His Ruthless Redemption (Isabella and Dominic) novel Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Isabella’s POV

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

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 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 lightly. “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

15:46 Fri, May 15

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.”

15:46 Fri, May 15

Chapter 80

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

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