His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Isabella’s POV

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Dominic had left after a quick briefing about the project, and I’d practically thrown myself into work after that, unwilling to let my thoughts wander to my conversation with Dominic this morning.

The school day ended before I was ready for it to, and Dominic returned to the office just as I was packing up. We didn’t speak about the earlier moment, that slip I wasn’t supposed to hear, that I shouldn’t still be replaying in my head.

We drove in silence to Mateo’s school.

The second he saw us, his face lit up like a sunrise.

“Mamma! Dominic!”

He smiled as Mateo ran towards us, and then knelt and opened his arms, swallowing Mateo in a hug that looked like it might break him if he let go too soon.

I watched, hands twisting in my lap, heart a mess of longing and warning.

In the car, Mateo talked non-stop. He told us how his teacher loved the picture he drew of a rocket. How he made a new friend named Riya. How he shared his snack with her because she didn’t have one today. Dominic listened like nothing else existed. He even asked questions and Mateo beamed, basking in the attention.

It was domestic.

Painfully so.

Back at the villa, lunch was ready. Maria had made pasta and soup, like she knew Mateo might still be fragile. We all sat at the long dining table like a family.

And then Alessia walked in.

Her laugh echoed through the room before she even reached us, one hand resting on her abdomen.

Right. Pregnant. Pregnant with Dominic’s child.

The reminder hit me like a splash of cold water straight to the face.

I forced myself to chew, to breathe evenly. Alessia took the seat beside Dominic and suddenly, she was too close, her perfume bleeding into my air. She said she had morning sickness. Dominic touched her wrist, told

her to rest more.

I set my fork down before it snapped.

When lunch ended, I thanked Maria and excused myself. I told them I’d go back to the office on my own.

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Chapter 55

“No,” Dominic said immediately. “I’ll drive you.”

“I can manage-

“It’s not up for debate.”

His tone was gentle but immovable. I didn’t argue.

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The drive back was quiet. Mateo had stayed home to rest. Alessia retreated to her room. And Dominic, he kept his eyes on the road, but I could feel him glancing at me every few seconds. Like he could sense the shift. Like he could feel me closing the door inside myself.

“Isabella,” he said softly, just as the office appeared ahead. “If something is wrong, if I said something—”

“You didn’t,” I cut in. “It’s fine.”

It wasn’t fine. Nothing about this was fine.

First, he was being all possessive around me, but then Alessia came and he acted like the perfect lover, caring for her, telling her to rest. The more I thought about it, the more my head hurt.

Why couldn’t he just pick one thing and stick with it? Or was he already doing that and I was too caught up in my own feelings to see things clearly?

He exhaled like he didn’t believe me, but he didn’t push me either.

“I’ll be here at five,” he murmured. “To pick you up.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay,” he echoed, voice too soft, eyes searching my face one last time.

I fled without looking back.

Luca and Chiara were waiting inside my office when I opened the door.

Not sitting, but pacing.

They turned in unison. Luca looked like he was preparing for war. Chiara looked like she had tissues hidden somewhere just in case.

“We’re here as friends,” Luca said immediately. “Not colleagues.”

My heart thudded. “Okay.”

“I saw you this morning,” he said. “With him.”

There was no point pretending he hadn’t. In fact, I was surprised they had waited till after lunch to corner me. But I knew this moment was inevitable.

“What’s going on, Isa?”

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Chapter 55

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I stared at the floor, the truth burning the back of my throat. How much could I tell? How much could I risk? How much did I owe them?

I couldn’t tell them everything. The faked death. The mafia. The blood on Dominic’s hands and mine. They didn’t deserve to be dragged into that.

But I could tell them enough.

“He’s Mateo’s father,” I said finally.

Silence. Then Chiara’s gasp. Luca swore under his breath.

“So all this time-” Chiara whispered.

“I left because I had to,” I said, voice low. “Mateo was safer away from him. And now, somehow, I’m back in his orbit.”

Luca’s hands curled into fists. “What did he do? If he hurt you-”

“He didn’t,” I lied. “Not physically. And now, he’s changed.”

Luca scoffed. “Men like him don’t change.”

I didn’t argue. I didn’t know if I believed it myself.

“But Mateo loves him,” I whispered. “And he’s good with him. Better than I expected. And I want that for my son. A father. A family.”

“And what about you?” Luca’s voice cracked. “Do you want him?”

My throat closed. What did it matter? What I wanted had never mattered.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I think I’m just tired of wanting things I can’t have.”

Chiara grabbed my hands. “Isa. You deserve happiness too. Not just Mateo.”

Luca nodded. “I’m here for you and Mateo. Always. But if you keep putting yourself second, you’re going to break, Isa.”

His words stung because they were true.

I didn’t say anything in reply, because I didn’t know what to say.

After the two of them left, I sat alone at my desk, staring at nothing. The conversation I’d had with them. replayed in my head, every syllable sharp-edged.

They didn’t know Dominic was having a child with another woman. They didn’t know he might already have a family that wasn’t us. They didn’t know I had been divorced for years, that to him, I might just be a footnote.

I pressed my palms to my eyes until stars bloomed behind them.

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Chapter 55

Maybe Luca was right.

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Maybe I was walking straight into heartbreak.

But then I remembered how Mateo had clung to Dominic this morning. How Dominic’s hands had trembled for a split second, like he was holding the universe.

And I knew.

Even if I never got a place in Dominic’s life again, I wanted Mateo to have his.

So I straightened, inhaled, and prepared myself.

I wasn’t his wife.

I wasn’t his anything.

I was just the mother of his child.

And I needed to learn how to live with that.

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