His Ruthless Redemption (Isabella and Dominic) novel Chapter 243

Chapter 243

Chapter 243

Dominic’s POV

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I left work earlier than usual, not because there wasn’t work to do. God knew there was always work to do, meetings, shipments, accounts, problems that only seemed to multiply every time I solved one. Even though I was trying to give as much work as possible to Eduardo both so my men would begin seeing him as the authority figure and also so he could have plenty of practice handling everything, there was still a lot I had to handle still.

Eduardo had even called twice while I was driving home. I ignored both calls because none of it felt important.

Because somewhere in the back of my mind, a quiet voice kept reminding me that this was probably one of the last evenings I would ever spend with my family.

Because Isabella had made her decision.

And even though every fibre of my being wanted to stop her, to not let her go, I wasn’t going to fight it.

The realization settled over me like a heavy winter coat-uncomfortable, suffocating, impossible to take off.

Five days back, standing outside that relocation office, I’d watched the woman I loved choose peace over me.

And strangely enough, I hadn’t been angry.

How could I be? She wasn’t rejecting me. She was simply choosing the life I’d failed to give her. A life where our son could grow up worrying about scraped knees instead of kidnappings. A life where she wouldn’t wake up in the middle of the night checking if every door was locked. A life where children didn’t die because adults couldn’t keep their wars to themselves.

If I truly loved her, how could I deny her that?

But how was going to live without her?

I’d spent the past five days trying to spend as much time as possible around her and Mateo, and somehow it still wasn’t enough. But tomorrow was the day of the opening. After that, she would leave with Mateo.

I’d been trying to convince myself that I could do this. That I could say goodbye and not lose myself completely after that. But nothing was working.

By the time I pulled into the driveway, I had almost managed to convince myself I was prepared.

I wasn’t.

The moment I stepped through the front door, a small missile launched itself at me.

“Dominic!” I barely had time to brace myself before Mateo collided with my legs.

I laughed despite myself. “There you are.”

“You came early!”

“I did.”

“You promised we’d finish the dinosaur city!”

I frowned dramatically. “Did I?”

Mateo gasped. “You forgot?”

Chapter 243

“I suppose I’m getting old.”

He placed both hands on his hips. “No.” He shook his head solemnly. “You’re just silly.”

A laugh escaped me, one that felt genuine.

God, I was going to miss this little boy more than I knew how to survive.

“Come on.” He grabbed my hand with surprising determination. “We have work.”

I allowed myself to be dragged towards the living room.

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The floor had completely disappeared beneath an impressive collection of dinosaur figurines, building blocks and what looked suspiciously like several sofa cushions that had apparently been transformed into mountains.

I stopped in the doorway. When I had bought him that set yesterday, I definitely hadn’t expected this.

“What….”

Mateo looked at me as though the answer was obvious. “It’s Dinosaur City.”

“Clearly.”

He pointed proudly. “This is the volcano.” Then at another cushion. “This is the forest. And this is where the dragons live.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Since when do dinosaurs live with dragons?”

He blinked. “They don’t.”

I nodded. “Good.”

“They’re neighbours.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “Of course they are.”

He thrust a green plastic dinosaur into my hand. “You’re this one.”

“What happened to me getting to choose?”

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