Isabella POV
“Oh my gosh_ that’s Mr De-Luca” Bianca almost screams to herself. “Don’t act like a fan girl Bianca, he’s different from what you think” I reply sipping on the glass of wine “Oh my gosh,” her eyes turn from the flowers to me and then him again “Wait, what’s going on??” “Long story” I reply about to relay everything that has happened in the last 24 hours but I’m stopped by a strong smell of earthy perfume filtering into my nose, followed by black shoes stopping right in front of us. “Isabella,” he says, voice deep, enough to make any woman go crazy “De-Luca” I reply looking up at him “Baby girl, it’s Dominic, I told you this already” he smirks turning to Bianca leaving me a blushing mess “Dominic De-Luca” he stretches his hand forward, grabbing Bianca’s hand in a hold and placing a peck at the back of her palm. “Bianca Greco” she smiles widely, “And how do you know Isabella?” She questions looking between the both of us. He turns to me raising a brow at me, “Should I go ahead or?” He trails off “Maybe if you weren’t stalking me and following me around I would have broken the news to her earlier,” I say turning my head from him to Bianca’s direction I sigh turning to Bianca “Isabella here is going to be my wife in a few days to come” he smirks cutting me off, he straightens his back raising a brow at me, daring me to deny it. A screech is the first thing to come out of Bianca’s mouth “But..- How?” She says her eyes open in shock. “I’ll leave that to her, he says, his lips thin and his demur Changing, it’s good to see you Miss Greco” he says in finality and simply walks away, his hands in the pocket of his trousers, all eyes on him as he navigates the exit of the restaurant “What in the hell is going on” Bianca whispers but she’s cut off by the Waitress coming back, this time with a bottle of Champagne. “For Mrs De-Luca” she smiles popish the drink open and turns it into the champagne flute “Are you ready to order mam” she smiles politely We quickly rattle off our order and I turn to Bianca ready to explain. “So my Dad got into his usual trouble again,” I tell her and her shoulders sink She’s the only friend of our family who truly knows the struggles my dad faces with his issues with gambling and how much it affects us. “Isabella,” she says softly reaching for my hand I nod “He gambled again and got us into this huge debt, that’s why I stayed back at the office for so long” She nods “Then How did Dominic De-Luca come into the picture??” “Long story short, I have to marry him and give him an heir to save my family and the company,” I say with a sigh downing the rest of the champagne She frowns but understanding covers her face, “At least he’s handsome, and seems to like you from what I can see” she says picking up the roses and slightly giggling to herself “Like me? He has a giant ego, he’s a narcissist and seems to act well, he’s a rude man with the worst upbringing” I say through my teeth anger boiling in me at our first encounter “I think you need this more than I do” she smiles handing me another glass of wine. Soon we are drunk out of our minds, and we lead ourselves outside, “let Rupert take you home” I tell her giggling loudly to ourselves attracting stares as the cool wind blows on our exposed legs “Then What ab_out youuuuu” she giggles drawing her words out. “I’ll send for another driver,” I say pointing a finger at her drunkenly “You my dear need to be home and sleeping soundly” I laugh She nods, Rupert bringing the car around, I stick her in the car waving at Rupert while giggling to myself “I’ll send a driver to you soon mam” he nods probably thinking I’m not as drunk as Bianca I don’t answer him, giggling to myself and watching the car move away “Do you usually get this drunk all the time?” A deep voice calls from behind me at the restaurant entranceIsabella POVIn shock, I turn around to the deep voice my eyes meeting with Dominic again, but everything becomes blurry and I stumble falling forward but he grabs me in his arms on time.“Hmphh” he makes a sound grabbing me, he sees my legs are unstable on the floor and he carries me in his arms princess-style “Are you the Prince Charming coming to rescue me?” I say drunkenly to him, giggling to myself after the statement “Hmm,” he says, his chest vibrating“You have quite a wide chest you know” I mumble as a car comes to a stop in front of us “I do?” He replies fixing me into the car and following me inSoon the car comes to a stop and again I’m carried bridal style in his strong arms, he’s quick and efficient, I hear an elevator door ping and the rise and fall of the elevator which makes my eyes spin.I feel vomit come up in my throat “I think I’m about to puke,” I say drunkenly “What” he says watching the elevator door ping open, we enter the room and he places me on my feet.
Isabella POVThe sun is bright and blinding on my face when I wake up, my mind is distorted but I know my room has curtains because I hate being woken up by bright lights.My eyes pull open and the ceiling is a dark onyx color, reflecting at me, I frown “My ceilings are white” I frown my eyes moving to the left where my eyes meet with a strong, muscled, and olive-toned back but not next to me, on the couch his legs folded to himself and a black blanket around his hips and legs.I frown “Oh my gosh I’ve been kidnapped” I whisper to myself my feet meeting with cold wooden floors, I look around the room, ready to grab a weapon when he moves.His arms are first, my eyes are wide and I grab the first thing next to me, a vase with roses in it.The roses fall to the floor the vase right over my head and he turns around his bright blue eyes wide and staring at me In shock.“Dominic?” I call out which is followed by a loud screech from me the base falling to the floor.“If I knew you would try
Isabella POVAs soon as I hear the elevators ping I dive for my phone, my finger scrolling through the messages, some from work, one from my mother“Have fun” the message is followed by a winking emoji, I don’t know who taught her that.I immediately go to my contact session dialing Bianca's phone but it goes straight to voicemail.“Bianca I swear you won’t believe where I ended up last night. At Dominic DeLuca’s penthouse!! Call me back urgently!” I say into the phone ending the phone recording.Soon I hear another pink, and I immediately walk out of the room, My eyes meeting with the first balcony inside the house, I look down my eyes coming in contact with a maid.“Good morning mam, I’m here to set your bath and with your clothes” She raises a blush pink suit in her hand at me.“I’ll be right down there” I stop her walking down the stairs, “Thank you but I can set my bath myself,” I grab the suit and I notice in her other hand a pair of stilettos red bottoms “Okay mam, the chef w
Isabella POV2 pm comes faster than I can imagine and I’m reeling in my seat.“what is he going to do?”“Will people be there?” I bit my lip, my heart pounding in my chest, this man showed up out of nowhere and now controls my every thought.I frown, packing up all I have left for the day, my assistant walks through the door.“A driver is here for you mam” she explains“Okay, I’ll be right down, you can go home,” I tell her grabbing my bag and heading outside, I slip into the car again and this time there’s another bottle of champagne and a champagne flute waiting for me.“Again what’s this man’s plan?” I frown to myself avoiding the drink.We stop in front of a boutique and I’m led inside by the driver to a woman in a blood-red suit.“Hello, I’m Sandra and I’ll be your stylist for today” She sends me a smile“Stylist?” I frown to myself, I’ve been styling myself my whole life, does this mean he agates the way I look? Is he trying to change me?My frown deepens, I’m marrying a control
Isabella POV“Mine”What does he mean by that? I knew it!! All of this is to make me complacent, able to control me, that’s all he’s trying to do, bold of me to assume he actually-“ I hold tongue, this is an arranged marriage and I need to treat it as such.I dump the necklace beside me and the car comes in stop of the saloon.My hair takes a few hours and soon I’m dressed up in the white dress, heels, and my makeup done.The necklace? It’s in my hand boiling, ready to hand it right over to him.“I will not be controlled I say when the car comes to a stop”I notice the environment is a country club every single socialite visits, it’s the De-Luca’s Country Club.I bit my lip, suddenly feeling nervous, is he going to do this right in front of everyone“Can I do this, I look down at my phone and notice Bianca sent me strings of messages”I calm my raging heart, reading the messages “Girl what a night”“How did you get there???”“Girllllll Dominic De-Luca sent me flowers!!”“What for?” I
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
DOMINIC POV The ride back home is long and the sky darkens as we drive into the mansion. “Sir, Mrs Bella” her driver approached me with concern on his face but I stop him my eyes flaring with anger, I push the door open the reveal the house lit up with low lightning. The maids are closed for the day and the house seems empty but I know she’s home. Ready to throw my anger at her, I march up the stairs, pushing the bedroom door open but find the room empty. Panic sets in immediately, but blindsided by my anger I walk towards the office, pushing the door open but it’s empty. “Isabella!!” I yell out, my heart pounding in my chest in a panic, I walk down the stairs when I hear the sound of someone crying. My feet slow down, my ears filling with more sounds of sniffling, and my eyes move to the sliding door under the stairs leading to the pool. The door is open and right at the edge of the pool is Isabella, her feet inside the water, the blue lighting from the pool reflecting ba
DOMINIC POV “Set up a meeting with the shareholders this month and clear my schedule for the weekends, I will no longer be working through the weekends,” I say my voice deep and stern as I think through my decision. With Isabella’s pregnancy and the recent threats, I need to work from home more, I need to pay more attention to her and maybe try and fix our relationship, the longing looks, the anger, the ignoring game, it needs to stop with the introduction of our child into the world. I sigh heavily, my mind still on the threats, I think back to what my sisters said, although they denied all claims, all the evidence points to them. The times we received letters in the house were always after a public gathering or at a public gathering, nobody but my family could wage such a heavy war on me or Isabella, nobody dared to, I did ask around but there was denial from everyone. I sigh turning to the lump of documents on my table, and my eyes moves to my phone, I was getting updates
ISABELLA POV“Look what the cat dragged in, Home-wrecker” Grace mutters with a sly smile on her face.I roll my eyes, “Maybe you should go somewhere else Grace, the store is wide enough, let me be” I turn my eyes away from her turning back to the racks of clothing.“I can’t leave, I was here first, it was the same thing for Dominic’s life but here you are” She rolls her eyes turning to Rachel, “What are you doing here with this bitch anyway?”“Don’t call her that” Rachel mutters turning her eyes away from her, again trying to avoid any confrontation that would lead to us being found out.“Can you get out please Grace, we don’t have the time for your stupid drama, call up Dominic or something, and then he can cater to your needs” I spit the words out in anger but my voice cracks in sadness, again, if Dominic had some self-respect or some respect for me, he would keep his mistress on a leash but he gave her everything she desired.She was the original, I am only a copy, a trophy wife.
ISABELLA POVThe car comes to a stop in front of a rusty apartment complex, I share a look with Rachel.“With the amount of money our family has, it’s easy to fall in love with the idea of some genuine love” she shrugs, her eyes filled with sadness.“Come on” I place my arm around her shoulder walking into the building, I walk towards the elevator but she stops me.“What?” I turn to her with a frown, confused about why she stopped us, “Don’t tell me you are scared to face him?” I raise a brow at her, about to speak some sense into her.“No, it’s not that” she mutters shyly, looking down at the floor and avoiding my gaze.“Then what?” My fingers raise her face to meet mine, a brow raised in anticipation.She gulps, her eyes moving around the reception, “The elevator is bad, we have to use the stairs” she sighs, her face pink with embarrassment.“Oh your brother will kill this boy” I shake my head with a sigh, so not only did he get her pregnant and abandon her, but he doesn’t have the
ISABELLA POV“It’s true!!” She exclaims eyes wide with a mix of fear and anxiety, “The paint stained me in the first place and that’s why I had to change” She gulps, her eyes darting to me slightly before returning back to Madam DeLuca “But that looks like blood” Madam DeLuca's eyes flicker nervously between the blood stain and my tainted dress.“I’m fine, I am really” I reassure her with a nod, trying to act as calm as I can, quite the opposite of what I feel, quickly turning to Dominic to diffuse the situation, “You should go, I will be home soon” my fingers hold his in my grasp, our eyes meeting with each other, charged with an intensity I never thought he would feel towards me. But I guess the baby changes everything.He heaves a heavy sigh, his eyes scanning me one last time, his jaw clenched in frustration, “Fine I will go. But you have to be back soon, and a driver will pick you up, it’s not safe for you to drive” he says with a dismissive tone but filled with underlying conce
ISABELLA POV“Bella?” What are you doing here? He calls out and I turn to him, acting in shock as I pull out the earphones.“Well, what are you doing in Rachel’s bedroom in the middle of the day?” Madame DeLuca says her eyes trained on me but slightly moves to Rachel who has pulled out her earphones also.Francesca's frill voice surprised the silence “Will somebody say something? Anything?” Francesca screeches next to me, her eyes blazing with anticipation, her gaze filled with intensity as she waited for my answer.I hesitated, my voice faltering as I struggled to find an answer for them, “Well, I came here to “ I pause gulping my nervousness down, I turn to Rachel, her eyes filled with an expectant gaze, looking at me in anticipation to solve this issue for us. “Rachel needed help with some financial questions regarding the accounts” The lie rolls of my tongue smoothly, but my heart racing hoping they don’t catch in on us.“You know I’m not done with school yet, so I was confused” R
ISABELLA POV “Pregnant for real?” I raise a brow at her, “That is impossible, I can’t stand Dominic and vice versa, we have not even been on the same bed for ages now” I sigh leaning back on the couch Knock….knock. “Mam, the spa ladies are done setting up, they expect you outside soon” Madam Thelma’s voice echoes from behind the door. “I will be right down!!” I yell back, as her footsteps retract. “So what are we going to do now? You either tell Dominic the truth now and save yourself the drama or keep up with this lie and face the consequences later” Bianca sighs plopping down on the couch right next to me. I sigh when I hear my phone ding in my robe. “I think I’m bleeding, or losing the baby,” I read out the message from Rachel, my heart drums in my chest and I stand up immediately “What? What’s wrong?” Bianca raises a brow at me as I rush into the closet pulling out a dress. “It’s Rachel, something is happening, I have to get to her,” I say my voice filled with tension, fe
ISABELLA POV “My sisters,” he says simply leaning on the door I frown, “Your sisters? That is impossible, they wouldn’t send men to kill their own friend at their own party” I step out of the tub and he is quick to come and help me, shocking me. “I’m fine, I can do it myself” I distance myself from him. What’s the use of accepting his fake kindness due to some pregnancy that doesn’t exist, as soon as we reveal the truth, it will all end, and we can go back to being roommates, pretending to the world that we are in love. “Well I think it’s them, I confronted them earlier this morning and they acted quite suspicious, especially Rachel” he shrugs moving back to the doorway I roll my eyes at that, they are probably more worried he would find out about their nasty fake pregnancy plan they had with Grace and of course, Rachel would be nervous due to her being the pregnant one. “I still think you should investigate further, I don’t think they would go this far to just hurt me” “You
ISABELLA POV The morning sun blinds me immediately my eyes pull open, the main door cracks open and Thelma walks in with a tray in her hand. “Thelma” I mutter a slight frown on my face, my eyes move around the room not sensing Dominic, “Where is Dominic?” I ask as she walks to my bedside with the tea, “And when did you start serving me tea so early in the morning?” I frown at her Her smile is bright and wide, filled with a tease, “Mr Dominic told me about your condition, congratulations mam” she smiles widely, grabbing my feet and helping me into my slippers “Woah, is that why I’m getting all this special treatment?” I laugh, my eyes refusing to meet hers and conform to this lie Rachel and I have started. “Drink this, it will help with the morning sickness” She passes me the tea glass, the smell of ginger filtering into my nose. I thank her, drinking as much as I can and playing into the facade. “Do you know when Dominic will be back?” I frown I am sure he is still angry over