His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 80

Chapter 80

shifted. I felt lighter, happier, more carefree than I’d felt in a long, long time.

Luca noticed it before anyone else.

He looked up from his tablet when I walked in and froze for a second. Then, a slow grin curved his mouth.

“Okay,” he said. “What happened to you?”

I blinked. “What?”

“You’re glowing,” he replied bluntly. “Like, suspiciously glowing.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I am not.”

Chiara, who had just stepped out of her office, paused mid-step and studied me. Then she smiled knowingly.

“Oh, she is,” she said. “Look at her. That’s not sleep. That’s something else.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re both ridiculous.”

“Uh-huh,” Chiara said, walking closer. “So, did Dominic finally stop being a menace?”

The name alone made my stomach flutter in a way I hated.

“Chiara-”

“I’m just saying,” she continued lChapter 80

Isabella’s POV

When the elevator doors slid open onto my office floor, I already knew something was different.

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It wasn’t dramatic. Nothing had changed on the outside. There was the same hum of voices, the same glass- walled offices, and the same soft scent of coffee and printer ink.

But inside me, something had ightly. “If being around him makes you look like this, maybe it’s not all bad.”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Not without saying too much. I hadn’t really been someone who gushed over boys, neither did I particularly like sharing the intimate details of my life. And I had no plans of starting now either. I simply shook my head at Chiara with a smile.

Luca didn’t tease me like Chiara did. He just looked at me with quiet curiosity, then nodded once, almost to himself. Whatever he saw on my face, he didn’t need words to confirm it.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of meetings and emails, but that strange warmth stayed curled inside me. Every time I caught my reflection in the glass, I barely recognized the softness in my own eyes. Honestly, it scared me a little. How could a single night change me so much?

By the time I got home, the sun was already beginning to dip behind the hills. Dominic wasn’t back yet. His absence made something in my chest tug, sharp and familiar. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him

13:07 Sat, Jan 17

Chapter 80

all day, and now that he wasn’t here yet, all I wanted was for him to get back soon.

I told myself not to read too much into it.

I had just started up the stairs to go check on Mateo when I saw her.

Alessia.

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She was coming down from the upper floor, perfectly put together as always, one manicured hand sliding over the banister. When she saw me, her lips curved into that same small, smug smile that had haunted me for years.

“Isabella,” she said sweetly. “Back from work?”

I stopped walking.

Suddenly, my mind flashed back to the time when she’d spoken about Dominic in this same hallway like he was hers. Like they were married. She hadn’t outright said it, but she had definitely implied it. And like an idiot, I’d filled in the blanks for myself. I remembered breaking down into tears exactly where she was standing. And it hadn’t been a pretty sight.

Something ugly twisted inside me, anger rising quickly.

“Why did you do that?” I asked her.

She blinked. “Do what?”

“Why did you make it seem like you were married to him the last time we had talked in this very hallway?” I asked her, my tone accusatory. “Why did you let me believe you were his wife when you’re not?”

Her smile didn’t falter. If anything, it sharpened.

“Oh,” she murmured. “So, you finally figured it out.”

My fingers curled into fists at my sides, my anger rising, hot and heavy. “You implied it. You wanted me to think that.”

“And you wanted to think it,” she replied lightly. “Don’t pretend otherwise.”

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “You’re not stupid, Isabella. Look at what he does for me. He takes me to my appointments. He worries. He makes sure I’m okay.”

A chill slid down my spine at her words. I knew he did all that. But that was more out of a sense of responsibility than anything else. She wasn’t his wife. The child wasn’t his. He’d told me that himself very, very clearly. I couldn’t deny the raw sincerity in his eyes.

“That doesn’t make you his wife.”

“No,” she agreed softly. “But it does make me the woman carrying his child.”

13:07 Sat, Jan 17

Chapter 80

“That child isn’t his,” I snapped. “Don’t lie to me.”

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Her eyes glittered. “Is that what he told you?” she asked. “Because Dominic might say a lot of things, but the truth doesn’t change.”

My heart slammed painfully against my ribs. She was just trying to play with my head again just like she’d done back then, I told myself. Taking a deep breath, I said, “You’re lying.”

“Am I?” Alessia tilted her head. “You think I’d make something like that up?”

I swallowed hard. No, no, no. This was all just manipulation and trickery, something she was clearly an expert at. But I wouldn’t fall for it again. “Prove it,” I challenged, crossing my arms over my chest.

There was no way she had any evidence to back herself up. It was all just shit talk to make me doubt Dominic.

She studied me for a long moment. Just when I thought she was going to throw in the towel and go, she surprised me by smiling. “I can.”

The word landed like a blow.

“I have proof,” she continued. “Real proof. Not just words.”

My mouth went dry.

“You don’t,” I whispered, even as something cold and heavy began to form in my stomach.

“I do,” she said calmly. “And I’ll show you. Tomorrow.”

Tomorrow.

The word echoed in my head as she brushed past me, heels clicking softly against the marble.

I stood there in the quiet hallway long after she was gone, my pulse thundering in my ears.

What was she going to show me?

And why did every part of me suddenly feel like it was bracing for something that might shatter everything 1 had just started to hope for?

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