His Ruthless Redemption (Isabella and Dominic) novel Chapter 192

Chapter 192

Isabella’s POV

Everything inside me went still, like someone had reached inside my chest and pressed pause on everything at once. The world around me was moving like it normally would but my world seemed to have stopped completely

Alessia’s arms were wrapped around him tightly in a way that was both familiar and possessive.

And for a second, just one second, Dominic didn’t move at all. He didn’t push her away, didn’t step back, didn’t do anything

My breath caught somewhere in my throat, sharp and sudden, my fingers curling slightly at my sides as I stood there, watching something I hadn’t been prepared to see.

Not here. Not now. Not after everything we had talked about last night. After the way he had looked at me. The way he had held me. The way he had said he was happy.

It felt like two completely different realities colliding at once.

And I didn’t know where I stood in either of them.

“Dominic….” Alessia breathed against him, her voice soft, almost trembling. “I’ve been trying to reach you. I was so worried.”

Her hands tightened slightly at his back, like she needed to reassure herself he was real. Like she belonged there. Like this was exactly where she was supposed to be.

Something sharp twisted in my chest, not anger, not even jealousy, not fully, just something extremely uncomfortable. Something that reminded me exactly how complicated this was. How messy. How unfinished.

1 forced myself to breathe, to stay still, to not react. Because reacting would mean acknowledging how much this affected me.

And I wasn’t ready to do that. Not here. Not in front of her. Not in front of him.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few shocked seconds, Dominic moved.

It wasn’t abrupt. It wasn’t harsh. But it was there.

His hands came up, not to hold her, but to gently, firmly create space between them.

“Alessia,” he said, his voice calm, controlled. “What are you doing here?”

She pulled back just enough to look up at him, her expression soft, almost fragile.

“I could ask you the same thing.” she replied lightly, though there was something underneath it. “You weren’t answering your phone.”

Her gaze shifted then. And landed on me. For a moment, everything sharpened. Her eyes moved over me, taking in my face, my posture, my presence beside him. And then she smiled. Polite. Warm. Too perfect.

“Oh,” she said, as if just noticing. “I didn’t realize you wouldn’t be alone.”

There it was. The sweetness. Laced with something else underneath. Something that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Unpleasant and bitter

I straightened slightly, forcing my expression into something equally composed, even as my heart started beating just a little faster.

“Neither did I.” I replied evenly.

Her smile didn’t falter. If anything, it deepened just slightly.

“I was just worried,” she continued, her attention shifting back to Dominic, but not fully leaving me out of it. “You disappeared, and with everything going on…. I thought something might have happened.”

Her hand found his arm again, her touch light, casual, but also clearly intentional. Like she was reminding both of us exactly where she stood.

I watched it, felt it. And hated that I did.

Dominic’s jaw tightened slightly and I noticed it. That small, controlled reaction he let slip which showed how annoyed he was.

“Everything is fine,” he said, his voice measured..Controlled. “You didn’t need to come here.”

“I needed to see you,” she corrected softly.

And for a second, just a second, I felt like I shouldn’t be there. Like I had stepped into something that wasn’t mine. Like I was the outsider. The interruption. The third person standing where I didn’t belong.

The thought hit harder than I expected.

Because just minutes ago, I hadn’t felt like that at all.

Just minutes ago, I had been-

No.

I cut the thought off before it could finish. Because finishing it would hurt more.

Alessia’s gaze flickered between us again, slower this time. More observant. More curious.

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