His Ruthless Redemption (Isabella and Dominic) novel Chapter 219

Chapter 219

Chapter 219

Dominic’s POV

The hallway outside Isabella’s room felt impossibly long. Or maybe that was just because every second away from her felt like an eternity right now.

I sat forward in the uncomfortable hospital chair, my elbows resting on my knees, staring blankly at the Roor while my mother’s words and Luca’s accusations replayed endlessly in my head.

Stress. Too much stress. Not good for her. Not good for the baby.

God.

I dragged a hand down my face.

The image of Isa collapsing kept flashing through my mind.

The terror I’d felt when Marco called. The panic. The helplessness. For a man who controlled so much, I had never felt more powerless than I had in that moment.

The sound of a door opening pulled me from my thoughts.

I looked up immediately.

My mother stepped out of Isa’s room, Luca following behind quietly.

The second her eyes landed on me, something in her expression softened. Not completely, she was still annoyed with me. Probably furious. But there was sympathy there now too.

“How is she?” I asked immediately.

“She’s tired.”

I stood. “Can I see her?”

Caterina studied me for a moment. Then nodded. “Yes.”

Relief hit me instantly. I’d almost expected her to tell me that Isa didn’t want to see me right now. But before I could move, she held up a finger.

“One condition.”

I sighed. “Mamma—”

“I’m serious, Dominic.” Her voice sharpened. “You do not go in there and stress her out.”

“I won’t.”

“I mean it.”

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Chapter 219

“I know.”

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Her gaze narrowed. “You have a habit of thinking you’re helping when you’re actually making things worse

Honestly, when it came to Isa, that was turning out to be true.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I know,” I accepted quietly because that’s exactly what was happening

She seemed surprised by the immediate agreement.

Then she sighed. “Good”

A moment passed before she asked casually, “Where’s Alessia?”

Immediately my jaw tightened. “At the penthouse.”

That got a frown. “Still?”

“Unfortunately.”

Caterina crossed her arms. “And Vittoria?”

“Also still there.”

Her expression darkened. “Wonderful.”

I almost laughed. Almost. “Salvatore went back to New York yesterday,” I explained. “Work emergency.”

“And yet somehow Vittoria and Alessia remain.”

I knew exactly what she was implying.

And honestly?

I agreed.

My mother pursed her lips. “I don’t like that she’s still in Milan.”

Neither did I. “She’ll be gone soon,” I said.

“You said that before.”

I sighed heavily. “She will.”

My mother gave me a look, the kind mothers perfected sometime around childbirth.

The one that said I know you’re not telling me everything.

Unfortunately for me, she was right.

Because I had tried.

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God knew I’d tried.

A memory flashed through my mind immediately. Alessia standing in the penthouse. Me telling her she needed to go back to Florence, politely and firmly.

And then Vittoria had swooped in, talking about some fashion show, something exclusive. Something they simply had to attend before returning.

I had nearly told them both to leave anyway.

The words had been right there, sitting on the tip of my tongue. But I’d already all but thrown Vittoria out of my villa in Florence. Doing it again didn’t feel right when her Salvatore had helped me plenty with my business. Besides, being too forceful could also make alarm bells go off in Alessia’s head and I didn’t want that.

So I’d let it go. One fashion show. Then they’d leave. At least that had been the agreement.

“I told Alessia to leave,” I said finally.

Caterina raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“And Vittoria wanted to attend some fashion event tomorrow.”

The look my mother gave me could have stripped paint off walls. “Dominic.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I do.”

“Clearly not.”

I sighed.

She wasn’t entirely wrong.

The problem was that everybody wanted something from me. The Morettis wanted a wedding. Isa wanted peace. My mother wanted common sense.

And I was trying desperately to give all of them something while secretly planning to blow the entire situation

apart.

It was exhausting.

“They’ll leave after the show.”

“They better.”

I nodded. “They will.”

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My mother looked unconvinced. But thankfully let it go.

Then she squeezed my arm gently. “Go see her.”

And just like that, every other thought disappeared. Because Isa was waiting inside.

I pushed open the door quietly. And immediately hated what I saw. Not because she looked terrible. She didn’t.

She looked beautiful. She always did. Even lying in a hospital bed.

The problem was that she looked fragile.

And I hated that.

Because Isabella Russo, well, technically not Russo anymore, but she always would be in my head, wasn’t supposed to look fragile.

She was supposed to look fierce. Strong. Stubborn. Impossible.

Not like this.

Her eyes lifted when she heard me enter.

And she smiled. It was a small smile. Soft. Polite. It didn’t reach her eyes.

The sight punched straight through my chest.

God.

She was slipping away from me. I could feel it.

I forced a smile back and walked over, sitting beside her carefully.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

A heavy silence settled between us.

I mustered up all my courage and finally said the thing I’d been wanting to say all day. “I’m sorry.”

Her expression softened slightly.

I shook my head. “No. Don’t.”

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Because I already knew what she was going to do. Minimize it. Make excuses. Protect me like she always did.

“This happened because of me.”

“Dominic-”

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“It did.” My throat tightened. “I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am.”

For once, she didn’t argue, didn’t defend me. Didn’t immediately tell me I was wrong.

And somehow that hurt even more.

She looked down at the blanket, quiet and thoughtful. Then finally whispered, “I feel like I’m going crazy?

The confession nearly broke my heart.

I reached forward and grabbed her hand instantly. “Isa-”

“No, listen.” She laughed softly, weakly. “I’m serious.”

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Her eyes lifted to mine, shining with emotion. “I don’t know if it’s pregnancy hormones or stress or just me losing my mind but I can’t stop thinking about Mateo,” her voice cracked slightly and she swallowed hard.

“I’m constantly worried. I feel like if I relax for one second, something terrible is going to happen.”

My chest tightened.

She looked exhausted, utterly and completely exhausted.

God.

I moved closer immediately. “Nothing is going to happen.”

She let out a disbelieving laugh, shaking her head. “You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

She looked unconvinced.

I lifted her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckles, slowly and deliberately. “I will not let anyone touch you.” My voice came out rough but fierce and absolute. “You or Mateo.”

I leaned forward slightly. “As long as I’m alive.”

She looked away first, not because she disagreed. Because she was emotional.

I knew her too well.

“I know you’re trying,” she whispered.

The words hit harder than I expected. Because there was no accusation in them. Just sadness. And that was

worse.