LOGINISABELLA 🌸I hated it.I hated the way my body remembered him when my mind was supposed to hate him. Damien wasn’t someone I needed to be around, not after every form of abuse he’d made me endure.Until the last one that broke me, compelling me to leave without looking back.I pulled away from him, from the kiss, retreating before he made another attempt, because I knew it would be harder to stop him. Tears welled up in my eyes, and my breath trembled when I tried to speak.“Don’t ever do that again.”He caught my wrist before I could stand up fully, his eyes pleading when I stared into them.“Bella—‘’My other hand moved swiftly, slapping him across the cheek. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt, but enough to express my seriousness and anger.“Don’t you ever try to touch me again, Damien. Ever.”I wriggled my wrist free and stood up, my heels clicking against the marble tiles. My body trembled as I walked away, tears streaming down my cheeks.He didn’t run after me, didn’t call my name
OLIVIA“I think the strawberry cake is a good choice, Red.”Marina said after taking a piece from the cake, her mouth full as she handed me a slice. I sat tiredly on the couch, slowly taking a bite.Seconds passed by and I said nothing, still chewing. Marina narrowed her eyes at me, waiting for a response that came almost a minute later.“No.” I said bluntly, barely tasting the cake in my mouth. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the right choice either.“No?”I pushed my body forward and dropped the plate on the table, forcing the cake I’d eaten down my throat.“Axel doesn’t like strawberries.”The event planner nodded quietly, and Marina uttered. “Ohh.”“Let’s do something else, Freda,” I told the event planner Marina had recommended. “Chocolate and salted caramel. It’s my fiancé’s favorite.”Freda nodded without hesitation, a small smile curling over her lips. “Sure.”I groaned softly and reclined my back against the couch. My heart was still heavy, and the thought of not having my sist
AXEL SALVATORE ROSSI“Have you heard anything from Isabella?”I’d heard that question repeatedly in the last few weeks, but I’d never expected it to come from my brother.Without looking up from my table, I shook my head. “No. Why?”He paced around the council room, his footsteps disrupting the peace I tried to keep in that space.“How could she just leave?”He asked like he didn’t know the reason. Maybe he wanted to shift the blame on everything other than himself.I shrugged. “Why don’t you tell me?”“Salvatore,” he stopped pacing and I felt his eyes on me. “You’re not taking this seriously.”I sighed tiredly, pushed the documents aside, then raised my head to him. His forehead was creased, and I refused to believe that he was actually worried about her whereabouts.“What exactly do you want me to do, Damien?”His expression faltered for a second before turning rigid again.“Elizabeth and Olivia have been crying their eyes out, worried sick about her, and I…” he paused before contin
OLIVIA“I don’t understand,” I whispered, darting my eyes between Axel and Damien. “Why would she leave? Where did she go?”“Olivia—‘’“—She can’t just leave,” I cried, suddenly gasping for breath. “What happened? Why…? What…?”I lost all my words, unsure of what to do, what to say, or how to react. Axel gripped me tightly, his hands steadying my shoulders after I swayed.How could Isabella, someone I was having a conversation with minutes ago, suddenly… leave?It wasn’t making any sense.Axel’s hands tightened around my waist, steadying me as I began to sob uncontrollably. “She said she loved you,” he murmured. “And… she…”“Why didn’t you stop her?” I asked through the tears, my lips trembling. “Why did you let her leave?”“Olivia, I tried my best to talk to her. To stop her. But her mind was made up.‘’“She promised to walk me down the aisle,” I sobbed, trying to break free from his grasp. “She… she can’t leave me. What about Mum? What about…?”Damien turned around and walked out o
OLIVIA“What?”I was stunned, completely caught off guard by Isabella’s words. My eyes fell on her stomach, trying to see if the bump was already visible.Damien and Isabella having a baby together?I didn’t know what to feel about it, but it was totally unexpected.“I… I don’t even know what to say.”She sipped her juice. “Right. Don’t tell Mum. Nobody knows yet. Except you and Axel.”So… that was why they were exchanging those glances. I knew… I mean, I suspected they were hiding something.My eyebrows furrowed. “You haven’t told Damien?”She shook her head. “No.”“Isabella—‘’I didn’t get to say the words before someone interrupted me. It was Grant, and he sounded urgent.“Ace is probably having some private conversation, and there’s nobody else I could think of telling.”“What?” I asked.“She’s outside,” he murmured, glancing at the main entrance. “Rosa.”My stomach instantly dropped. Rosa. I hadn’t seen or heard anything from her since Axel was in the hospital back in Willow Cree
AXEL SALVATORE ROSSI“What are you doing?” I asked Damien calmly, and immediately we walked into the council room.He strode in, halting a few steps away while I walked towards the table. His forehead creased, and he looked totally confused.“What?”“What’s she doing here?”“Who?” He asked, fueling my anger before adding. “Caterina?”I’d seen the painful look on Isabella’s face after he’d introduced Caterina as his girlfriend, and it made my stomach churn.She didn’t deserve that—the betrayal, the heartbreak, Isabella didn’t deserve any of that from him.Not when she was carrying his baby.“I just told all of you,” he stepped forward, still unaware of the chaos he’d created. “She’s my girlfriend. We met in Italy years ago and kicked things off.”Kick things off? He made me scoff. So, what if they’d met years ago? That didn’t give him the right to mess with Isabella’s head and make her fall for him.The main thing that annoyed me was the fact that he saw nothing wrong with it. And if
OLIVIA“Thanks for saving me,” I muttered, raking my fingers through my hair nervously, my voice cracking as I tried to sound casual. “I’m grateful.”He nodded, sauntering towards me with a glass cup in his hands. I sat on his bed— it was the only thing in his little room.No chairs. Nothing fancy
AXEL SALVATORE ROSSI.“I guess I’ll leave you two to it.”Nelly uttered slyly and then turned around to leave after causing an uproar in Olivia’s mind.I couldn’t believe that Nelly had told her that information. Why?Well, at least she didn’t tell her everything. Especially the part that would hav
OLIVIA It felt wrong to admit it, but— Axel had gone crazy. First, he was yelling at me for the slightest reason, and had blatantly ordered that I take my hair out of the bun Antonio had wrapped it in. Then, he’d warned me with his eyes blazing with venom that I wasn’t allowed to go close to a
AXEL SALVATORE ROSSII’d spent all night tending to Olivia and making sure she’d regain consciousness. I couldn’t take chances— couldn’t let anything happen to her.Viper had retreated while fuming. He felt I was losing myself for her. Felt that I was making a mistake that could not only cost me bu







