All Chapters of The Don’s Mysterious Nanny : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

The house felt different without Isabella's presence.Quieter.Less like a battlefield and more like a home.I'd expected Aria to ask for her mother when she woke, but my daughter surprised me. She padded into the kitchen in her pajamas after I kept her in the sitting room, I put her onto her, and she asked for pancakes like it was any other morning."Mama go bye-bye?" she asked between bites, syrup dripping down her chin."Yes, baby. Mama went bye-bye.""Okay." She went back to her pancakes without another word.Maybe two-year-olds were more resilient than I'd given them credit for. Or maybe Aria had sensed the tension between Isabella and me long before I'd asked for the divorce.Either way, her easy acceptance made what I had to do next slightly less complicated."How would you like to go on an airplane today?"Her dark eyes widened with excitement. "Big airplane?""Very big airplane."She clapped her sticky hands together, and for the first time in months, I felt something close t

A month in Italy, I still felt like I was living someone else's life.Not because coming home felt wrong—Rome had welcomed me back like I'd never left.But everything felt incomplete without the one person I'd come back for.Victoria.I'd seen her dozens of times now, always from a distance.Always like a coward.Sitting in my car across from the gallery, watching her through the window as she worked.Following her route home in the evenings, staying far enough back that she'd never notice.Learning her routines like I was conducting surveillance instead of trying to work up the courage to have a conversation.Pathetic didn't begin to cover it.Alessandro De Luca, who'd built an empire on decisive action and calculated risks, reduced to stalking a woman who might not even remember his name.But every time I thought about approaching her, something held me back.Fear.Not of her rejection—though that was part of it.Fear of seeing nothing in her eyes when she looked at me.Fear that th

The white roses sat on the passenger seat like a peace offering.I'd stopped at three different flower shops before finding the right ones.Not red—too presumptuous.Not yellow—too casual.White felt honest. Clean. Like a fresh start.My hands were steadier on the steering wheel than they'd been in my chest for the past hour.This was it.After a month of watching from shadows, of building courage in increments, of letting fear dictate my choices—today I would finally face Victoria Romano.The gallery looked exactly as I remembered it.Soft lighting, carefully curated pieces, an atmosphere of quiet sophistication.Through the large windows, I could see her at her desk.Dark hair falling over her shoulder as she worked, the same graceful movements that had captured my attention.Beautiful.Even more beautiful than I'd allowed myself to remember.I sat in the car for another minute, gathering the last of my courage.What was the worst that could happen?She could reject me completely.T

The drive home felt different this time.Not the crushing weight of defeat I'd expected after Victoria's rejection.Something else entirely.Determination, maybe.Or the quiet certainty that this wasn't over.I'd seen something in her eyes today.Behind the polite refusal and careful distance.A flicker of recognition.Of want.She might not remember me.Could act like I was just another customer who'd overstepped boundaries.But I'd caught that moment when her breath hitched.When color flooded her cheeks at my words.When her fingers lingered against mine as she took the roses.That wasn't indifference.That was a woman fighting herself.And I intended to find out why.The ice cream shop was busy, with families ending their day with something sweet.I ordered Aria's favorite, strawberry with rainbow sprinkles.The same thing she'd been asking for since she was old enough to point at the freezer case.My daughter was nothing if not consistent in her preferences.Unlike the woman who'

The moment Alessandro walked out, I felt like I couldn't breathe.The look on his face before he turned away.Hurt.Confusion.Something that looked dangerously like resignation.I'd done that.Put that expression there with my deliberate coldness.My pathetic attempt to protect myself by pretending he was invisible."Shit," I whispered to the empty gallery.Ace had left twenty minutes ago, still talking about his latest acquisition like it was the find of the century.Still oblivious to the fact that I'd barely heard a word he'd said.My entire focus had been on the man by the door.On Alessandro's dark eyes finding mine across the room.On the flowers in his hands and the way he'd stood there waiting.Hoping.While I acted like a complete coward.I walked to the shelf where he'd left the tulips.Purple.Beautiful.The kind of flowers that meant something.Not the casual gesture of a man trying to get lucky.But something deeper.More intentional.I lifted them carefully, breathing i