His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Isabella’s POV

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Z.(49)

We were still by the pool with Mateo wrapped in a towel and chattering about how he was “almost a pro swimmer now,” when the last voice I wanted to hear drifted across the stone deck.

“Oh my God… Isabella?”

The world tilted.

I turned slowly, like my body already knew who I’d see before my mind caught up.

Alessia Moretti.

She stood there in a fitted white dress that probably cost more than my monthly rent, sunglasses perched on her head, hair perfect, perfume drifting in on the breeze like something carefully curated and expensive.

She put a hand to her chest, eyes going wide with pretend shock. “You’re alive.”

I stared at her for a long second, then said flatly, “Apparently.”

A tiny crease appeared between her brows, like she was offended I hadn’t burst into grateful tears at her reaction. But she smoothed it away almost immediately.

“It’s just, Dominic never-” she stopped herself, glancing down at Mateo, the towel, the floaties, the evidence of my life.

“Oh,” she said softly. “You have a little boy.”

Every instinct I had went razor-sharp. Without thinking, I shifted my body slightly, putting myself between

her and Mateo.

“Yes,” I said. “I do.”

She smiled that slow, practiced smile. The one that always made me feel like I was standing at the edge of a cliff and might fall any second.

“He’s adorable,” she said. “He looks… familiar.”

My heart lurched, but I didn’t respond.

Before she could say another word, Dominic walked forward so the three of us were standing in a small circle.

For just a moment, his eyes landed on me first. And in that heartbeat, I saw it, the tension, the concern, the awareness that hadn’t been there years ago.

Then Alessia turned, and the spell snapped.

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Chapter 23

“Dominic,” she breathed, like his name wasn’t just a word but a claim. “I came as soon as I heard.”

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She reached out and rested her fingers lightly on his forearm, like it was the most natural thing in the world. My stomach flipped.

“I’ve been looking into the Vitelli situation,” she continued, voice smooth. “I dug through what I could as soon as your men reported the attack. There’s something you need to see. It can’t wait.”

She angled her body closer, forcing him to face her. To choose.

It was like being punched in the chest with a memory.

Her beside him. Me alone.

Again.

Dominic’s eyes flicked to me. He seemed to notice it. The hurt. The hesitation. The way my hand tightened subconsciously around the towel at my chest.

“I’ll be back,” he said quietly, directed only at me, almost reluctant to leave.

The apology sat there between us, unsaid but loud.

I swallowed. “Go. Do what you need to do.”

I hated how small my voice sounded. Hated how familiar this felt, being the one left behind while he walked away with Alessia at his side.

He hesitated for half a beat, like he wanted to say something else.

But Alessia gently tugged at his arm. “Come on,” she urged, in that soft tone that used to make me feel like an outsider in my own marriage. “This is important.”

He went with her.

Of course he did.

They disappeared through the glass doors back into the house, their silhouettes briefly reflected in the glass, sliding together like they had done that walk a hundred times.

Maybe they had.

My chest ached.

“Mamma, look!” Mateo yelled from the shallow end he had run off to the moment the adults weren’t looking, completely oblivious to the storm brewing in my heart. “I can splash super high!”

“Wow,” I said, but the word came out thin and breathless.

I sank down onto one of the loungers, wrapping a towel tighter around me, like I could hold myself together if I just squeezed hard enough.

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Chapter 23

The house looked beautiful under the sun. The pool glittered. Mateo laughed.

And I felt like I was right back where I’d started.

Invisible. Optional. Secondary.

It was stupid. He hadn’t yelled at me. He hadn’t dismissed me. He’d even looked reluctant to leave.

But seeing Alessia slide in beside him, hearing her talk about work, about strategy, about things he’d never thought I needed to know, it scraped over old scars like sandpaper.

He has always trusted her with his world, the bitter part of me whispered. Never you.

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My vision blurred. I blinked hard, but one hot tear escaped anyway, sliding down my cheek. I wiped it away quickly.

Not here. Not in front of Mateo.

I took a deep breath and stared fixedly at the water.

What had their relationship been like while I was gone?

She’d always been there. When his father got sick. When Dominic took over. When the empire needed a steady hand and a familiar ally.

Did she stand beside him in meetings? Travel with him? Sit with him late at night, going over files and plans, while I had been…. what?

Dead. Gone. A ghost.

Did he ever look at her the way he used to look at me in those rare, unguarded moments? The ones I hoarded like stolen treasure?

Did they ever-

Stop, I ordered myself, throat tight. You don’t get to go there. That’s not what matters anymore.

What mattered was Mateo.

His safety. His happiness.

Even if staying here meant letting old wounds reopen and bleed.

Even if it meant watching Alessia walk in and out of rooms like she never left.

“Mamma?” Mateo called, paddling towards the edge. “Can you see me?”

I forced myself to smile. “I see you, baby!”

I did.

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Chapter 23

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He shifted his weight slightly, dropping his voice. “What Alessia wanted to talk about is work. Only work. Strategy. The attack. That’s all.”

He said it with a firmness that made it clear that he needed me to know that.

It wasn’t about her. It was about the Vitellis.

It shouldn’t have mattered. But it did.

Against my will, some of the pressure in my chest eased.

“You didn’t have to come back to tell me that,” I said, my voice quieter now.

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“I did,” he replied simply. “Because I didn’t want you thinking….” He trailed off, exhaling. “Things are not like they were before.”

My heart betrayed me. It softened. Just a fraction.

“I’ll finish with her quickly,” he added. “And then I’ll be back out here. With you. With Mateo.”

It shouldn’t have meant as much as it did. He was just saying he’d come back after work, not promising the world.

But once upon a time, he never came back at all.

“Okay,” I said quietly.

He held my gaze for a few seconds longer, like he wanted to say something else. But Mateo shouted something incoherent and happy from the pool, drawing both our attention.

“Mamma! Look! I made a rainbow!”

He flung his hands in the water, droplets sparkling in the light.

The corners of Dominic’s mouth twitched.

“I’m going,” he murmured. “I’ll be back soon.”

This time, when he left, it still hurt, but not in the same way.

He hadn’t disappeared into work and forgotten I existed.

He’d seen me. He’d noticed. He’d come back just to check if I was okay.

It was new.

Dangerously new.

Once he was gone again, the questions I didn’t want slipped back in.

What had his relationship with Alessia been all these years? Did she still know how he took his coffee? Did she

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still know how to finish his sentences in meetings? Was she still the one people pictured when they thought of Dominic’s right hand?

The thought made my stomach twist.

But I couldn’t afford to get lost in that.

I shook my head sharply, like I could physically toss the thoughts away.

“This isn’t about them,” I whispered to myself. “It’s about Mateo.”

I moved to the pool’s edge and sat, letting my feet sink into the cool water.

“Mamma, did you see?” Mateo asked again, splashing.

“Yes,” I said, and this time my smile reached my eyes. “I saw everything.”

I saw my son. I saw the danger. I saw my own heart, halfway between healing and breaking.

And somewhere inside this house, Dominic was in a room with Alessia, talking about war and enemies and strategies.

But this time, It didn’t feel like I’d been completely left behind.

Just not fully caught up yet.

And that, in its own small, fragile way, was terrifying.

And hopeful.

All at once.

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