Semua Bab 7 Nights With My Step Brother's Rival : Bab 111 - Bab 120

"Isabella," Sienna repeated. "You knew Maria. Were her friend.""Best friend. We met at university. Art program. Both young. Ambitious. Dreaming of careers. Recognition. Impact through our work.""What happened?""Life. Maria met Alessandro. Fell deeply in love. He was magnetic. Powerful. Intense. Everything she'd never experienced. She chose him over art school. Over her dreams. Over everything we'd planned.""Did you resent her for that?""At first. I thought she was throwing away her talent. Her potential. For a man. For conventional life. But watching them together. Seeing how he looked at her. How she glowed. I understood. She'd found something more important than recognition. She'd found love."Isabella moved through the gallery. Touching frames. Remembering."She kept painting. Never stopped. But privately. For herself. For Alessandro. For Dante. Not for galleries or critics. Just for expression. For joy.""Then she got sick.""Cancer. Aggressive. Terminal. She knew early. Mon

"You're serious about this." Dante studied his son. "Taking time off. Working with the foundation. This isn't just impulse.""I'm completely serious. I've thought about it for weeks. Since you told me about Grandmother's project. About what she wanted to build. I need to be part of this.""But MIT. Your degree. Your future.""Will still be there. One semester. Maybe two. That's all I'm asking. Time to do something meaningful. Something that connects me to family. To legacy. To purpose beyond just career."Sienna touched Dante's arm. "Let him. He's eighteen. Old enough to make this choice. Old enough to understand what he's sacrificing and why it's worth it.""What about Maya? Your relationship? You'll be apart.""We'll manage. Long distance for a few months. We survived it before. We can do it again. And she supports this. Thinks it's incredible I want to help."Dante wanted to argue. To insist Leo stay at MIT. Finish his education. Not interrupt momentum.But looking at his son. The

"I don't know about this," Dante said. Family gathered. Everyone weighing in. "Our story. Our pain. Our mistakes. All documented. Permanent. Public. Forever.""But also our redemption," Sienna countered. "Our transformation. Our choice to be better. That's powerful. That could help people.""Help who? People who've committed crimes? People who've hurt others? They don't deserve inspiration.""People who want to change. Who've made mistakes but want to do better. Who think their past defines their future. Those people. They deserve hope. They deserve to see that transformation is possible."Leo spoke up. "I think we should do it. Not for us. But for what it represents. That legacy isn't predetermined. That families can evolve. That the next generation doesn't have to repeat the previous one's mistakes."Elena, now twenty-five, agreed. "I spent my whole life hiding. Being Lorenzo's daughter. Ashamed. Isolated. If our documentary shows that you can come from darkness and build light. Tha

Dante held Elena while she cried. His daughter. Innocent. Suffering for his sins. His past. His choices before she existed."I'm so sorry, baby. So sorry you're dealing with this. It's not fair. It's not right. You don't deserve this.""Why did you do bad things, Papa? Why did you hurt people?"The question stabbed. Simple. Childlike. Devastating."I made terrible choices. A long time ago. Before I met your mama. Before I understood what really mattered. I was angry. Scared. Thought power and control would keep me safe. I was wrong.""But you're good now, right? You don't do bad things anymore?""I try very hard to be good. To help people. To make up for my mistakes. That's why we have the foundation. Why we try to help artists. To do something good with what I have.""But those kids. They don't believe that. They think we're bad. They think I'm bad."Sienna sat beside them. "Some people only see the past. They don't see growth. Change. Transformation. That's their limitation. Not you

"The Nobel Peace Prize." Dante stared at the letter. "We've been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.""For the Isabela Foundation," Sienna read. "Recognizing our work supporting single mothers and vulnerable children globally. Providing resources. Education. Pathways out of poverty. Creating sustainable change across communities.""This is insane. We're just. We're just trying to help. Trying to make up for past mistakes. Trying to do something good.""That's exactly why we were nominated. Because the work is real. Meaningful. Impactful. Because we've helped thousands of families. Changed thousands of lives."The nomination process explained. Someone. Some organization. Had submitted their foundation for consideration. The committee reviewed. Evaluated impact. Determined worthiness."We're one of several hundred nominees," Sienna noted. "Being nominated doesn't mean winning. Most nominees don't. But the recognition alone. The visibility. That's huge.""Should we tell the kids?""Abso