Chapter 50
“I’m so sorry, Bells,” Luca sighed from the seat beside me.
“It’s okay, Luc.” I stared out the window at the passing nature.
“I wasn’t talking about Tyler.”
“I know you weren’t.” I turned to face him, the leather crunching beneath me. “The things you said hurt me.”
“I know but… you need to know I didn’t mean a thing I said.
You’ve done so much for me and Theo and I was wrong, so fucking wrong.
I wish I could take them back..” He dropped his gaze for a moment.
“I love you so much, Bells. You’re not just my sister, you’re my twin.
We used to be able to finish each other’s sentences…
and I got to thinking about when I’d lost sight of that.
Can you forgive me for acting like an absolute asshole? ”
“I love you too, Luc,” I managed a smile.
“And yes, I forgive you. Life’s too short, you know…
to hold grudges.” He nodded in understanding and gripped my hand.
I didn’t want to carry on living with regrets, Tyler wouldn’t want me to either.
I was incredibly lucky I got the chance to call him one of my best friends.
As we pulled into the garage, something felt off. It was quiet… too quiet.
“Where’s your father? I thought he would have been here to meet us,” she tutted as she opened my door.
“It’s okay, Mama.”
“I wonder where everybody is,” I thought to myself as my mother opened the connecting door to the kitchen for me. Inside, I glanced around the room, noticing the half arranged lilies on the side and a half open drawer. That was weird…
“Guys, something doesn’t feel right.” Wandering over to the side to shut the drawer, I spotted Arturo’s pen knife and frowned. “I’m getting a bad feeling.”
“I think you’re just tired, Bells,” Luca said with a patient smile. “Why don’t you go upstairs and get some sleep?”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I sighed as he pulled me into his embrace, something I hadn’t felt in a while. “Think I’ll have a shower first. I feel icky and smell like the hospital.”
“Just be careful, and shout if you need anything.” Mama ordered with raised eyebrows as she opened the fridge door.
After a quick shower, I padded back into my room, pulling on my tank which snagged at the bandage in my head.
I winced and rubbed at the sore spot before perching on the end of my bed.
The last time I’d been in my room I’d been in here with Tyler.
My lip quivered as his voice came back to me.
If only I could rewind time, then Tyler might still have been here.
I took a shaky breath and started sliding backwards to lie down when I spotted my top drawer was open.
I sat up, my eyebrows furrowing. The last person who had been in my room had been my father, I knew that because he had brought me a change of clothes. Swivelling my legs slowly over the side of the bed, I crossed the room and reached for the drawer, my fingers lingering on the handle.
When we had started junior year, Peyton showed me a trick that would make my drawer stick, ensuring my journal loaded with all my secrets would be safe and sound from two annoying brothers. My heart quickened as I slid it slowly open.
Shit.
My journal was not where I had left it, in the gap between two drawers.
I fished it out, then reached toward the back to replace the piece of wood that kept my drawer in place.
But as I stood up, holding my journal in one hand, my mind whirled.
He wouldn’t have read it, would he? No, of course not, Papa would never betray my privacy like that.
I gnawed my lip and pulled the cover back.
It was nice to read back on previous entries.
I started laughing as I spotted the entry I had written when Arturo first came.
Wow, how blind I had been. There it was, in furious hand strokes, my obsession with my sexy new bodyguard, smothered in futile rage.
As I flicked through a few more pages a red flag began waving manically in my head.
Wait, something was missing.
Blinking, I flicked back to the front of my journal and carefully turned page after page. Something was very wrong. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as it dawned on me.
The photos from our first date. They were gone!
Cursing, I dropped my journal and fled from my room, pelting my way down the stairs only to collide with a hard chest.
“Ouch.” Knocked back, I looked up to see Gino in front of me, looking suspicious as hell.
“Bella, you shouldn’t be running around the house, you’re not w—” His eyes shifted to the side and he scratched at his beard. He looked very uncomfortable.
“Oh, don’t give me the caring act, G, where is my father?” I demanded. At this his head snapped back to me. He was hiding something.
“I haven’t seen him.” Fucking liar. I folded my arms and took a good look at him. He was shifting from foot to foot and rubbing the knuckles of one hand against the palm of the other.
“Bullshit.”
“Look, it’s better if you stay out of it. Okay?” Gino said calmly.
“Stay out of what?” I frowned. When he cursed and stepped back I saw a splash of red on his brown suede loafers. “Gino, I’m only going to ask you one more time, where is my father?”
“I’m sorry, Bells, but I can’t tell you.” He replied, rubbing his forehead.
“Oh yeah?” I asked, rage making the fists at my sides tighten. “Then where is Arturo?”
Gino narrowed his eyes before mouthing back, “Getting what he deserves.”
Fear swirled in my belly like angry piranhas as I spirited for the kitchen, finding my mother speaking with Luca.
“Ma, where is Papa?”
“I don’t know, baby, I haven’t seen him since we got home.” she huffed, genuinely annoyed.
Frustrated, I reached out to grab my cell to call him when a thought occurred to me. There was only one place in this house my father would go if he didn’t want to be disturbed… or caught doing something he shouldn’t.
The basement.
“Bells?” Luca asked with a frown as my nostrils flared and white hot rage bled into veins. Ignoring him, I stalked over to the door that led downstairs. Mumbling something to my mother, he put his coffee cup on the counter and followed me. “Where are you going?”
“To stop whatever Pa is doing,” I seethed as we reached the door at the bottom of the stairs.
With a shaking hand, I pulled the handle down before pushing the door open. Fluorescent lights slipped through the gap as we both peered through. The sight that came to me made me press a hand to my mouth.
“You leave here in one of two ways, in a body bag or on a plane with a ticket back to Britain. Your choice?” my father sneered.
“I ain’t goin’ nowhere, mate. Sooner you get your head around that, the better it’ll be for ya.” Arturo laughed. At the sound of my father’s fist colliding with Arturo’s face, I burst through the door.
“Don’t you dare lay another fucking finger on him!” I screamed. The room instantly went silent. My father turned ever so slightly and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to refrain from screaming. His face was splattered with blood. Arturo’s blood. The father of my child’s blood.
“Get out, Isabella!” he hollered back, his eyes not leaving Arturo’s.
Swallowing, I peered around my father’s body to find Arturo staring steadily back at me. His lip was split in two places, one of his eyes was badly swollen, and I’m pretty sure he had a few broken ribs judging by the way he was breathing shallowly.
“Hey! Don’t fucking look at her!” he backhanded Arturo’s face, and I couldn’t take it anymore.
“STOP IT!” I yelled, stepping closer to the pair of them. Emmet rose from his chair as my father issued an order with a flick of a hand. I hissed as he came close. “And you can sit your ass back down.” Wisely he raised both his hands and backed up into the chair.
“You lied to me, Isabella.” Papa whispered. “How could you? With this piece of shit!” I grit my teeth as he heaved in breaths, fury radiating from him.
“I didn’t lie to you. I just didn’t tell you.” I replied. He sucked in a breath and whirled on me.
“Don’t you dare talk back at me,” he roared. “I trusted him with you. Trusted he would take care of you and now I find that you’ve been…”
“Been, what, Papa?” I said, cocking my head to one side, my shoulders shaking with rage.
“Emmet, take my daughter back upstairs, now,” he said, turning back to Arturo.
“No, Papa! You and I are doing this, right here, right now.”
“Fine! Then tell me this… did he tell you, huh? Tell you what’s done, who he is.”
“Yes,” I whispered through a shaky smile. “Yes, he has.”
“He’s a low life, Bella.” My father shook his head, disgust clear on his face. “A nobody. I don’t understand, why him when you could’ve had?—?”
“Because I fucking love him!”I screamed, a tear dripping down my face.
“Oh, please,” he laughed, his tone sarcastic and patronising. “You don’t know what love is, how could you? You know fucking nothing about the world.”
“And who’s fault is that, eh, Lorenzo?” I said through gritted teeth, taking another step towards him.
Arturo’s eyes met my own, unwavering love clear in their depths, but my father caught the look and roared again before drawing his fist back.
Panicked, I yelled, “Hit the father of my child’s face again and I will walk away…
Away from you, away from the business, away from this whole fucking family!
” I hissed, dropping to the ground. Warm arms wrapped around me as Luca knelt down to pull me up.
My breathing was ragged as angry tears flowed freely down my face.
“Bella…” My father whispered, his face turning sorrowful as he closed the distance between us, his hand reaching for mine.
“Don’t… Don’t you fucking touch me!” My voice broke.
“Bella, I—” he started, disbelief in his gaze, as the sound of cable ties breaking caught our attention. I looked up to see Arturo walking over to me, his eyes fixed on mine as he knelt down.
“You love me?” he asked, cupping my face.
“I do… I love you.” I nuzzled my head into his chest as he pulled me into his arms.
“Isabella—”
“Oh, Pa, just give it a fucking rest, will you?!” Luca protested. “What is your problem?”
“ Him . He’s my problem.”
“Pfft. Any man who fell for Bells would be a problem for you.” Luca scoffed.
“No, no… Not any man. Just this one!” my father hissed, kicking the chair in the centre of the room against the wall.
“Wow, you’re a real piece of work.” Luca laughed, standing.
“You call him a low life and talk about the things he’s done, but what about us, huh, Pa?
” He thwacked his chest. “We’ve done things for the business I sure as hell am not proud of.
Whereas this guy? He ran into a burning building to save my sister.
He’s taken her from being a woman who can defend herself to a woman who can fight and protect her family.
He’s done everything we’ve asked and as far as I can tell, the only crime he’s committed is falling in love with her.
Fuck, he just let you beat the crap out of him knowing full well he could stop it at any time. ”
“Shut it, Luc. This isn’t your fight!” My father demanded.
“The hell it isn’t. I’m not going to stand here and let you stamp all over my sister’s happiness.
This isn’t about Arturo. This is about your own fucking pride and how your precious daughter’s not following the plan.
” I looked up frowning as Arturo kissed my temple.
“You were pissed when I told you I was going to marry Peyton, and you’re pissed again now.
We’re not pawns for you to use to gain more power, we’re your children.
Isabella should be free to love whoever she wants.
Not just some rich man’s son who will help grow this family’s reputation.
Face it, Pa… you need to grow up and get over it.
” My father’s throat bobbed as Luca turned and held his hand out to Arturo.
“Come on, man, let’s get you cleaned up.
” Arturo nodded and stood, still holding me tightly, as Luca ushered the pair of us out the door.
The moment we entered the kitchen, my mother’s eyes widened in horror.
“What the hell happened?!” she asked, crossing the kitchen and assessing Arturo’s face.
“Pa happened.” Luca replied with an irritated tone.
“Ana, I’m sorry you had to find out like this, but, if it ain’t already clear to you, I’m in love with your daughter and your husband obviously ain’t very happy about it.” Arturo said, clutching me tighter.
“Oh, Arturo, I can’t think of a better man for my daughter. Don’t you worry about my husband,” her eyes flamed as she held his shoulder, “you leave him to me.”
“Thank you, Mama,” I took a deep breath. “This probably isn’t the best time to tell you, but you should know that soon you’re going to have another grandchild to love.”
“Wait… Are you two pregnant?” my mother beamed, her eyes lighting up.
“Yes, I found out yesterday and sort of… just… blurted it out downstairs. It wasn’t the way I wanted to tell either of you,” I sighed.
“Isabella, baby… I couldn’t be happier for the both of you. I’m your mother. All I’ve ever wanted is to see you happy,” her face cracked with unshed tears.
“I am,” I whispered. She nodded and kissed my hand.
“I know… It’s been obvious for weeks” she choked through a sob. “Now, you leave your father to me, go and get Arturo sorted out.”
My mother and I had always been close but because we were so different it had been hard to open up to her. With Papa it had always been easier… simpler… until now. Now, only time would tell if he would accept my choice and welcome Arturo into the family. And if not?
If not, we would leave.