia.”

I looked up. Well. That escalated quickly.

Caterina’s voice sharpened. “I am with my daughter-in-law.”

I froze slightly.

The silence on the other end must have been dramatic because even I could feel it.

Then Vittoria’s voice rose faintly through the phone, sharp enough that I could catch a few words.

12:45 Tue, Apr 21 d.

Chapter 206

“…not your daughter-in-law…”

“….that woman…”

I looked down at my tea, suddenly very interested in the herbs.

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Caterina, however, had no such instincts for self-preservation. “She is more my daughter-in-law than Alessia has ever been,” she said firmly. “And I would appreciate it if you were more respectful when speaking about Isabella.”

Another burst of offended Italian from the other end.

I almost wanted popcorn.

Caterina rolled her eyes. “No, I have not gone mad. I simply have eyes.”

A beat.

“And Alessia is not even half the woman Isabella is.”

I blinked. Okay. Even I wasn’t expecting that one.

The offended silence from Vittoria was practically visible.

Then I heard another voice faintly in the background-male.

Salvatore. Of course, he was there too. Wonderful.

Caterina sighed like a woman who had been cursed with relatives. “Yes, yes, give the phone to your husband if he also wants to lecture me.”

I stared at her. She mouthed ‘help me.

I grinned.

Another pause.

Then she sat straighter. “Oh, now we are discussing wedding planning?”

There it was. I should have known. Of course that was the point of the call. Always power. Always politics. Never love.

Caterina’s expression cooled further. “I see.”

A pause. Then, “Well, I would be more than happy to meet you and Salvatore. And Dominic, of course.”

I smiled into my cup, noticing how there was no mention of Alessia, not even a little.

Beautiful.

Another annoyed response from Vittoria.

Caterina simply smiled. “Yes. I heard you the first time. We’ll see you soon.”

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