Isabella POVI take his promises to heart, stretching my hand out while my head bobs up and down in the yes direction.It was the first time I'd seen a genuine smile on his face, but it quickly disappears and he wears me the ring, easily fitting my finger perfectly.He stands on his feet handing the roses to me, “I hope you remember that for the rest of our lives,” he says turning to the side, “Dinner?”I stare down at the ring and the roses in my hand, “How did you know?” “Know what?” he turns to the side, leading me back to the garden doors“The ring?” I turn slightly to him as he pulls the door open.“Intuition” he shrugs leading me back inside the building We are led through the doors through the general hallways and I can feel eyes from guests burning into my soul.Eyes follow us, and the whispers follow.“Is that Dominic Deluca?”“Who is the lady?” “Why is she with flowers?”“Is that a ring?” “Is that Mariano's daughter?”“The falling company? No impossible”The whispers alm
Isabella POV“Oh my gosh, I saw the video, when were you going to tell us?” spasms of messages wake me up followed by continuous dings from my phone.With sleepy eyes, I reply to the message from Hannah, “What video?” I frown“Congratulations” another message comes in from Rachel making me frown.“The one on the news silly” Hannah replies me.That wakes me up immediately, I immediately tune into all my social media apps to find a video of Dominic’s proposal to me everywhere.“So that’s why he was so nice last night? Because he was recording the entire thing for social media.I frown to myself a message from Dominic popping up on my phone.“Family dinner at 6 pm tonight, dress nicely” I read the message, a frown covering my face. Already giving instructions and expecting me to follow them.I quickly dressed up for work heading downstairs, after the incident with Dad, he stayed at the hospital for a few days but came back last night but I never got to greet him because as soon as Domin
Isabella POVAs soon as I get home I grab a bright red dress pantsuit and gold jewelry, I join my parents downstairs, and we all head to the location for dinner.The De-Luca’s Villa, it’s the single most beautiful place I’ve ever been in.The house sits on a hill, vintage lights decorate the whole path up the hill, and rows of trees and flowers decorate the path up the house, I spot a tennis court, a lit-up basketball court and then the house.Our home is large but this is a castle.“Woah,” Matteo says beside me.“Oh my gosh, I’m so nervous” my mum stated rearranging her dress repeatedly “What if they don’t like us?” Mom says, her eyes bouncing from Dad to Me.“Mom, relax, I mean they can’t be that bad right?” “We all have money,” Matteo says innocently My eyes meet with Dad, for a few more months and we will be dead broke, my marriage to Dominic secures the family’s wealth.“Yea but they are like old money” she frownsI shake my head turning my head to the window as the car comes
Isabella POVThe next morning, everything is in a rush, Bianca comes around the house and we go shopping together for a dress that’s not Red.“I can’t believe you’re getting married to every woman’s dream man” Bianca giggles lying on my bed while I change into a nude flare dress we found, “Girl you’re so lucky” she turns to me “Gold heels” she replies when I raise two heels in the air, silently asking her to pick“One, he walked off after the entire proposal to chase his ex-girlfriend” I roll my eyes pulling on more jewelry.“Secondly, he has been nothing but controlling and a really good actor” “Hmm” I raise my brow at that, “I mean he could almost convince me that he was already in love with me,” I say “So you are feeling something for him? You bad girl” she giggles pointing a finger at me“No I don’t” I frown “Did you skip all the other parts I said?” I raise a brow at her standing in front of her with two purses“His beautiful aura and Money are enough for me to ignore that” she
Isabella POVThe next day is a Saturday and I finally feel free, no meetings or parties with Dominic.My dreams are bashed by my mom pushing my door open, “Dress up Isabella we have to go flower shopping for the wedding” she instructs shutting the door close and walking away swinging her phone from ear to ear.I almost want to throw a tantrum but I stop myself, finding a simple yellow dress and sandals, placing my blonde wavy hair in a rough bun, I don’t bother with makeup and I head downstairs.My mom is quick to lead me out of the house, “Maaaa breakfast” I whine turning to the car“Should have thought about that waking up by 10 am” she tuts sliding into the seat next to me and closing the door.“Rupert let’s drop by a restaurant for breakfast first and then we go to the flower shop” she sends me a side smirk while I celebrate happily.We have breakfast in some outdoor restaurant while my mom tells me all the gossip surrounding my Engagement.“And Maria called me up and told me her
“How about we leave the flower picking to you and my mom,” I say in the silent room, “I mean you are the expert” I send her a smile hoping to crack her Cold Demure.She turns to me with an angry and intimidating stare directed straight at me which makes me shake in my shoes, “if you are going to be the future Mrs Deluca and retire me, flowers are something you need to know at the palm of your hands” she almost screams “I knew you were lazy but not to the extent of asking me to pick out your wedding flowers”“I mean how is she going to plan all the charity balls and events for the family?” she laughs with the attendant “I mean your hilbilly mom should have taught you better” she laughs again I watch my mom's eyes cover with a sheen of tears, her head shinning with sweat even though the room is cold, I mean I could stand in a boardroom and face a load of men and argue about numbers but I can't stand up to a woman who is going to be my mother in law because she comes from the wealthiest
A car is sent by Dominic to pick me up and I'm led into the restaurant, the lights are dim and there's no one but the waiters in the restaurant.This immediately makes me halt in my steps, “what is this man planning?” “Nothing out of the normal for a couple about to wed” his voice filters through the room, walking towards me“I just wanted to talk, there’s no need to pretend to like me Mr Deluca” I reply folding my hands across my chest.“Then let’s talk.” His hands cup my waist pulling me towards the table, a single rose flower on the table.“You know, I don’t like roses” I pick up the rose, taking a seat opposite him, “Maybe Grace liked them,” I say my voice filled with a hint of jealousy.His lips lift in a smirk, “Tell me what you like Isabella, and I’ll hand it to you on a platter of Gold” “Your money doesn’t impress me either” I blink at him turning my eyes around the room, The waiter approach us serving champagne “But here you are, about to marry me for it, you are never rea
Dominic’s POVShe smiles at me widely, and I already know it’s being powered by the alcohol, her movements are slow and funny.The waiter walks towards us with our food and the light in her eyes shines brightly in the dark room, she could almost convince me to start falling in love with her.I shake my head, removing that thought from my head, it’s a contract marriage, it’s one of convenience, I can’t go around falling in love with her when Grace still occupies my thoughts.“The food is divine, I don’t know if it’s just me or the alcohol,” she says, giggling loudly after, a huge proud grin on her face.“Is this what you do all the time? Go to restaurants, get drunk, and go back home?” I raise a brow at her“And is carrying a stick up your ass 24/7 what you do all the time?” She says without wasting a beat“Good one” I roll my eyes, finishing up my dinner, “For someone drunk, I can see your brain is still functioning at 100%” I say clearing my plate and signaling for the waiter for des
Isabella POV “What? No deal!!” he yells out, pacing the room I shrug, “Then we will be stuck here for a very long time Rafaelle” I mutter my eyes on his pacing figure “I can't trust you!” he turns to me with pointed fingers I sigh turning my head away from him as I put up more drama to make him believe in me. “I...I just want to see it live, see him one more time as he betrays me” I say my voice cracking as I speak, my cheeks staining with tears. “I need it as some sought-of closure before I move on with you Rafaelle” I grit out, trying to convince him He bites his lips, his expression changing as he stares down at me with a look of unbelief. “How can I trust you?” he lifts a brow at me, his voice low and threatening “Why the sudden change of heart?” he asks further, his voice cautious. “I can't run from you Rafaelle, you have made that clear, and if Dominic is actually going to betray me and marry Grace, then I want to see it,” I say harshly, convincing him completely He
ISABELLA POV I watch Rafaelle as his phone rings multiple times after his call with grace but he refuses to pick up the calls I frown still silent as I watch him, after force-feeding me he has barely spoken a word to me. The sunlight from the sun bounces into the cabin, the sound of the waves smashing against the side of the boat, and all I can think about is finding an escape out of here. Rafaelle walks back into the room, how eyes fixed on me, his unwavering gaze makes my skin crawl and I physically want to hurl myself out of the chair I'm tied to. “You know, Bella, Dominic will be married in a few days” he spreads his arm out, his voice low and menancing. “Can you believe it?” he smirks moving closer I roll my teary eyes ignoring his words, I feel a pang of sadness hit me that Dominic might be playing directly into their trap but at the same time, a tinge of hope fills me. “Dominic won’t marry Grace, Rafaelle and we both know it” I grit out finally responding to his
GRACE POV I smile to myself as I leave Francesca’s office, my kitten heels clicking on the marble floor loudly. My eyes move to my phone screen, tapping the stop button as I was recording the entire conversation between Francesca and I Now, all I have to do is alter the recording to ensure that only Francesca is seen in a bad light, and I? The victim. I smile happily to myself as I leave the office, “I need to continue with my next plan of action” I head back to my car, happy that my plan is coming to fruition, it's been months of waiting and planning, and finally, in a few days, I will have everything. I almost jump in the seat of my car as I take the long drive to the shipping docks. “Bianca” I mutter, my lips set in a thin line as I park my car. I walk directly to the caravan where we kept her and the guard eyes me. “Mam, you're here, Miss Francesca didn't inform me you were coming” he lifts a suspicious brow at me I pull out my purse, my fingers clenching the l
GRACE POV “Just a few more days,” I mutter to myself, pacing my new bedroom. Soon, I will be moving to Dominic's room, and nobody will be able to stop me. I sigh heavily, the sun reflecting down on my figure, I could swear Matilda and Dominic were talking about me last night in his bedroom but I could not hear them properly. I was sneaking closer to the room when they caught me, I pause, “I hope he doesn't suspect a thing yet?” I frown. I also can’t believe Dominic has yet to say yes to the wedding, he has been dragging his feet about it while Madam Deluca and I made preparations “I need to get him to agree to this quickly,” I mutter to myself, grabbing my purse. I need to find the man and get an answer from him quickly before our plans are destroyed. My car comes to a halt in front of his office and eyes follow my movement as I walk in. I know many of them have gossiped about me, especially after I released the news of our marriage to the press But I dont care, I'm li
Dominic POV I push the door of my bedroom open and my gaze lands on a sight that I've been dragging myself through for weeks since Bella’s kidnapping I sigh heavily, my eyes scanning the area, bottles of alcohol at the side of the bedroom, Bella’s clothes strewn across the bed where I had dragged them out in anguish, sleeping with the materials for weeks to no end. The balcony doors have been permanently shut close with a board displaying pictures and a list of suspects. My feet carry me to the board, and the feeling in my chest prompts me to reach out towards the table. I've never had a reason to suspect Grace in Bella’s kidnapping. “But maybe I should,” I say to myself, pulling out a picture of her, I turn to the board pinning it right beside Rafaelle. I mean she has motive now that I think about it and with her pushing for the wedding so bad, I have more reason to suspect her. I bit my lip nervously, I don’t know if I should straight up accuse her and then alert her
Bianca POV Just like a deer caught in headlights, Francesca runs towards me just as the elevator door opens behind me I try to run inside to close it but she grips me pulling out her phone. I grab her by the hair as the elevator doors close, shutting us away from Grace and Dominic. I try to fight, grunting slightly as I grab her by the shirt. We tumble on the floor together and she takes power over me, slamming herself against me and pushing my back into the cold metal floor She pulls out a gun from her side making me squeak out in fear “Don’t kill me!!” I yell out my eyes widening in panic. She laughs wiping the sweat from the top of her forehead, “You escaped and played right back into my trap, you are so dumb Bianca” she laughs pulling me to my feet the gun still pointed at my back “You won't get away with this, Dominic will find out, he will see the security footage” I grit out, my hands raised up in surrender She changes the course of the elevator down to the gar
Dominic POV “What are the both of you doing here?” my voice booms across the hallway, my eyes on Grace and Francesca as they whisper between themselves “Dominic!!” Grace sings, practically shouting while Francesca runs towards the elevator My eyes brows shoot up in shock at Francesca suddenly running away at the sight of me Does she think I'm angry about her taking numerous trips without my approval? I roll my eyes at that, I've been so stuck trying to find Bella that I've lost concentration on every other thing. I sigh heavily as my eyes settle on Grace properly, her eyes move between the elevator door and me as she struts towards me Annoyance bubbles in my throat and my gaze finally settles on the dress she's wearing. My eyes narrows at her impending figure, “What the hell are you doing wearing that dress?” I demand, my voice echoing off the walls She pauses looking down at the dress, “uhm, Dom, I saw the dress and thought you would like it” she says quietly her e
Rafaelle POV I stand on the deck of the ship, the wind whipping in my blonde hair. We are back on sea and on our way back to New York, I didn't know where else to go and Francesca gave no direction so this will be the best decision. And if they find Bianca they can easily bring her back to the ship My knuckles turn white as I grip the ship handle tighter, “No more playing by anybody's rules but mine” I mutter to myself I turn around heading below deck. Bella is seated at the head of the table, one hand tied to the chair and the other scrambling her fork across her plate of food. She looks up as I approach and I can see the fear in her eyes, I bite my lip, smiling slightly to reassure her but she looks away from me I sigh, one of the reasons I want to be back in New York is because I want to kill Dominic for myself, I know Francesca wants to do it but it's my revenge and I plan on taking out Dominic for good. Just as I sit down, my phone rings in my pocket. I glance do
Rafaelle POV “I need you to get Bella out of town, take her to a whole other continent I don’t care but get her out of here quickly before Dominic can get any ideas” Francesca rattles off as she walks towards the car quickly “I can't believe these idiots, one minute with her and they let her escape” My heart pounds in my chest as the evening breeze blows across my skin “Maybe if you had not sat down to drink and if you had carried her yourself we wouldn't be in this mess by now!” she yells back her eyes angry Annoyance erupts in my throat, rolling my eyes at her like she is the head of this plan, Like she controls us. I gulp, “Call Grace, I will get Bella out and I will call you when we are safe” I turn my back against her She huffs, entering the car to the private airport where she will take an urgent trip back to town, just incase Bianca heads there. My feet hit the floor quickly and adrenaline flows through my veins as I head inside the room with Bella. She's asleep