His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Isabella’s POV

Even though I had clearly heard Dominic’s words, I pretended not to. Instead, I focused on gathering my files before making my way towards the exit. I moved quickly, my heels tapping briskly against the polished floor, every step an attempt to outrun the storm I knew was behind me.

I didn’t make it three feet out the door.

A strong hand closed around my wrist. His hold wasn’t tight, but firm enough to stop me in my tracks.

“Not so fast.”

I inhaled sharply, composing my expression before turning to face him. Dominic stood close enough that I could see the shadow of stubble along his jaw, close enough that his cologne, a scent I hadn’t smelled in five years, wrapped around me like an unwelcome memory.

“Let go, Dominic.”

His grip didn’t loosen, but his voice softened just slightly, though it was still edged in steel.

“You’re alive. For five years, I buried you in my head, Isabella. And you’re telling me to let go?”

I yanked my wrist free, straightening my spine.

“Yes. Because you’re making a scene in the hallway of a corporate building.”

For a moment, we just stared at each other, two people who once shared a home, a bed, a marriage, and now, only shared bitterness and ghosts.

Dominic stepped closer, lowering his voice but not the intensity.

“You disappeared. No goodbye. No note. Just an explosion and ashes. Do you have any idea what that did to me?”

I let out a sharp laugh, more bitter than amused. “You’re asking me what my disappearance did to you? You, who didn’t even want the baby I carried? You, who accused me of trying to trap you?”

Dominic’s jaw tightened, his expression flickering for just a second- Guilt? Regret? But it vanished behind the familiar mask of control before I could understand anything.

“You should have told me you survived.”

“And why would I do that?” I snapped, heat rising in my tone. “So you could tell me again how much of an inconvenience I was? How unwanted our child was?”

My words struck like a whip, and for the first time since I’d seen him again, Dominic didn’t immediately have an answer.

I shook my head, more disgusted by this whole incident than anything else. “Look, Dominic, this is purely business. You do your work, I’ll do mine, and that’s it,” I told him, making sure I was looking straight into his eyes as I did so so he knew how serious I was about it.

He frowned at me, but before he could say anything, the sound of footsteps approaching made us both look at the door. I stepped back quickly, reclaiming my professional composure like slipping on armor.

“We’re done talking here,” I said coolly. “There are legal teams waiting for you. I suggest you focus on the contract.”

And before he could stop me again, I turned and walked away, leaving him standing there with my words ringing in his ears.

***

Dominic’s POV

I stayed rooted in the hallway long after Isabella’s heels clicked out of earshot.

The memory of our last fight slammed into me without warning.

She had told me she wanted to keep the child, that she was going to visit the gynaecologist. And what had I done? Like an idiot, I’d basically told her to get rid of the child, our child.

My fist hit the wall before I realized it, the impact reverberating through my knuckles.

Had that been so hurtful that she’d decided to completely disappear from my life because of it? But then, I’d said that the day she had supposedly died. If her death, that car crash, and her subsequent disappearance were all staged, it wasn’t something you planned in a few hours. Especially not when you were the wife of a feared Mafia Boss.

This meant that she had been planning to leave long before the day of the car explosion. The thought made my chest feel tight.

And now, she was back. But she wasn’t mine to command anymore.

And if she had lived, what else had she kept hidden?

The thought struck hard, my chest squeezing tighter still.

The child.

Our child.

I pushed off the wall, forcing my composure into place.

“She’s not leaving Florence without giving me answers,” I muttered under my breath.

And this time, no explosion would steal her away.