His Ruthless Redemption (Isabella and Dominic) novel Chapter 237

Chapter 237

Isabella’s POV

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The next morning, I discovered exactly why Dominic had insisted I wait one more day before returning to work.

Because when I climbed into the passenger seat of his car and asked where we were going, he simply smiled and said, “You’ll see.”

I narrowed my eyes immediately. “That’s not an answer.”

“It is.”

“It really isn’t.”

He looked entirely too pleased with himself. “It absolutely is.”

I rolled my eyes and settled back into my seat.

Ordinarily, I would’ve continued arguing. But lately arguing felt exhausting.

Everything felt exhausting.

Besides, a small part of me was curious. And judging by the satisfied look on Dominic’s face, he knew it.

The drive was long, long enough for Milan to disappear behind us, long enough for the scenery to slowly change, long enough for me to begin recognizing where we were headed.

My heart squeezed. “No.”

Dominic glanced at me. “No?”

“We’re going there?”

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Maybe.”

I stared at him. Then at the rolling hills outside. Then back at him. “Dominic.”

His smile widened. And just like that, I knew.

The vineyard.

The place where we’d spent the happiest weekend of our lives. The place where we’d briefly forgotten everything else. The place where we’d laughed. And kissed. And dreamed about a future that no longer existed.

A lump immediately formed in my throat.

Neither of us spoke for the remainder of the drive. Because suddenly words felt unnecessary.

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11:25 Fri, Jul 10

Chapter 237

When the vineyard finally appeared in the distance, my chest tightened painfully.

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It looked exactly the same with golden sunlight stretching across the hills, rows upon rows of grapevines, ancient olive trees, stone pathways and the villa in the distance. It was somehow better than I remembered. Beautiful, peaceful and absolutely perfect.

And somehow that made it worse.

Because the last time I’d been here, I had still been pregnant. The last time I’d been here, Aspen had still been alive.

Dominic parked the car. Then turned towards me.

For a moment neither of us moved. Then he quietly held out his hand.

I stared at it. Then took it.

Together, we stepped out.

The air smelled exactly the same like lavender and summer. Memories came rushing back, too many

memories.

I swallowed hard. “What are we doing here?”

Dominic squeezed my hand. “Come with me.” His voice was gentle, unusually so.

There was something in his expression I couldn’t quite identify, something nervous, something emotional.

He led me away from the main building, away from the vineyards and toward a small hill overlooking the entire estate.

I frowned slightly. Then stopped walking.

Because sitting in the middle of the hill was a young tree. It was not planted yet, still in its large container, almost as if waiting for us.

When I took a closer look at it, my breath caught.

An Aspen tree.

For a moment I simply stared, unable to speak, unable to think, unable to do anything except look.

Beside it rested two small gardening shovels. And suddenly I understood.

A sharp ache immediately spread through my chest. “Oh.” The sound came out broken, barely audible.

Dominic looked down briefly before meeting my eyes. “I thought,” His voice cracked. He stopped, cleared his throat and tried again. “I thought they deserved a place.”

The tears came instantly, silent but steady. Because I understood exactly what he meant.

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11:25 Fri, Jul 10

Chapter 237

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A place. A place to remember. A place to visit. A place where Aspen would always exist, not just in our memories, but here, in this world, growing, living, beautiful.

My vision blurred for the tears wouldn’t stop. “Dominic…” I whispered before shaking my head because I didn’t know what to say. I was well and truly speechless.

He stepped closer, his own eyes suspiciously bright. “We couldn’t protect them,” he admitted softly and the words nearly shattered me. “But we can remember them.”

A tear slipped down his cheek then. The sight completely undid me. Because Dominic didn’t cry openly like this, not where anyone could see.

Yet lately it felt like all we did was cry. Together. Apart. Constantly.

I reached for him immediately, wrapping my arms around him, and he held me just as tightly, as though we were the only two people left in the world.

For a long time, neither of us spoke.

Then eventually I pulled back, looking around, at the hill, at the view, at the tree, at everything around us.

And something suddenly occurred to me. I frowned. “Dominic.”

“Yeah?”

“This vineyard doesn’t belong to us.”

A faint smile appeared on his face. “It does now.”

I blinked. “What?”

“It belongs to us.”

I stared at him. Surely not. “Dominic.”

His smile widened. “I bought it.”

For a second I genuinely forgot how to breathe. “You what?”

“I bought it.”

I stared. Then stared some more. Because there were normal gifts like flowers, jewelry or chocolates.

And then there was buying an entire vineyard.

Apparently Dominic Russo didn’t understand moderation.

“You’re insane.” The words slipped out before I could stop them.

To my surprise, he laughed, a real laugh. The first one I’d heard from him in days. “Probably.”

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11:25 Fri, Jul 10

Chapter 237

I shook my head. “You bought a vineyard.”

“You like it.”

“That’s not the point.”

“It is to me.” I groaned, despite myself, despite the grief, despite the tears.

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A small laugh escaped me as I shook my head. Dominic immediately looked pleased, dangerously pleased. “I like when you laugh.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t get used to it.”

“Too late.”

For a moment, things felt almost normal again. Normal enough to breathe freely again, enough to smile, enough to remember that grief wasn’t the only thing we had left.

Eventually Dominic picked up one of the shovels. Then handed me the other.

His gaze softened. “Ready?”

I looked at the tree, at Aspen, at the place where they would grow, where they would always belong.

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