In the Arms of Danger

The black car stopped in front of the mansion. Alejandro barely waited for the vehicle to come to a complete halt before opening the door and stepping out with firm strides.

The house lights were on. He knew Isabela was there, waiting. His queen. His love. The only person in the world who had the power to destroy him.

He entered without announcing himself, his footsteps echoing against the marble floor.

Isabela was in the living room, standing with her back to him, arms crossed, her body tense. Her curls cascaded down her back, and her silhouette looked fragile… but he knew she was much stronger than she seemed.

When she felt him enter, she slowly turned around.

—"Did you finish?"— she asked, her voice restrained.

Alejandro felt a blow to his chest. There was fire in her eyes, but also pain.

—"Yes,"— he answered in a deep voice, taking a step forward.

—"Did you kill him?"

He remained silent for a moment.

—"No… but his fate is sealed."

Isabela clenched her jaw and looked away.

—"Isabela…"

Alejandro moved closer until he was standing right in front of her, searching for answers in her soul.

—"You know I love you… You and my children are everything to me."

—"I don’t want this, Alejandro!"— she finally exploded, hitting his chest with both hands.— "I don’t want this life of fear and blood!"

Alejandro took her wrists firmly but without hurting her.

—"You are my life!"— his voice was deep, trembling, almost broken.— "There is not a single day I wouldn’t give my soul for you!"

Isabela let her arms fall.

—"Then why do you stay in this hell?"

Alejandro closed his eyes for a moment and rested his forehead against hers.

—"Because I can’t get out of it… I entered this world before I met you, and I swear to you, my love, I would give anything not to see you suffer…"

—"I hid all this from you to protect you."

The silence between them was suffocating.

—"Protect me from what, Alejandro?"— her voice cracked.— "If the danger is you."

He opened his eyes and held her by the waist, pulling her against him.

—"No… My love, my queen. I would give my life for you and our children… But this world is too dangerous; once it traps you in its jaws, you become its prey…"

—"Isabela, many men would love to take away the only good thing I have in my life… You, my love… I can’t lose you; without you… I would be completely lost in this hell."

Isabela felt the warmth of his breath against her face. Their lips were only inches apart.

—"I don’t want you to lose me, Alejandro,"— she whispered,— "but I don’t want to lose myself either."

Alejandro looked at her as if his world was about to collapse.

—"If you leave me, Isabela… you kill me."

She felt a lump in her throat. She knew it wasn’t a metaphor. She knew Alejandro Moretti was capable of facing an entire army without flinching… but living without her was the only war he couldn’t win.

There was a powerful bond between them; they were so close, so united, that he could see her soul, and she could see the true essence of Alejandro.

With a trembling sigh, Alejandro caressed her face with both hands.

—"Tell me you still love me…"— he whispered desperately.— "Tell me, Isabela."

She closed her eyes and let the tears fall.

—"I love you, Alejandro… You know that."

The capo let out a sigh of relief and kissed her with an intensity that only a man like him could give. A kiss that was not just desire but also fear… fear of losing the only pure thing in his life.

Because he could lose everything… but not his queen.

But Isabela was not sure she could bear the weight of what she had discovered. Her husband had lied to her, and the blood of many weighed on his head, leaving his hands stained with blood and violence.

Stepping away from him, she walked until she stood in front of the fireplace.

—"My queen,"— Alejandro murmured in a low voice, but she did not turn around.

—"Don’t do this to me, Isabela!"— he whispered, his warm breath against her skin, wrapping his arms around her.

Isabela closed her eyes tightly.

—"Alejandro…"— her voice was a broken thread.— "I don’t know if I can bear this."

Alejandro felt a lump in his throat.

—"Everything I do is for you,"— he said with a hint of weariness.— "You, our children… You’re the only thing I have in this rotten world."

Isabela took his hands gently but stepped away just enough to look into his eyes.

—"For us?... What happens if one day this world claims its debt? What happens if one day you don’t come back, Alejandro?… What will your children and I do without you?"

Alejandro held her gaze with intensity.

—"That won’t happen… I promise you."

She shook her head, her eyes filled with tears.

—"You can’t promise that."

He stepped closer, cupping her face in both hands.

—"I won’t let anything separate us, Isabela. Not death… Not those bastards."

His voice, usually firm and dominant, trembled.

She studied him, searching in his gaze for the man he once was.

—"You have to get out of this, Alejandro… Let’s run away!"— We can hide in another country… far from all this."

He slowly lowered his hands.

—"I can’t."

His response was raw, honest.

Isabela felt her chest tighten.

—"Yes, you can, Alejandro. You just don’t want to."— Maybe… it’s best if I leave."

Alejandro grabbed her shoulders, with the desperation of a man who feels his life slipping through his fingers.

—"Look at me, Isabela. Look at me closely."

She did.

—"I’m a dead man without you,"— his voice was deep, sincere.— "If you walk away from me, if you take our children… you will have killed me with your own hands."

A tear slid down Isabela’s cheek.

—"I don’t want to hurt you, Alejandro… but I also don’t want my love for you to kill me and condemn our children."

The capo felt the ground collapse beneath his feet.

—"Don’t do this to me, my queen, please, my love…"— he whispered, resting his forehead against hers.— "Don’t take away the only thing that keeps me alive, that makes me feel human in the middle of this hell."

Isabela sobbed, watching her husband plead with her not to leave him.

Alejandro Moretti was a strong man; she had never seen him fragile or vulnerable. Seeing his face broke her.

—"Then tell me… How long will this go on?"

Alejandro closed his eyes, breathing in her scent, her warmth. After a few seconds, he answered:

—"I don’t know."

He held her tighter.

—"Give me the chance to feel alive, to be happy… Isabela, my love… don’t leave me."

Isabela swallowed hard, her heart pounding wildly.

—"Alejandro…"

—"I promise I will protect you… that I will love you with my life… But don’t leave me. Don’t do it, my love."

Isabela saw the pain in his eyes. The fear of a man who never feared anything.

And she knew that, even though his life was filled with darkness and he always shielded his soul with a core of pure steel, at that moment, Alejandro Moretti was more exposed than ever before.

She still didn’t have the answer, but that night, in his arms, she understood one unshakable truth.

No matter how dangerous he was as a capo… Alejandro Moretti was the man she loved with every fiber of her being.

And if he wasn’t willing to lose her, she wasn’t ready to walk away from him either.