CHAPTER EIGHT : A WIFE IN HIS WORLD

Isabella arrived at Alessandro's study at eight the next morning, carrying a notebook and two pens.

Alessandro looked up from his breakfast.

"What's that for?"

She glanced at the notebook. "I'm here to learn about your business. I thought I should take notes."

He stared at her for a moment before a faint smile touched his lips.

"You brought stationery to breakfast?"

"Would you prefer that I forget everything you tell me?"

"No." He gestured toward the chair beside him. "Sit down, Mrs. Moretti."

The new name still made her cheeks warm.

She sat and opened her notebook, ready to listen.

For the next hour, Alessandro explained the legitimate side of his empire: hotels, shipping companies, property investments, and several businesses managed by trusted executives. He explained how contracts , were negotiated, how he evaluated risks, and why a single careless decision could cost hundreds of people their jobs.

Isabella listened carefully, occasionally interrupting to ask questions.

"Why do you own so many different businesses?"

"Because depending on one source of income makes a man vulnerable."

"And do you personally manage all of them?"

"No. I have people I trust to handle daily operations. I make the major decisions."

She wrote something down.

Alessandro glanced at her notebook. "What did you write?"

"That you don't trust easily."

He raised an eyebrow. "You reached that conclusion in one hour?"

"You told me you built your businesses around people you trust. Then you explained how carefully you choose them."

He leaned back, studying her.

"Perhaps you're paying attention."

"I am trying."

For some reason, that answer pleased him.

When breakfast ended, Isabella closed her notebook.

"Thank you for explaining everything."

"You'll forget half of it by tomorrow."

"Then I'll ask you to explain it again."

He laughed quietly.

She had discovered that Alessandro's laughter was rare, but when it came, it made him look younger and less distant. She found herself wanting to hear it again.

That realization followed her out of the study.

---

Later that afternoon, Isabella met her self-defense instructor in the mansion's private training room.

His name was Daniel, a professional trainer Alessandro had hired after speaking with Marco about her request.

Daniel explained that the purpose of the training was not to make her stronger than an attacker. It was to help her recognize danger, protect herself long enough to escape, and make sensible decisions under pressure.

Isabella listened closely.

The first exercises were simple, but she struggled with the unfamiliar movements. She stumbled twice and apologized each time.

On the third occasion, Daniel stopped her.

"You don't need to apologize every time you make a mistake, Mrs. Moretti."

She looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

Daniel smiled.

Isabella stared at him before realizing what she had done.

He laughed, and she joined him.

When Alessandro passed the training room later that afternoon, he stopped at the open doorway.

Isabella was trying again after losing her balance. Her hair had escaped its neat ponytail, and her cheeks were flushed from the exercise. She looked frustrated, but she didn't give up.

Daniel corrected her stance, and she tried once more.

This time, she succeeded.

"Excellent," Daniel encouraged her.

Isabella smiled brightly.

Alessandro remained at the doorway longer than necessary.

He had seen women train before. He had watched professional fighters prepare for competitions and soldiers practise under exhausting conditions. But there was something different about seeing his wife discover what she could do.

She wasn't trying to impress him.

She was doing it for herself.

And he found that unexpectedly attractive.

When the session ended, Isabella noticed him waiting outside.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to discover that you have no intention of giving up."

She smiled. "I fell several times."

"And got up several times."

"That doesn't sound very impressive."

"It is to me."

Her smile faded into a look of surprise.

Alessandro held out a bottle of water.

She accepted it, their fingers brushing briefly.

"Thank you."

He nodded toward the training room. "How did it go?"

"Tiring. Difficult. But I enjoyed it."

"Good. Continue."

"I intend to."

He looked at her for another moment before turning away.

Isabella watched him leave, wondering why his approval mattered so much to her.

---

 Days after the wedding, Alessandro took Isabella to one of his offices in central Milan.

She had expected to remain at the mansion while he worked, so the invitation surprised her.

"Why am I coming with you?" she asked in the car.

"You wanted to understand my business."

"I thought you meant you'd explain things to me."

"I did. Now you'll see how some of those decisions are made."

She glanced out the window, nervous but excited.

The office occupied several floors of a modern building. Employees greeted Alessandro respectfully as they entered, and Isabella immediately noticed how differently people behaved around him outside the mansion.

Here, he wasn't simply a husband or a man eating breakfast.

He was the person everyone waited for before making important decisions.

During the meeting, Isabella sat quietly beside him while executives discussed a delayed shipment and a disagreement with a business partner. She didn't understand every detail, but she followed enough to realize that the problem could cost the company a considerable amount of money.

When the meeting ended, Alessandro handed her a folder containing a basic company overview.

"Read this when you have time. It will help you understand what you've heard today."

She accepted it carefully.

"May I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Are all your businesses legitimate?"

The question made the room feel suddenly smaller.

Alessandro dismissed the remaining assistant before answering.

"Not everything connected to my family is legal, Isabella."

She looked down at the folder in her hands.

"I thought so."

"Does that frighten you?"

She considered her answer.

"It concerns me. I don't want to pretend I understand everything when I don't. And I don't want to become involved in something simply because I'm your wife."

His expression grew serious.

"You won't be expected to participate in criminal activities."

"Then I would like to keep learning about the businesses I can be involved in."

He studied her for a moment.

"That's a reasonable request."

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

Alessandro noticed.

"Isabella, you can disagree with me. You can ask questions. But if you ever discover something that puts you in danger, you must tell me."

"I will."

"And don't keep secrets simply because you're afraid I'll be angry."

She smiled faintly. "I'll try."

He reached across the desk and gently covered her hand with his.

"That is all I'm asking."

Neither of them moved immediately.

For Alessandro, the touch was almost instinctive. For Isabella, it was the first time he had reached for her without issuing an instruction or discussing their arrangement.

It was a small gesture.

But she remembered it all the way home.

---

That evening, Isabella was in the bedroom when Alessandro came out of the bathroom.

She was sitting by the window, reading the company overview he had given her. Her brow was furrowed in concentration.

"You're still studying?" he asked.

She looked up. "I want to understand what I saw today."

"You don't have to learn everything in a week."

"I know. But if someone asks me a question about your business, I don't want to sit there smiling without understanding anything."

He approached her and glanced at the page.

"That's a shipping report. It's hardly exciting reading."

"It becomes exciting when you understand why a delayed shipment can cost thousands of euros."

He laughed.

Isabella smiled, pleased with herself.

Then she noticed the time.

"You haven't eaten dinner."

"I ate at the office."

"Coffee isn't dinner, Alessandro."

He stared at her.

She stared back.

For a moment, she wondered whether she had crossed a line.

Then he shook his head in disbelief.

"Are you lecturing me about my meals now?"

"I'm only saying you should eat properly."

"You're becoming very comfortable giving me orders."

"I'm not giving you orders. I'm expressing concern."

He looked at her for several seconds before his expression softened.

"Very well, Mrs. Moretti. I'll have something to eat."

She smiled triumphantly.

"Good."

He turned toward the door, then looked back at her.

After he left, Isabella returned to her book, unaware that he had paused outside the bedroom door for a moment, smiling to himself.

He had married her for a different reason

But now he found himself looking forward to breakfast conversations, searching for her in the mansion after work, and noticing whether she had eaten.

His wife was becoming part of his daily life in ways he had never planned.

And he was beginning to want her there.

---

The following morning, Marco arrived at the mansion earlier than usual.

He went directly to Alessandro's study, carrying a report.

"Sir, we've identified the person who sent the photograph of Isabella."

Alessandro put down his pen.

"Who?"

Marco hesitated.

"Victor Salvatore."

The name erased every trace of amusement from Alessandro's face.

Victor was a rival businessman whose family had lost a major contract to the Morettis the previous year. Their conflict had remained quiet for months, but Alessandro had never trusted him.

"What does he want?"

"We don't know yet. But our people found out he's hosting a private gathering this weekend. Several men connected to our rivals will attend."

Alessandro stood.

"Then we'll find out what he's planning."

Marco nodded, but before he could leave, Alessandro asked another question.

"Has anyone approached Isabella?"

"Not directly."

"Keep it that way."

Marco hesitated.

"Sir, if Victor knows she's important to you, he may try to use her against you."

Alessandro's expression hardened.

"He can try."

Across the mansion, Isabella was preparing for another training session, humming softly as she tied her hair back.

She had no idea that her growing confidence had begun to change the way Alessandro saw her.

Nor did she know that a man she had never met was already  planing how to use her against her husband.