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Chapter 32

Author: Samantha Ely
last update Last Updated: 2025-07-07 06:26:09

Bella

I stared at the board until the lines between the pictures blurred. My face, circled in red, stamped with Primary.

Elena’s, too.

Aristide’s.

Matteo’s.

But mine was at the center. It felt like I’d stepped outside my own body. Like I was watching some other version of myself slowly unravel under the pressure of a truth that had always been lurking beneath the surface.

They weren’t just trying to hurt the Moretti’s.

They were doing it through me.

The others started talking strategy… more cameras, safe transport routes, fallback locations. I heard words like “containment” and “extraction,” but they didn’t stick. I needed to breathe. I needed space.

I left the room quietly, climbing the stairs to the bedroom Aristide and I had claimed in the safehouse. I didn’t realize I was crying until I felt the tears on my collarbone.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, my fingers twisted in the blanket, trying to hold on to something solid. The door creaked a minute later. I didn’t look up. I did
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  • The Chosen Bride   Chapter 39

    BellaAristide met me at the top of the stairs. His face was tight, jaw clenched like it always was when something was wrong, but his eyes softened the moment they landed on me.Without saying a word, he reached for my hand and pulled me toward him, wrapping me in his arms. I sank into his chest, exhaling the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. He was safe. Here. With me. For now.He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my temple. “Come with me,” he said.He led me into the bedroom we were using at the new safehouse. Doors locked, curtains drawn, dim and quiet, like the world outside had been placed on pause just for us. The silence between us was charged, vibrating with unspoken things—worry, fear, desire.As soon as the door clicked shut behind us, I turned and reached for him. I didn’t care that my hands were shaking or that my heartbeat was thudding in my ears. I needed more than answers or protection. I needed him. The realness of him. His warmth. His strength. The way his to

  • The Chosen Bride   Chapter 38

    AristideThe sun had barely started rising, the horizon bleeding pale gold behind the city skyline as we loaded into the cars. My mind was sharp… clearer than it had been in weeks. This wasn’t about defense anymore.We were striking first.Enzo drove point with Ricci beside him. My father and I took the second vehicle, while the third followed with backup. Every man with us had earned my trust. They knew what today meant.I glanced down at the comms earpiece in my hand before sliding it in. “Testing channel. You copy?”“Loud and clear.” Bella’s voice answered almost immediately, tight but calm. “Be careful.”“I always am,” I said. “Talk to me while we move. Keep your voice in my ear.”“You just want me to distract you.”“You’re not a distraction,” I said, settling back in the seat. “You’re the reason I’m doing this right.”I could picture her—back at the safehouse with Mabel and the guard posted outside the front and rear doors. Sitting near the transmitter, probably gripping her phon

  • The Chosen Bride   Chapter 37

    BellaI stood frozen with the photograph in my hand, heart pounding so hard it echoed in my ears. It was one thing to know I was being watched now, but to realize someone had been watching me before all of this, before Aristide, before the wedding… it was something else entirely.They had known who I was. Before I knew what I meant to any of them.I didn’t hear Elena come in until she was right behind me. “What’s that?”I turned, pressing the photo against my chest like I could shield her from it for just a second longer. But I couldn’t.I held it out to her.She took it, studied it, and her expression shifted from confusion to horror. “Is this… here? From your old apartment?” I nodded, throat too tight to speak. Elena looked at the back. She read the words, then looked back at me. “We have to tell the others.”“I know,” I said quietly. “I just—” I looked down, wrapping my arms around myself. “It’s getting worse. The more we find out, the more I feel like I don’t know who I am anymore

  • The Chosen Bride   Chapter 36

    BellaI paced the length of the hallway for what felt like the hundredth time, nerves buzzing beneath my skin like static. Every creak in the old house made me stiffen. Every sound from outside made me hold my breath.Mabel sat on the couch with her legs tucked beneath her, refreshing the live drone feed on her tablet. Matteo stood near the window, silent and still, watching the street like it might explode at any moment.No one spoke much after they left. Because no one wanted to say what we were all thinking… what if it went wrong?I didn’t realize how tightly I was gripping my phone until Aristide’s name finally popped up in a text.Aristide: We’re on our way back.Four words… But I could finally breathe again.A short time later, headlights splashed across the wall, and I heard the front door unlock. I was down the hall before it even swung open.Aristide stepped in first, jaw tight, eyes scanning the room before landing on me. He looked exhausted and tense, but intact. That was a

  • The Chosen Bride   Chapter 35

    AristideThe bathroom door creaked open slowly.I stood up the second I heard it, heart thudding hard against my ribs. Bella stepped out, barefoot, still pale but glowing in a way I couldn’t explain. Her eyes met mine, wide and a little dazed, like she was trying to understand what her own body had just told her.She held the small plastic test in her hand, white knuckles around it like it might disappear if she let go. I stepped toward her. “Bella?”She held it out to me.Two lines.I stared at it, then up at her again.“I’m pregnant,” she whispered.It took a second for the words to register. For everything inside me to click into place. I reached for her, pulling her into my arms, and she didn’t hesitate. She melted into me, our bodies pressing together like we’d been waiting for this moment without even knowing it.“Izzy…” My voice wa

  • The Chosen Bride   Chapter 34

    Bella“I’m going to grab you a test,” Aristide said quietly, brushing a strand of hair from my face as I sat on the edge of our bed.I blinked up at him, heart pounding in a way that had nothing to do with fear this time. “You don’t have to—”“I do.” His voice was firm, but there was warmth in his eyes. “You’ve had enough on your shoulders lately. Let me take care of this part.” I nodded, my throat too tight to say more. He leaned down and kissed my forehead before grabbing his keys and slipping out the door.The second it closed, the silence settled like fog. For a few moments, I just sat there, staring at the floor. My hand drifted down to rest against my stomach—light, uncertain.What if I was pregnant?The question hung in the air with terrifying weight. Not because I didn’t want it… but because right now, it felt like eve

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