Isabella POV:
Dante was drunk. Not sloppy, but his edges were softened, his mask of control slipping. He lifted his glass of whiskey, the amber liquid catching the light of the chandelier.
“To Valentina,” he said, his voice carrying across the hushed dinner table. His eyes were fixed on her, burning with a raw, unguarded adoration that silenced the room. “The most brilliant, captivating woman I’ve ever known. The family is lucky to have her. I am lucky to have her.”
The words struck me with the force of a physical blow. A hot, sharp pain radiated from my chest, so intense it made me gasp. He wasn't just toasting his cousin, his Consigliere. He was making a declaration. A public humiliation.
In that moment, under the weight of a dozen pairs of eyes, I knew. It wasn’t just that he didn’t love me. He didn’t even see me. I was a ghost at his table.
I quietly excused myself, my movements stiff and robotic. I walked to the powder room, the sound of my own blood roaring in my ears. I stared at my reflection in the ornate mirror. The woman looking back was a stranger—pale, with haunted eyes and a grim set to her mouth. This was what his love had made me.
I was about to turn away when I heard their voices from the hallway, low and urgent. Dante and Valentina.
“You can’t say things like that in front of her, Dante,” Valentina hissed. “In front of everyone. It’s cruel.”
“It’s the truth,” he slurred slightly. “You know why I married her, Lena. I told you.”
My breath caught in my throat. I pressed my ear against the cool wood of the door.
“You said you found her interesting. You didn’t say you were using her as my stand-in,” she shot back, her voice laced with disgust. “That’s not just cruel, it’s… twisted. It’s a violation of the family honor.”
“It was the only way to keep you close!” His voice was a raw plea. “After you chose the business over us… seeing her, someone who looked so much like you did back then… it was a way to have a piece of you. And she’s weak. She adores me. She’d never leave, especially not now that she’s pregnant.”
My stomach churned violently.
“And the baby?” Valentina asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“The baby will be perfect,” Dante said, and the chilling conviction in his tone made me feel sick. “A girl. We’ll name her Elena. She’ll have Isabella’s face, but she’ll be my Elena. My legacy. A perfect blend of you and me.”
I stumbled back from the door, a strangled sound escaping my lips. Bile rose in my throat, and I barely made it to the toilet before I retched, my body convulsing with the violent rejection of his poison. He didn’t want a child. He wanted a breeding project. He wanted to create a living doll from my body and name it after his obsession.
I flushed the toilet, the sound unnaturally loud in the silent house. I rinsed my mouth, staring at my hollow-eyed reflection. The pain was gone. The shock was gone. In their place was a vow, silent and absolute, that echoed in the empty spaces of my soul.
I will burn your whole world to the ground, Dante Moretti.
His arrogance, his supreme confidence that I was a weak, adoring fool—that was my key. That was my escape route. He would never see me coming.
I walked back into the dining room, my composure a perfect, icy mask. I sat down and took a sip of water, ignoring the concerned look Valentina shot my way.
Later that night, back in our silent penthouse, I sat at my laptop. With steady hands, I booked a one-way ticket to San Francisco, departing in three weeks. I researched apartments in a place called Napa Valley. It looked green and quiet. It looked like a place a ghost could disappear.
My phone rang. It was Valentina.
“Bella? Are you alright? I wanted to talk about…”
“I’m fine,” I cut her off, my voice cold. “Just tired.”
“I’m coming over to your father’s place tomorrow to pay my respects before I leave for London. I’d like to see you,” she said softly.
A part of me wanted to scream at her, to blame her. But she wasn't the architect of this pain. She was just the muse. “Fine. Tomorrow.”
Dante walked into the room. “Who was that?”
“Valentina. She wants to meet at my father’s house tomorrow.”
His eyes lit up with that familiar, possessive hunger. “I’ll come with you,” he said immediately. It wasn’t a request. It was a command. Another opportunity for him to be near her.
“Okay,” I said, my voice betraying nothing.
He was a pawn in my game now. And he was entirely, blissfully unaware that I was even playing. His every move to get closer to her was a step that pushed me further toward my freedom. He was no longer my husband. He was just an obstacle.
