Isabella.Worry was the least of what I felt. My heart pounded in my chest as I paced the length of my new room frantically until I was sure the ground was hot.“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Paula’s voice sounded from her perch on my bed. Her face would have mirrored mine if not for the fact that the man she loved was still in the building.“Do you think I should call him?” I said, my fingers fiddling with each other. Suddenly, the hem of my shirt became interesting, and I began to pull on it.“Calm down, Bella. I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Paula gave me a smile that should have been reassuring, but I was too far gone in my worry to notice. I brought my fingernails to my mouth and began to chew on them as I resumed my pacing.“Alessandro, please tell her that everything’s going to be okay,” Paula said from my bed.“Princess,” I heard the smooth voice of Alessandro, “I’m sure everything will be fine. The boss has sent word that he’s already within the upper city,” he said with a slight bow of
Isabella“What if it’s them?” I asked, feeling anxious. “Why would they come by sea?”“Maybe… maybe something came up,” I said, raising my hands in the air. “Joseph said something happened. Maybe they had to improvise,” I added, and Michael began to see reason.“I can’t leave either of you,” he said after a moment of thinking. “If they’re not with us, we’ll know.”The seconds suddenly became longer than normal as I glued my eyes to the window facing the beach. A speedboat was rapidly approaching but stopped once it reached the shallows, the engine falling silent. Moments passed, one after the other, making me realize that it was definitely Damon.I turned to look at Michael with a determined expression. “I’m going,” I said as I grabbed the door handle and ran down the stairs.Damon was just pulling himself out of the water by the time I reached the shore. His black-on-black outfit clung to every part of his body, making him look like my idea of what Poseidon should be.His eyes found
IsabellaSomeone had turned on the sun at the wrong time. My eyes twitched as I turned my face in the opposite direction to meet a hard yet warm surface. I lightly slapped it, earning a low groan that vibrated the surface, and then I rested my head on it. The sun was away from me for now, but the heat underneath me was almost unbearable. Still, I was grateful for it.I didn't know how long I lay there, but I started to feel hands tracing my backside and then my waist."I think it's time to get up," Damon said, his chest rumbling underneath my ear."Five more minutes," I mumbled back, snuggling my head closer. His hands traced up my back, and then his fingers landed in my hair, rubbing circles on my scalp."You said that at least an hour ago," he said as he continued massaging my scalp. Suddenly, he sat up, raising me along with him."Ah!" I yelled. The position was too uncomfortable for me, but it left me with no choice but to sit up. I pouted at him, angry that he had forced me up fr
Isabella"I'm sorry about your family," I told him, and he nodded in acknowledgment."Thank you, Princess." I didn't exactly like the title, but it was one I was willing to put up with. I would just have to get used to it."Cassandra is weak in the lower city. But I think she thrives on secrecy. She relies on her ability to scare you enough to act in a way that's inconsistent with what you would normally do," Julio explained. Damon suddenly barked out a laugh."So we walk into the city like we own it," he said, looking at me."But it's not that simple," Julio protested. "Yes, we should go into the city, but we also need support. There are some families that don't stand with Cassandra, and I'm working on getting a full list of them. I only know of three for now, but my informants are still searching and asking questions.We can't just walk straight through the front door of the city without knowing that our interests are safe. Cassandra knows this better than anyone. As long as she can
Isabella An hour later, my hair was mostly dried and had resumed its curly nature. It had dried to a slightly darker color than before. Instead of the slightly orange shade my hair had previously, it was now a fully dark red with undertones of black. 'I don't think it's too bad,' I said as I played with the still-damp hair. Damon was the subject of my protest and complaints. He sat on the bed, watching me as I toyed around with my hair. 'Come here,' he said as he patted the bed beside him. My heart rate picked up at the tone he used. It was silent but commanding. His eyes suddenly grew darker as he peeked at me through his eyelashes. I sat on the bed slowly beside him, and his face broke out into a smile. 'Why do you look like that?' he asked with a slight laugh. 'Because you look like you want to eat me,' I replied. 'I do, but not now,' Damon said as he leaned his elbows on his knees. 'I will make a few calls, and I'll need to go back to the opposite end of the room, possibly to
Isabella"I have quite a large number of files on some of the families. Sadly, they're not here. During the hotel incident, I'm sure they might have been taken by Cassandra by now.But anyway, I'll tell you what I remember. Some of them have places they operate in the lower City. Places that bring them money, even though it's illegal," Julio said as he twiddled his thumbs before taking a sip of the coffee that was offered to him.Joseph had effectively taken on the role of a housekeeper for us, but I felt as though his talents were not being put to good use."For instance?" I asked."The Spice factory. You would have missed it, but it's not so far from the Cardone District.""District?" I said, suddenly feeling confused."The lower city has districts to make it more manageable. The Masked King did it like that. Of course, it makes sense this way. The Spice factory doesn't exactly manufacture spices. It's more like drugs and opium.They ship the finished drugs into the rest of Europe a
IsabellaHe said he'd meet us at the aerodrome. Miguel sighed as he put his phone down. "Where is that?" I asked."It's a relatively new establishment," Julio explained. "It's nothing in particular, but it can be a very discreet area.”“Why are we meeting there? There's almost nothing out there." He turned his face towards Miguel, who smirked and looked away. I had come to accept that silence was a good thing in instances like this."What's next?" I asked Julio, who had a sour expression on his face."We wait. We wait and get ready for the next two days. Hopefully, we won't have any funny business from now till then. Let's just try to keep things quiet until we're ready to go." His words would resonate in my mind for the next two days.I had no clothes to pack, so leaving was relatively easy. Paula and I gorged ourselves on Joseph's impeccable cooking. He seemed rather sad to watch Julio leave but didn't express much feelings when it was obvious that Paula was with Michael. We said ou
DamonNecessity is said to be the mother of invention. My necessity required me to call in all my scattered men. Leaving to search for Isabella had caused me to spread my resources too thin, leading to multiple attacks because of her—not that I was blaming her.The speedboat took me straight to the harbor and then to a private dock of the house of a friend of mine, Dante."Dante," I greeted with a smile as I got out of the speedboat, accompanied by Alessandro."It's good to see you, My King," Dante said with a slight bow."I've heard of your exploits. Is it true you have found her?" Dante asked, still bowing. I stopped in front of him, clicking my tongue and waiting for him to stop the act."How long are you going to keep this up?" I asked, feigning impatience, which he bought into all too quickly. He got up and smiled at me, his dark blue eyes crinkling at the edges."I'm sorry. It's just too good sometimes," he said, leading me into his house with Alessandro trailing behind."I've h
IsabellaPerhaps it was Donatella's face that was the most surprising, but the days following my declaration and official ascension to the throne were followed by endless visits to my family's estate.I had to temporarily move there because I was worried about the constant movement and how my son would take it. However, according to Julio, it also applied pressure to bring Cassandra back to the city.She had disappeared a few days ago, and I believed she went to have her child."I must say, he's a very handsome boy," Nicholas said as he carried my son and began to walk around the new nursery. The baby cooed in his arms and raised his little fists towards his face. I smiled but began to miss the little bundle of warmth that he provided. I had once complained to Damon, and his reply was,"You'll just have to get used to it. Or are you going to take my son away from me?" Damon said with a smile.***To my surprise, Cassandra didn't show up over the next few weeks. I began to genuinely w
IsabellaGeorge knelt in front of me in the gazebo. I had given Alessandro the go-ahead to let him come to the mansion. He came accompanied by three more people that I didn't recognize."There was a mistake, Princess. If I had known…”“I know you think that I am a benevolent figure of never-ending kindness that might accept you. But you must understand that given my position, I simply cannot forgive you right off the bat. You have to prove yourself to me. You have to prove yourself to the city. You have to prove your loyalty, and it will cost you more than it did the last time," I found myself saying.Shortly after that, I left the men alone and made a beeline for the nursery where I felt my son squirming and crying in his cot. The maid I had instructed to stay with him was trying to keep him calm, but she was failing miserably, making me laugh.I stretched out my hands, and just as she placed him in it, the infant settled down. Shortly after passing him and singing to him, I felt ar
DamonAfter Isabella told me that I should handle Cassandra, Valentino, and her allies, I got to work instantly, telling Ted to pull out the old files he had on the trust of those she committed."So what do we do with them?" he asked. "We pick the weakest link. We pick the one most sympathetic to the lower City. Find me a couple of them and show them the pictures."A few days later, I received a call from Ted while I was out in town on a meeting with Nicholas."We have a number of them. What do you want us to do?" he asked. "Tell them to come to my place," Nicholas said with his arms raised. "I'm sure we'll do a good job convincing them." I smiled and told Ted to do the same. Six men, members of the lesser families, came through his gate.I recognized Antonio and George to be some of them and stopped myself from snickering behind my mask. The men bowed when they saw me, but it was clear that their initial fear of me was gone. I smirked behind the mask and looked at them.I loved se
IsabellaDamon had carried me into the tub filled with cold water. As soon as my body came in contact with the water, I instantly sighed in relief. Marie came to me with a small figure half wrapped in a cloth and laid the pink infant on my naked chest.I leaned my back against the foam headrest and let my child lean against my skin. He squirmed and cried, but Marie said it was all part of the process, even though my heart was aching as I desperately searched my mind for what to do to ease his sorrows somehow."If he doesn't cry, his lungs wouldn't be strong. You have to let him cry, princess," she had told me before I struggled with her, and Damon carried me into the bathroom. Even now, he was still crying, but I felt a bit assured as Damon held my hand and began to rub soothing circles over my knuckles. "You are so strong," he whispered. "I'm so proud of you." He whispered again, and this time his hand reached up to caress the head of the infant that laid on my chest. I smiled, bu
IsabellaDamon laughed suddenly, his shoulders quaking, and the room filled up with the hearty sound of joy. He stopped after a while and turned his head towards Cassandra. "It looks as though this wannabe princess is uninformed about what's happening in the city. Someone please tell her."Andrew cleared his throat. "The King…" Damon took off his mask, revealing his face, causing Cassandra to gasp and cover her mouth, as did Donatella. "The King has been married to the princess for quite a while now. I happen to be one of those privileged to witness the ceremony and the signing of their marriage certificate.This, of course, meant that as one without a surname, he would take his wife's own, making him Damon Montenegro Therefore, your challenge… your stake on the throne is very much mitigated by him.""That's not possible!" Cassandra screeched. "You wouldn't do that," she said as she turned her head towards me and stared daggers at me through the screen. "I did. Would you like to h
Isabella"Do I need to remind you that you are a fugitive?" Damon's voice cut through the silence like a hot knife through butter."Do I need to remind you that your crimes are so great you deserve to be put to death?" Damon stood up from his seat and walked towards the pregnant woman."Get out, or I will pull my gun and shoot you between your eyes, not caring about the child within your belly." Instantly, Donatella gasped and covered her mouth with surprise.She got up and walked towards both of them and set herself in their midst as though to protect Cassandra. "Ouch," I thought to myself. "So much for loyalty forever," I said out loud. Donatella turned to me."You must understand, princess, it's not as though I will not be loyal to you. It's just with the recent developments, we find ourselves needing an heir. Perhaps once she gives birth, she can leave." "I'm not going anywhere," Cassandra said, protesting as she pushed the older woman out of the way."I'm here to challenge her
Isabella“No, Isabella. We still need Cassandra to come out. We need her to show her cards. I'm sure it's not going to take long, but... you have to hang tight, Mia Bella," Damon said, shaking his head.He raised his hand and began to caress my belly before leaning in and pressing a kiss on my swollen abdomen. As if in response, the baby kicked where his hand was."He's saying hello to me," Damon said with a smile as he leaned forward and then pulled open the robe I wore to reveal my naked belly."So perfect," he said as he pressed another kiss on the pale skin. "So damn perfect," he said again as he met my eyes. I could see the expression there, his eyes flashing red before returning back to their normal hazel color. He spread open my legs and slowly removed the outer robe to reveal my naked pussy. Slowly, he kissed his way from my belly button down to my weeping pussy.***The extra wait was grueling, but I didn't mind it. I filled my days with walking, with Paula up and down the
Isabella"It was just a rumor," I told my husband as he paced the length of the room, hitting one wall and then going to the next to do the same."We both know rumors are next to truth. It wouldn't be said if it wasn't seen at some point. But you're the same person that said the city thrived on rumors. Why is this one only different?" I questioned him, but the man continued his insistent pacing. He had taken off his shirt, leaving him half naked and making my eyes wander to strange places."Please," I begged him as I stood up. I took off my coat."You're making me dizzy," I said.Damon stopped suddenly and looked at me. "And if the rumor's true?""Then we laid a trap. And I think traps are your thing… at least Julio's thing.""So let's call the ultimate trap master and have him whip up something for us," I said as I reached up towards my husband's head.***The day after, Julio sat opposite me in the gazebo. "How could you not tell me you were pregnant?" He asked, his eyes wide and f
DamonIsabella's face was pale when I saw her as she came out of the bathroom. She had a stunned look as though she was trying to remember something. I grabbed her hands and rubbed circles over her knuckles until she smiled at me."I am fine," she said with a shaking voice."Champagne?" I asked as I handed her a flute. She shook her head. "I can't keep it down," she said, forcing another smile at me."Isabella, what is wrong?" I asked with my mouth close to her ear. "I'll tell you when we get home," she said as she squeezed my fingers back.The rest of the evening couldn't come fast enough as I began to wish time could go faster. Finally, three hours after we arrived at the party, she tugged on my arm, telling me she wanted to go home. I bade goodbye to my friends and some others who were desperate to see me for some reason. We decided to take the chopper, being impatient and me wanting to find out what was wrong with my wife.I helped her out of her dress when we reached our room. S