His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Isabella’s POV

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The crash made me freeze on my spot. For a second, my mind went terrifyingly blank.

And when it was followed by the sound of a little kid crying, panic surged, sharp and breathless.

My first thought was Mateo.

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I didn’t even remember dropping the glass from my hand. I was already moving, my heels skidding slightly on the polished floor as Dominic and I ran towards the sound together.

My heart was in my throat.

The kids’ area was chaos, plastic decorations scattered, a lightweight table overturned, and cups rolling across the floor. A little girl sat on the ground, wide-eyed and startled, her lower lip trembling more from fear than pain.

And Mateo, my sweet, little boy was right there.

“Oh my God,” I breathed.

Mateo was crouched beside her, his small hands hovering uncertainly as if he didn’t know whether touching her would make things worse.

“I’m sorry,” he was saying quickly, urgently. “I did not mean to-I fell and then the table fell—are you hurt?”

His voice cracked on the last word.

The girl sniffed, shaking her head. “No.”

Relief washed through me so fast my knees almost buckled.

But it didn’t last.

Two adults stormed in from opposite sides, faces tight with alarm that curdled into anger the moment they took in the scene.

“What happened?” the woman demanded.

Before the girl could answer, the man’s gaze locked onto Mateo.

“Did you push her?” he barked.

Mateo stiffened like he’d been struck.

“No-” he tried. “I fell, and then-”

“You should watch where you’re going!” the woman snapped. “Children can get seriously hurt doing stupid

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Chapter 46

things like this.”

My blood went cold.

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“I said I was sorry,” Mateo whispered, his voice so small it hurt to hear. His eyes filled, tears spilling silently down his cheeks. He wasn’t sobbing, he was trying really hard not to make a sound.

That broke me.

I took a step forward, fury igniting in my chest. Every instinct screamed to shield him, to wrap him in my arms and tell him he was safe, that he wasn’t wrong, that adults shouldn’t yell at children like this.

But Dominic was faster.

He crossed the space in two long strides and lifted Mateo up without hesitation, tucking him against his chest as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Mateo clung to him instantly, burying his face into Dominic’s shoulder, his small body shaking.

Something inside me cracked wide open.

“That’s enough,” Dominic said.

His voice wasn’t loud.

But it didn’t need to be.

The man turned towards him, bristling. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t raise your voice at my son,” Dominic said flatly.

The word son hit me like a physical blow.

The woman scoffed. “Your son knocked over a table and scared our dau-”

“He tripped,” Dominic cut her off mid sentence, eyes hard. “And your daughter is unharmed.”

“That doesn’t excuse-”

“He apologized,” Dominic snapped, cutting her off again, his anger flashing now, dark and dangerous. “Multiple times. He checked on her before either of you even arrived.”

The man’s face flushed. “That doesn’t change the fact that he caused-

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“He is a child,” Dominic said, each word deliberate. “And accidents happen. What doesn’t happen is grown adults screaming at him like bullies.”

I felt my hands tremble at my sides.

I had lived five years preparing for moments like this.

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Chapter 46

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Five years of watching Mateo navigate the world gently, apologizing even when things weren’t his fault, trying so hard to be good, to be kind.

And in that moment, watching Dominic stand between Mateo and the world, I felt something terrifying and fragile bloom in my chest.

Safety.

The woman crossed her arms. “You’re being unreasonable.”

Dominic laughed sharply, coldly. “Unreasonable? You see a crying child who’s done nothing wrong and think that is the moment to assert authority and I’m being unreasonable?”

The man bristled. “We are important people. You should be careful how you—”

“I don’t care who you are,” Dominic said, his voice dropping dangerously low. “Nothing and no one is more important to me than my son’s safety.”

The room seemed to hold its breath.

I couldn’t.

Tears burned behind my eyes.

Because he hadn’t hesitated.

Not once.

He hadn’t looked around to see who was watching. He hadn’t calculated consequences or alliances or optics.

He had simply chosen Mateo.

Alessia stepped in then, her voice soothing in a way that immediately set my teeth on edge.

“Dominic,” she said gently, touching his arm. “These are valued partners. Let’s de-escalate-”

He shrugged her off without looking at her.

“No,” he said firmly. “This ends now.”

She froze.

I’d never seen anyone dismiss her like that.

Caterina arrived just then, her sharp gaze taking in the scene instantly.

“What is going on?” she demanded.

“This child fell,” Dominic said immediately, glaring at the man in front of him. “And Mateo apologized. But they still think it’s okay to shout at him for it.”

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Chapter 46

She turned on the parents, fury blazing. “You don’t yell at a child in my family.”

My throat tightened.

Family.

The man muttered something under his breath, glaring at Dominic. “This is unacceptable.”

“Then leave,” Dominic said without hesitation.

They did.

The noise of the party slowly crept back in, but everything felt distant, muted.

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Dominic adjusted Mateo against his chest, murmuring something softly in his ear. Mateo’s crying eased, his breathing evening out.

I stepped closer, my hand brushing Mateo’s back.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I whispered. “Not even a little bit.”

Mateo sniffed, nodding.

Dominic pressed his forehead to Mateo’s hair. “You’re safe,” he said quietly. “Always.”

And I had to look away.

Because in that moment, watching the man I had once run from stand so fiercely for our child, something inside me shifted irreversibly.

I had spent years believing I was alone.

Believing I had to be strong enough for both of us.

But Dominic hadn’t just defended Mateo.

He had claimed him.

Publicly. Without apology.

And the terrifying truth settled into my bones that if he could do that, if he could choose Mateo over power, over pride, over people who mattered to his world, then maybe he was capable of change, of becoming better than he was all those years ago.

And that realization scared me more than anything else ever had.

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