His Ruthless Redemption (Isabella and Dominic) novel Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Isabella’s POV

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The next day felt like it refused to move.

Every minute stretched like it was being pulled thin, each second dragging its feet just to torture me. I sat at my desk, staring at the same paragraph on my screen for nearly ten minutes without reading a single word.

Alessia.

That name kept circling my thoughts like a vulture.

What proof did she have?

What could she possibly show me that would make her so confident?

I had tried to convince myself that it was nothing, just another manipulation tactic, another attempt to get under my skin. Alessia had always been good at that with her sweet and sharp words. But no matter how hard I tried to reason with myself, a knot of unease had settled in my stomach and refused to loosen.

I checked the time for the fifth time in as many minutes.

Still too early.

I’d been extremely distracted even when I’d gotten Mateo ready for school and dropped him off. Thankfully for me, Dominic had some work and had to leave early this morning. So I hadn’t had to face him.

I’d thought that I would be normal with him, wouldn’t let him know about what Alessia had said unless I was sure it was true. But I hadn’t been able to get my mind off of her words long enough to do that. Dominic had obviously picked up on my distracted state, but hadn’t pressed me too much for information. I didn’t think he would’ve let me go so easily this morning with the same excuse of being tired. Because who was tired after a full night’s rest?

I was so lost in my own thoughts that when Chiara asked me a simple question about a client brief, I nearly jumped out of my chair. I muttered something vague and apologized, blaming a headache. She didn’t push, but she gave me a worried look that made guilt twist in my chest.

By the time I finally left the office, I felt wrung out.

The drive home felt endless, every red light making my pulse spike. By the time I stepped through the front door of the villa, my nerves were so tight I could barely breathe.

“Mom!”

Mateo came barreling towards me the second he saw me, his backpack bouncing against his small frame. He wrapped his arms around my waist.

“I have this project about planets and I need to build a model and I wanna use glitter and cardboard and-”

15:47 Fri, May 15

Chapter 82

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I smiled despite myself and smoothed his hair. “That sounds amazing. Go get your things ready. I’ll be there in a minute, okay?”

“Okay!” He ran off, already shouting Maria’s name.

I watched him go for a second, grounding myself in the simple fact of him. My son. My heart. Even if everything else fell apart, I knew I’d always have him.

Then, I turned towards the staircase.

Alessia’s room was at the far end of the upper hallway. I had never been inside her room before, and something about walking towards it now made me feel like I was crossing an invisible line.

I knocked once I was right outside her door.

“Come in,” her voice called, smooth as silk.

When I stepped inside, her room was large and impeccably styled, but what struck me wasn’t the luxury, it was how lived-in it felt. There were soft throws draped over the chairs, framed photos on the bedside table. A faint, familiar perfume lingering in the air.

It looked like someone who belonged here had arranged it.

“What is it?” Alessia asked, sitting on the edge of her bed and placing a hand on her barely visible bump almost lovingly. For a moment, I wondered how she could be so casual, act like nothing was wrong while my whole world seemed like it was falling apart all around me. But then, this was Alessia we were talking about, ever the cool and composed heiress.

“You said you had proof,” I said without preamble. “Show me.”

Her lips curved into a slow smile and she reached for her tablet.

My heart started pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.

After fiddling with it for a while, she quietly turned the screen towards me.

For a moment, my brain refused to process what I was seeing.

Dominic. Her. Together.

They were in bed, bodies tangled, skin against skin. There was no mistaking the intimacy of it, the closeness, the familiarity. Even though the images weren’t explicit, they were unmistakable.

My stomach dropped, a hollow feeling gnawing at my insides.

“No,” I whispered. “That’s not real. That’s AI. A fake.”

Alessia tilted her head. “You can tell yourself whatever you want, Isabella. But that happened.”

My hands were shaking. No. This couldn’t be true. This couldn’t be.

15:47 Fri, May 15

Chapter 82

“When?” I demanded, forcing myself to speak. To ask questions. “Was it once? Or-”

She shrugged. “Those are questions for Dominic.”

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I shook my head. No. She was lying. Why was she lying to me? Anger flared, hot and sharp. “You’re lying.”

“Am I?” she replied coolly, completely unbothered. Her nonchalance made me want to bash her head in. “We’re not so different you know? You and I. We’re both connected to him through a child. Both tied to him through intimacy.”

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