His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 79

Chapter 79

Isabella’s POV

The next morning, I woke up slowly.

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Not jolted by fear or noise, not pulled from sleep by habit, but drifting up through warmth and hazy memories, my body still humming in a way that made my skin feel too tight for my bones.

For a moment, I didn’t move.

I simply lay there, eyes still closed, letting myself exist in that fragile in-between state where nothing had to be decided yet.

Then I reached out.

But the other side of the bed was cold. Empty.

My eyes flew open.

The sheets beside me were rumpled, unmistakably slept in, but Dominic wasn’t there. His pillow sat untouched now, the faint imprint of his head already fading, like proof that he’d been real at all was dissolving.

My chest tightened.

Of course, he’d left.

The familiar ache bloomed instantly, sharp and practiced, like a scar that knew exactly how to hurt me again. My mind betrayed me without mercy, dragging me backwards through time, through years where mornings began the same way. With an empty bed, a quiet house and a man already gone.

I swallowed hard and pushed myself up, the sheet sliding down my body as last night rushed back in fragments of heat, hands, his voice breaking as he said my name like it was a prayer.

God.

Last night had been overwhelming, to say the least. Mind-numbing. Soul-shaking.

It always had been like that with him right from the very beginning. Our bodies had always known each other

in a way nothing else ever had, even when everything else between us had been broken.

I pressed my palm flat against my chest, trying to steady my breathing.

He’d said things last night. Important things.

That Alessia wasn’t his wife.

That he hadn’t touched another woman since I’d left.

13:06 Sat, Jan 17

Chapter 79

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The relief I’d felt at that had been immediate and humiliating, like my heart had been holding its breath for five years and only just now exhaled.

But relief didn’t erase the rest.

It didn’t change the fact that he was there for Alessia in ways he’d never been for me. That he went to her appointments with her. That he worried openly. That he supported her in ways I’d only dreamed of during my own pregnancy, days when I’d cried alone, clutching my stomach and wishing he’d just show up.

I knew it wasn’t rational.

I knew it wasn’t fair.

But jealousy wasn’t logical. It was a wound that bled whether you wanted it to or not.

Last night had been powerful. Consuming. But was that all it was?

Just physical?

It had always been physical between us. Even when love went unspoken. Even when everything else fell apart.

My throat burned.

Did he love me?

The thought made my chest ache.

Because I loved him. I always had. Even when I told myself I didn’t. Even when I rebuilt my life without him. Even when I swore I was done.

And he had never said it.

Not back then.

Not last night.

I stared at the ceiling, my thoughts spiraling faster now.

Where did that leave us? What were we doing? And why did it feel like I was standing at the edge of something dangerous again, something that could either save me or destroy me?

A soft sound broke through my thoughts.

Footsteps.

The bedroom door opened.

I turned my head just as Dominic walked in.

He was dressed now, hair still damp like he’d just showerd with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up. In his hands was a tray, carefully balanced.

13:06 Sat, Jan 17

Chapter 79

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“Morning,” he said softly.

For a second, I could only stare, relief hitting me so hard that it made me dizzy.

He crossed the room and set the tray down on the bedside table. There was fresh fruit, buttered toast and coffee on it, something warm and fragrant that smelled like comfort.

“I figured,” he continued, glancing at me, “if I didn’t bring you breakfast now, we’d get pulled into the morning chaos. Mateo, school, work, and this would never happen.”

I blinked, shocked, even as something warm bloomed in my chest. “You made all this on your own?”

He smiled then. Not his sharp, dangerous smirk. Not the intimidating one he wore like armor. Just a simple, unguarded smile.

“Yes.”

Then, he leaned down and kissed me, soft, unhurried, and sweet. Nothing like last night. This kiss wasn’t about heat. It was about presence.

When he pulled back, he was grinning.

“Good morning,” he repeated.

Something in my chest loosened.

“Oh,” I murmured before I could stop myself. “You scared me. I thought you’d left.”

His expression shifted instantly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just went downstairs. I wanted to do this before you woke up,” he said, gesturing to the tray.

The thought of him moving quietly through the house, careful not to wake me, making breakfast like this was something he wanted to do hit me harder than I expected.

For a moment, all my doubts went quiet.

I sat up, pulling the sheet around myself, and he adjusted the tray closer, instinctive, and attentive.

“Eat,” he said. “You need to.”

I smiled faintly. “You sound like Caterina.”

He chuckled. “She’d be proud.”

We sat there like that for a moment. Comfortable. Easy. Dangerously so.

I watched him as I sipped my coffee, noticing things I hadn’t let myself notice in years, the way his shoulders relaxed around me, the way his gaze kept flicking back to my face like he needed to make sure I was still there.

This version of him felt different. Softer.

13:07 Sat, Jan 17

Chapter 79

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And for the first time since everything had unraveled, I let myself think that maybe this could be something new. Not the marriage we’d had. Not the past we’d destroyed.

But something honest. Still, I wouldn’t settle this time. Not for stolen moments, or half-truths. And definitely not for a love that existed only behind closed doors.

I knew now that I deserved more than that.

And as Dominic reached for my hand, squeezing it gently, I knew one thing for certain that whatever this was, we were either going to define it properly this time.

Or not at all.

AD