Inicio / On the Night of the Storm, He Chose His Stepmother / Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

Todos los capítulos de On the Night of the Storm, He Chose His Stepmother: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

10 Capítulos

1

"Good. I'm glad you're home."Sophia paused, then continued with smug triumph in her voice. "Oh, and the cyclone's about to hit. Luis says he'll probably have to stay at my place tonight. He won't be coming home."I gripped my phone so hard my fingertips went white.Just then, I heard Luis's voice on the other end.Even over the phone, I could hear the concern in his voice."Sophia, put on that velvet robe. You'll catch a cold."Sophia giggled."Luis, it's the middle of summer. You want me in a robe that heavy?"Right. It was the middle of summer.But as the seawater crept in around my heels, I felt cold all the way through.Before I could say anything, the call ended abruptly.I opened my chat with Luis. There was no message about a helicopter.The last thing he'd sent was still that four o'clock text telling me to wait for him.Maybe he really had sent it. Maybe it just hadn't gone through because the signal was bad.But even so, that only meant he'd never looked at our chat again af

2

I flinched and looked out through the break room window.A large section of the floor-to-ceiling window in the office had shattered.Something flew through the opening and crashed into the break room door.I stared through the shattered window at a sky that looked like the end of the world. For the first time, I realized how powerless we were against nature.Gritting my teeth, I shoved everything heavy I could move against the break room door. Then I curled up in the corner farthest from the window.The wind howled, hurling something against the door again and again.Finally, with a crash, the break room window shattered too. The gale roared through, driving saltwater into the room.My mind went blank. By the time I came to, I'd already called Luis.He answered at the last possible second.In the background, I could faintly hear cards being shuffled.Before I could say a word, Luis spoke, sounding a little impatient. "Isabella, Sophia cried for ages because of that comment of yours!"I

3

When I got to the office on the docks, workers were already fixing the shattered floor-to-ceiling window.A few members of the Corvino family stood amid the wreckage, still shaken."Good thing we got out early yesterday. That would've been terrifying.""I heard the steel door of one of the warehouses at the port got ripped right off!"When they saw me, one of them called out, "Isabella, Luis came for you yesterday, right? I heard he was so worried he sent a helicopter."My mouth twisted into a bitter smile."No. He was busy taking care of his poor, frightened stepmother."The office went dead silent.Finally, someone asked cautiously, "So you drove yourself home?""I spent the night in the break room."Looking at their awkward expressions, I shrugged as if it were nothing.I didn't see any reason to hide what had happened.After all, I wasn't the one who'd done something wrong.Toward evening, Luis actually texted me.[I'm downstairs.]My finger paused over the screen.This past year,

4

Luis kept his eyes fixed on the doors, his voice brimming with excitement. "I forgot to tell you. The charity Sophia took over raised a record amount, so I wanted to throw a party for her."You know she's always been insecure. This is her big chance to prove herself to the rest of the family.""So this is a party for Sophia?"Luis kept staring at the doors. He didn't notice my expression harden."Yeah. You kept saying I never brought you to family gatherings, so I made sure to invite you this time.""Luis, do you remember what today is?"He gave me a blank look and frowned, trying to remember. Just then, the doors swung open.I smiled and nodded, then leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Luis, the engagement's off."We're done."Bang!"Congratulations, Donna!"The popping and cheering instantly drowned out my voice.Luis had already rushed to Sophia's side. As the crowd cheered them on, he slipped an affectionate arm around her shoulders.My mouth twisted in scorn. Amid the noise, I turne

5

When Luis opened the door, Matteo Corvino was carefully swapping my plate, which had hot sauce on it, for a clean one.My mother, sitting across from us, smiled at my father."I only mentioned once that Isabella can't eat spicy food because of her lung injury. Look how thoughtful he is."My father nodded approvingly.Luis opened his mouth, but it took him a long moment to make a sound."Isabella, wh-what is this?"My mother's smile faded at his question.My father only gave him a cold glance.It was the kind of look he reserved for people who didn't matter.I couldn't blame my parents for being cold.Two years earlier, the Benedetti family had proposed a marriage alliance between our families.By then, we'd been together for more than four years, and the partnership between our families had reached a crucial point.Luis agreed at first. My parents made all the arrangements. To show the Benedetti family's sincerity, they planned to come to Palermo in person to discuss the details of our

6

After saying goodbye to Matteo, I returned to the hotel with my parents.Luis texted me nonstop all night.[Isabella, are you upset about Sophia's post? I already told her to delete it.][Or are you mad about the party on the yacht?][You can yell at me or punish me. Just please don't talk about breaking up, okay?][We've been together for seven years. You said you'd never leave me.]Right.That was because back then, I still stubbornly believed Luis was the same man who would drive across half the city just to bring me a dessert I liked.He was also the man who had sat by my bed all night, crying like a child because I was hurt.I couldn't let go of that sincere, devoted boy who once had eyes only for me.But eventually, I realized that version of Luis had disappeared for good. I hadn't even noticed when it happened.I silenced my phone and stopped reading his messages.By morning, it was still buzzing nonstop.Even after I unlocked it, new messages kept pouring in.I sighed and final

7

Luis sat in the Corvino family office, staring blankly at his phone.Two days had passed since Isabella warned him she'd block him.In those two days, Isabella hadn't contacted him once.He assumed she was sulking over yet another mistake he'd made.He figured she'd reach out once she'd thought things over.After all, in the past seven years, no matter how bad the fight, Isabella had always been the first to back down.But this time, he was panicking.That day in the private dining room, Isabella's expression had been so cold.There had been no anger or resentment in her eyes. She had looked straight through him as if he were nothing but air.No matter how much Isabella had fussed in the past, Luis had never panicked.He knew her anger came from love, and he was certain she could never leave him.He had taken her love for granted and pushed her patience to the limit.Sometimes he'd even found her irritating and used it as an excuse to grow closer to Sophia.He'd lied to himself that he

8

Luis drove like a maniac toward the docks.On the way there, he tried to remember the last time he'd picked Isabella up from work. It slowly dawned on him that it had been two years ago.He remembered holding her hand and making her a promise when they first got together."Isabella, no matter how hard it rains in Sicily, I'll always be there to hold an umbrella over you."But the truth was, the only one he'd held an umbrella for since then was Sophia.He had even promised to pick Isabella up before the deadly storm the previous week.But when Sophia said her door wouldn't close and water was getting in, he'd immediately turned around and gone straight to her.The more he thought about it, the more he felt like a hopeless bastard.But when he reached the office at the docks, Isabella was nowhere to be found.He grabbed the first person he saw."Where's Isabella?"The staffer hesitated before answering. "If you don't know where Ms. Benedetti is, how would we?"Mr. Corvino, I know it's no

9

Luis looked utterly exhausted.Normally meticulous about his appearance, the Corvino family heir now wore a badly wrinkled suit. His usually proud blue eyes were bloodshot.When he saw Matteo's jacket draped over my shoulders, he flinched."I'm sorry, Isabella."His voice was so hoarse it barely came out. "I just went to the docks. I know about that night..."Were you scared? You were waiting for me to come get you in that storm, and I... I deserve to die!"He raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face.The sharp crack echoed across the empty square in front of the theater.I replied flatly, "It's in the past."My lack of reaction finally sent Luis into a panic.His eyes were red as he pleaded, "I don't think I'll ever forgive myself. Every time I think about that night, I want to kill myself."Isabella, I already sent Sophia to the most remote convent in Sicily. If you'll just come back..."He took a sudden step toward me and reached for my hand, but Matteo quickly moved

10

That night, after the encounter at the Teatro Massimo, Luis finally snapped.He couldn't accept losing everything.Desperate after losing both power and love, he tried to take me by force.In his twisted mind, if he kept me locked up long enough, I'd fall in love with him again.Two days later, early in the morning, a convoy of more than ten black sedans suddenly pulled up in front of my apartment in Palermo.Luis arrived with his men and had them block off the entire street."Isabella, you belong to me!" Luis screamed from outside the door, sounding hysterical and obsessed.But then the door slowly opened.I wasn't the panicked woman Luis had expected to find.My father stood before him instead, flanked by senior members of the Corvino family, all of them calm.Beside them, Matteo polished a pistol with unhurried precision."Luis."My father smiled at him."Did you really think you were the only one who called the shots in the Corvino family?"The color drained from Luis's face.He tu

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