Chapter 128: You’re Coming Home To Rome

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Enzo’s voice came out raw. "Just stop feeling what I feel?"

"No. Feelings don’t work that way. But you can choose not to act on them. You can choose to protect yourself instead of sacrificing yourself for someone who sees you as nothing more than a convenient ally." Antonio paused. "You’re my son, Enzo. You’re intelligent, capable, strategic when you’re not compromised by emotion. Build your empire. Make your territories successful. Prove that you’re more than just the son who lives in Dimitri’s shadow. But do it for yourself. Not for Isabella."

The unexpected support made Enzo’s throat tight.

"And if she comes to me for help again?"

"Then you remember what I just told you. You remember that she’s your brother’s woman. You remember that helping her comes with consequences. And you make the smart choice." Antonio’s voice turned final. "I’m trusting you to be better than you were this time, Enzo. Don’t make me regret that trust."

The line went dead.

Enzo sat in his hotel room, feeling hollowed out.

Antonio was right.

About all of it.

Isabella would never love him back. Helping her had nearly gotten him killed. His feelings for her were destroying him.

But knowing that didn’t make it hurt less.

Didn’t make him love her less.

Didn’t make him want her less.

He pulled out his phone, looked at Isabella’s contact.

He should call her. Should tell her about his father’s warning. Should remind her to be careful because Dimitri was still investigating.

But he didn’t.

Because his father was right about that too.

Isabella was Dimitri’s woman.

Not his.

Never his.

And the sooner Enzo accepted that, the sooner he could start trying to live with it.

****

POV: ISABELLA

Isabella stood in her hotel suite, freshly showered, wearing clean clothes, feeling human again after eight hours in that freezing reservoir.

She’d survived.

Dimitri had interrogated her. Had threatened her. Had locked her in hell.

And she’d survived.

Her phone rang, she picked it from from the table and saw that it was her father.

She answered. "Padre."

"Isabella." His voice was tight with controlled anger. "I’ve been informed of what happened. That Dimitri held you. Interrogated you. Locked you in a reservoir like some common criminal."

"I’m fine now. Antonio handled it. Victoria confessed. Dimitri had to release me."

"That’s not the point. The point is that Dimitri Valentino put his hands on my daughter. Imprisoned you. Threatened you. That cannot stand."

"Padre..."

"I’m arranging a flight. Tonight. You’re coming home to Rome. To rest. To recover. To get away from that man and his insanity."

Isabella closed her eyes, knew this was coming.

Her father wanted her home. Safe. Away from Dimitri’s reach.

And part of her wanted that too.

Wanted to run back to Rome. Back to safety. Back to a life where she wasn’t constantly terrified of being caught, being killed, being destroyed by her own obsession.

But she couldn’t.

Not yet.

"No," she said firmly.

"No?" Lorenzo’s voice turned sharp. "Isabella, this is not a request...."

"If I leave now, Dimitri will know I’m guilty." Isabella moved to the window, looked out at the city. "He’s already suspicious. Already investigating. If I suddenly flee back to Rome the moment I’m released, it will confirm everything he suspects."

"Let him suspect. You’re protected now. Victoria confessed. The evidence points away from you. You don’t need to stay in that city to prove your innocence."

"Yes, I do." Isabella’s voice was steady. "I need to stay. I need to maintain my normal routine. I need to act like an innocent woman who was falsely accused and then vindicated. If I run, I look guilty. If I stay, I look confident. Innocent."

Lorenzo was quiet for a long moment.

"You’re staying to be near him," he said finally. "Near Dimitri."

"I’m staying to protect myself. To maintain the cover story. To make sure Antonio’s expensive fiction holds up under scrutiny."

"That’s what you’re telling yourself. But we both know the truth, don’t we?" Lorenzo’s voice turned sad. "You’re staying because you can’t let him go. Because even after everything, after he threatened you, imprisoned you, made it clear he’d rather kill you than be with you....you still hope."

Isabella felt tears burn behind her eyes.

Because her father was right.

Part of her, a stupid, desperate, self-destructive part, still hoped.

Still thought that maybe, somehow, if she stayed close enough, if she proved herself enough, if she waited long enough....

Dimitri might choose her.

"Padre, I need to stay," she said quietly. "For strategic reasons. To protect the family’s interests. To maintain the alliance that you and Antonio have worked so hard to preserve."

"Strategic reasons." Lorenzo’s voice was heavy with disappointment. "Fine. Stay. Maintain your cover. Play your role. But Isabella....be careful. Dimitri is not going to stop investigating. He’s going to keep digging. And if he finds proof, any proof that you were involved, Antonio won’t be able to protect you a second time."

"I know."

"Do you? Because from where I’m standing, you seem determined to destroy yourself over a man who will never love you. A man who’s made it very clear that he’d rather see you dead than married to him, I know that we told you to get him back, but he has clearly shown it that he doesn’t want you"

The words cut deep.

But Isabella couldn’t deny them.

"I’ll be careful," she said instead.

"See that you are. Because if Dimitri kills you, I will go to war with the Valentinos. And that war will destroy both our families. Everything we’ve built. Everything we’ve sacrificed for." Lorenzo’s voice turned cold. "So stay if you must. But i want you to leave the issue of him honoring the alliance to both me and his father, we’ll take care of it. So stay, but don’t give Dimitri a reason to come for you again. Don’t make any more mistakes. Don’t let your obsession compromise your judgment."

"I won’t."

"I hope you mean that." A pause. "I love you, Isabella. Despite your poor decisions. Despite everything. You’re still my daughter. And I don’t want to lose you to this madness."

"I love you too, Padre."

Lorenzo hung up.

Isabella stood at the window, her father’s words echoing in her mind.

You’re staying because you can’t let him go.

You seem determined to destroy yourself over a man who will never love you.

Don’t let your obsession compromise your judgment.

All true.

All devastating.

All impossible to change.

Because Isabella had spent fourteen years loving Dimitri Valentino.

Had built her entire identity around becoming his wife.

Had sacrificed everything, her dignity, her safety, her soul trying to win him.

And she didn’t know how to stop.

Didn’t know how to be anyone other than the woman obsessed with the Devil.

So she’d stay.

She’d maintain her cover. She’d act innocent. She’d keep her distance from Dimitri and Eve.

But she’d stay close enough to watch.

To hope.

To wait for another opportunity.

Even if that hope was killing her.

Even if that obsession was destroying her.

Even if everyone around her could see she was drowning.

She’d stay.

Because leaving would mean admitting it was over.

And Isabella wasn’t ready to admit that.

Not yet.

Maybe not ever.