His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Isabella’s POV

My skull felt like it had been split in two.

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Light stabbed through the curtains, and I groaned, burrowing deeper into the covers. My mouth tasted like regret and stale lime. My stomach rolled in protest.

And then I saw it.

A glass of water and a Tylenol on the bedside table, placed neatly and precisely, like someone knew I’d need it the second I woke.

My chest tightened.

Dominic.

He must’ve carried me in. Taken off my shoes. Tucked me in. I didn’t remember any of it, just the car, the front door, and the way his voice sounded like a bruise.

I remembered the phone call.

The words.

The things I had said.

I pressed my palms to my eyes, wishing I could scrub the memory away.

What had I done?

I swallowed the Tylenol and drank half the water, wincing as my stomach twisted. Sitting up took effort. Standing felt like scaling a mountain. I grabbed the first clothes I could find, a soft shirt, loose pants, and splashed water on my face until I felt human again.

The clock on the wall read 11:47 am.

God.

Mateo would’ve been up hours ago. Probably had breakfast. Maybe already out in the garden. I should’ve been there. How had I let myself fall apart like that?

I moved quickly, checking his room. The bed was made. Stuffed animals arranged neatly. Empty,

I inhaled slowly. “Okay. He’s fine. He’s safe.”

I repeated it like a mantra as I headed downstairs.

Voices drifted from the dining room, staff cleaning up, quiet footsteps, the clink of dishes. My stomach clenched with hunger and dread.

12:59 Sat, Jan 17

Chapter 58

Rounding the corner, I collided with someone.

A hand steadied me.

Alessia.

Of course.

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She looked effortlessly put together in silk loungewear, hair glossy, and makeup subtle like a woman glowing under the warm hand of a man who adored her.

And her palm rested lightly on her abdomen.

Her eyes swept over me, taking in my wrinkled shirt, damp hair, and tired face.

“Oh,” she said sweetly. “You’re awake.”

The gentle tone cracked something in me. It felt like pity pretending to be kindness.

“Yeah,” I murmured. “Headache.”

She smiled, sympathetic in shape, cruel in execution

She lowered her voice. “I imagine so. You were a lot to manage last night.”

Heat crawled up my neck. “I’m sorry if I disturbed anyone.”

“Not anyone,” she said lightly. “Just Dominic.”

I went still.

“He was up half the night,” she added casually. “Making sure you were okay, calling Maria to check on you, making sure things were fine.”

Shame flared in my chest.

“I didn’t ask him to-”

“No,” she agreed. “But he stepped up. He always does, doesn’t he? He cleans up the messes. He’s like that.” Her eyes sparkled with something like triumph. “It’s one of the things that make him an incredible husband.”

Something cold and sharp slid under my skin.

“What?” My voice came out too thin. “What did you say?”

I remembered hearing them address her as Mrs Russo at the hospital. But hearing her admit it to me out loud was somehow more gutting.

She tilted her head, the picture of innocence. “Oh, you didn’t know?”

The hallway seemed to tilt. The air thinned.

12:59 Sat, Jan 17

Chapter 58

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“He has been great, you know,” she continued, smoothing her hair. “Preparing things before the baby comes. It’s all very thoughtful.”

Thoughtful.

Like planning a life that used to be mine.

1 gripped the banister behind me before my knees could give out.

“That’s not-” My voice cracked. “He didn’t say-”

“Well, of course he hasn’t told you yet.” She clicked her tongue. “He wouldn’t want to upset you. He knows how fragile you can be.”

Fragile.

The word gutted me.

I blinked hard, but the tears still came. Alessia softened her expression, her version of mercy, maybe.

“I’m not trying to be cruel,” she said softly. “I’m just making sure you’re not confused.” Her gaze swept the hallway, like checking for an audience. “It’s better for everyone if you know where things are headed.”

My pulse roared in my ears.

“And where is that?” I whispered.

She stepped closer, not touching me, but invading every inch of space she could.

“He told me he can’t bear the thought of anything happening to us,” she said, palm brushing her stomach. “That he wouldn’t survive it if something went wrong. It’s different now. You must see that.”

Us.

Not you.

Not Mateo.

Us.

My hand flew to my mouth as the implication sank in like poison.

“And he’s doing all the right things,” she continued. “The appointments. The visits. The planning. He’s present. He wants to be.”

The words knocked the wind out of me.

Somewhere deep inside me, something cracked, not loud, but final, like the whisper of glass breaking.

She placed her hand briefly on my shoulder with the gentle pressure of someone pushing you off of a cliff.

12:59 Sat, Jan 17

Chapter 58

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“It’s time you start thinking about what’s best for Mateo,” she murmured. “And for yourself. Dominic can’t keep dividing himself forever.”

Her smile was soft.

Deadly.

“Don’t make things harder than they have to be.”

Then she walked past me, perfume trailing in her wake, leaving me in the ruins of what I thought I was rebuilding.

I sank to the floor.

Hands shaking.

Breath shallow.

Dominic’s Tylenol sat in my stomach like a stone.

He’d cared for me. Picked me up without me asking him to. Safely got me home. Covered me with a blanket.

And maybe it meant nothing.

Maybe he was just being responsible.

A sob clawed its way up my throat.

I pressed my forehead to my knees, trying to quiet the sound.

Suddenly, the memory of him pulling away from me last night came to my mind unbidden. Of course, he had.

Now, it made perfect sense.

He had done that because he already had Alessia.

And I’d been a fool to start thinking I meant more to him than just Mateo’s mother.

What more clarification could I want, after this?

All his actions were just that-him being responsible, nothing more, nothing less.

And Alessia was right. He hadn’t told me because I was fragile. Look at me, sitting on the floor and crying after she confirmed fragments of what I’d already known. This was exactly why he hadn’t told me yet. He thought I was too weak to handle the fact that he’d moved on.

And maybe, I was.

I had survived leaving him once.

12:59 Sat, Jan 17

Chapter 58

But I didn’t know how to survive staying.

Not like this.

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Not when I was still in love with a man who belonged to someone else now.

Someone he chose.

Someone he planned a future with.

Someone who wasn’t me.

AD