Chapter 12 Isabella
Isabella
“What do you mean, no?”
Lorenzo’s expression was flat as he stared at me over the dining room table.
“Do I need to give you a definition of the word, dolcezza?” He pulled out his phone, tapped on it for a moment, before he turned it to show me.
He flipped through a gallery of bodies that were pulled out of rubble.
It was the rescue and cleanup from the casino, which felt like a lifetime ago.
My stomach flipped over. “My enemies are always out there. This wasn’t a one off.
This wasn’t even the worst thing that has ever happened. ” I knew he was talking about Sienna.
“So, what, I’m a liability to you?”
“Yes.”
I stood up, grabbing my near-empty plate with jerking, angry hands. “Go fuck yourself.”
I stomped back into the kitchen and tried to breathe through my own blood rushing to my head. I was going to rage myself into a migraine if I wasn't careful.
Ever since we got back from our night at his hotel, I’d hoped that Lorenzo would start treating me more as an equal and not a captive, but if anything, things were worse now.
I couldn’t go anywhere without letting him know about it, and that was just on the estate itself.
I hadn’t been able to leave the property without him at all.
I stood at the sink, scrubbing at my plate with far more aggression than I needed to, when his arms slid around my middle. He set the point of his chin against my shoulder. “Go away.”
Lorenzo kissed the nape of my neck. “No.”
My eyes slid closed for a moment as his lips sent shivers up and down my spine. “You can’t keep doing this,” I said.
There was a hint of teeth against my skin, and then he pulled back. “Doing what, dolcezza?”
“You can’t keep me here like this,” I said. “I’m not your prisoner anymore.”
Lorenzo turned me around so that we were looking at one another. “You’re not my prisoner,” he agreed. “You’re my love, and I need you to be safe.”
I ignored the fluttery feeling in my chest. His sweet words weren’t going to change my mood. Not this time. “I thought Artem and my father were dead. Doesn’t that mean the immediate danger is gone?”
“As far as we know, they are,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t have enemies, dolcezza.” He cupped my cheek. “It’s my job to keep you safe.”
I thought for a second. “Would it be any different if we were engaged?”
I could tell that he wanted to say yes, but he shook his head. “It would be worse then, actually. Once we went public, you’d have a target on your back.”
Another point for not accepting his proposal. But I couldn’t find it in me to say that to his face. “I just wanted to go on a walk,” I reminded him, getting back on track. “Down the street and back to stretch my legs. What could possibly happen to me?”
Lorenzo’s eyes were hard. “Too much. If you want to go on a walk, I’ll go with you. Or Damian will.”
But that wasn’t the point. I wanted fresh air and a moment to breathe. Having a babysitter defeated the purpose. I shook my head. “I’m not in the mood now.” I slid around him. “I’m going to FaceTime with my sister.”
Lorenzo grabbed my arm before I could escape and pulled me into his arms. “You’re in my world, Isabella. The life that you knew before is gone. Find a way to get right with that.” He dropped a kiss on my lips and let me go.
I did my best not to stomp out of the kitchen and found a comfy spot in the living room.
Once I was settled, I called Gemma. Santino had, apparently, cloned her cell, so she had no idea that he’d had access to her phone.
She and I had been texting for the last few days, and more than anything, I was glad that she hadn’t even been in the city when everything happened with our father.
She had been on break from school and had gone to visit our mother: she was due back in the city next week.
“Hey!” Gemma’s voice tinkled from the speakers, and I nearly dropped the phone. I hadn’t even noticed that the call had connected. “Are you okay? You look put out.”
I was, but I didn’t want to explain all of that to her just now. Plus, I wasn’t sure if Lorenzo would even allow me to tell her about everything. I would eventually have to mention the pregnancy: I wouldn’t be able to hide it for much longer.
“I’m just…lonely,” I said, unable to lie entirely.
Gemma cooed. “It’s got to be isolating working for a family instead of at a clinic, huh?”
I nodded. “Yeah,” I said. “I don’t get to see my nursing friends as often.” Or ever.
“Is the family nice? That angry-looking hot guy treating you right?”
I chuckled. Angry-looking hot guy, huh? “Yeah, Lorenzo is great,” I said in all sincerity. I might be mad at the man more often than not, but I did love him. “He’s been a great…boss.”
“Is he doing any better?” she asked. “You never did tell me what was wrong with him.”
“I can’t tell you,” I said. “It would be an invasion of privacy.”
Gemma nodded. “That’s right,” she said. “I forgot.”
“It’s a good thing you aren’t planning to go into medicine, huh?”
She giggled. “Hush.”
From somewhere behind Gemma, I heard: “Who are you talking to, honey?”
Gemma turned to look over her shoulder. “Mom! Say hello to Isabella!” She flipped the phone around so that I was looking at our mother, Grace, for the first time in years. We stared at each other, silent and awkward, for a stretch before I tried to paste on a smile.
“Hi…Mom,” I said.
Her mouth jerked into a semblance of a smile. “Hello,” she said stiffly. “How are you?”
“Fine,” I said with a little nod. “What about you?”
She just hummed as an answer, and then her eyes flicked to Gemma. “Finish up here, okay? We have that lunch with Ms. Fineman to get ready for.”
Gemma turned the phone back to her again. She was frowning now. I could hear our mother’s footsteps hurrying away. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t know why she acts like that.”
I did, but I wasn’t going to say anything to Gemma.
It wasn’t like Grace hated me or anything; she had simply chosen Gemma over me when she left Santino, and I could hardly blame her for that.
I would rather saw off my own arm than have Gemma live through any of what our father put me through.
My younger sister had always been the softer of the two of us.
Growing up, she was quick to cry, quick to have her feelings hurt.
She wouldn’t have survived under Santino.
The few times I had seen my mother, Grace had been stiff with me. I didn’t know for certain that she felt guilty for her choices, but I felt better thinking that she did regret her decisions, at least a little bit.
“It’s fine, Gem,” I told her.
“It’s not,” my sister insisted. “She could, at least, try with you.”
I couldn’t disagree with that, but… “Maybe it’s best if we let it go,” I said. “I don’t hold any ill-will toward her. After dealing with Santino as long as she did, I think she deserves her peace.”
Gemma rolled her eyes and looked every bit her age. “She left you to deal with him all by yourself, but she acts like she’s the only one he ever hurt. That’s bullshit, Isabella.”
Her words made me wince. “Forget about it,” I said. “When are you heading back next week?”
“Wednesday,” she said. “I don’t start back to work for another week, though, so maybe we could have lunch?”
“I’ll ask—”
Gemma’s eyes narrowed. “Ask? Why would you?”
“I just have to make sure I can get the time off,” I said soothingly.
“Oh.” She relaxed. “Well, text me when you know for sure.”
“I will.”
As we said our goodbyes, I heard a commotion from the foyer. “Isabella!” Lorenzo called. I hustled toward the front door and squealed when I saw Amalia in the foyer. Elio had an arm around her waist, supporting her.
Amalia’s eyes landed on me, and she promptly burst into tears. “I’m sorry,” she wailed, and Elio yelped when she let go of him and practically launched herself at me.
“Easy!” he begged as I caught her.
“I’ve got her,” I assured him over her shoulder. I soothed my hands up and down her back. “I’m glad you’re home,” I said.
“I lied to you,” Amalia blubbered into my shoulder.
“I know,” I said, “and you hurt me, but we’re going to work through it.” I looked up and saw Lorenzo and Elio staring at us. “We’re going to be fine.”
I helped Elio take her upstairs to get settled back in, and when we reached the top landing, her eyes went wide. “Why has the hallway been painted?” I followed her gaze down the length of the hallway. It had gone through a hefty renovation to repair the damage that Lorenzo had inflicted on it.
I looked at Elio, who looked guilty. He hadn’t mentioned much of what happened after she was taken to the hospital, then. “I’ll catch you up,” I told her. “It’s kind of a long story.”