Chapter 115 Damian Invitation
Isabella POV
I knew it was truly over this time.
Dante had let me go completely without looking back. There would be no late-night calls, no unexpected messages, no shadow of him lingering at the edge of my life. He had made his decision, and now I had to live with it.
That meant I finally had a chance to start over but somehow, instead of feeling free, I felt like I was drowning.
The ache in my chest hadn’t faded. If anything, it had deepened and It pressed against my ribs as though grief itself had taken physical form inside me.
I had told him I loved him.
I had said the words out loud, let them exist in the open instead of burying them deep inside my heart where they had lived for so long. I thought confessing would bring me peace and that it would release me from the weight of everything I had been holding back but it hadn’t.
If anything, it made everything worse.
Even though, deep down, I knew he had always known how I felt and that somehow made it hurt even more.
The days that followed blurred together in a quiet, lonely routine.
I stayed home most of the time, shutting myself away from the world like it no longer belonged to me. My apartment became both a sanctuary and a prison somewhere I could hide from everything, but also somewhere I couldn’t escape my thoughts.
Painting became my only refuge, hours would pass without me noticing, my emotions spilling onto canvas in ways I couldn’t express with words. Every brushstroke carried a piece of me, my sadness, my longing, my anger, my love. Colors blended and clashed, forming images that felt raw and unfiltered, like fragments of my soul laid bare.
It was the only time the pain dulled, even if just a little.
At least something good came from all this heartbreak.
I was more productive than I had ever been before.
Canvas after canvas piled up around my apartment, each one telling a story I couldn’t say out loud. I told myself that the next time I visited my parents, I’d bring them along and show them what I had created, even if they didn’t fully understand what each piece meant.
I just hoped they wouldn’t show up unannounced before then and the thought alone made me tense.
I wasn’t ready to see anyone not my family, not my friends, not anyone who might look at me too closely and realize how broken I really was.
I was sitting at my easel, completely absorbed in my work, when my phone suddenly rang.
The sharp sound cut through the silence of the room, pulling me out of my thoughts.
For a brief, foolish moment, my heart leapt but I quickly pushed the feeling down.
It wasn’t Dante, It couldn’t be because ge had made that very clear.
So I didn’t rush to answer. I took my time, finishing the stroke I was working on before carefully setting my brush aside. My hands were smeared with paint, so I reached for a damp cloth and wiped them clean, trying to steady myself before picking up the phone.
The number on the screen was unfamiliar.
That alone told me everything I needed to know. “This is Isabella,” I said as I answered, my voice calm despite the storm quietly raging inside me.
As I spoke, my gaze drifted toward the open window and the sky stretched out endlessly beyond it, a soft shade of blue that felt almost mocking in its serenity.
I couldn’t help but wonder was Dante somewhere under that same sky?
And if he was…was he thinking about me too?
“Hey.”
The voice on the other end immediately snapped me out of my thoughts.
“How are you?” he asked, his tone easy, as if we had spoken just yesterday.
“Damian?” I blinked in surprise, straightening slightly where I sat. “Yours truly,” he replied, amusement lacing his voice. I could practically hear the smile in it. “I was wondering if you were free for dinner tonight.”
I frowned slightly, caught off guard, he was asking me out…again?
After what had happened the last time?
Our previous date had been nothing short of a disaster. I had been distant, distracted, and downright rude. My mind had been somewhere else entirely on Dante and I hadn’t even tried to hide it.
If anything, I had made it painfully obvious.
Most men wouldn’t have given me a second thought after that.
“Seriously?” I asked, unable to keep the disbelief out of my voice.
“Seriously,” he confirmed, his tone still light and playful.
“I’m sorry…” I exhaled softly, shaking my head as if he could see me.
“I didn’t expect you to call, how did you even get my number?”
“I asked your mother for it.”
Of course he did and of course she gave it to him without hesitation.
A small, helpless smile tugged at my lips. She probably thought she was helping and thought she was giving me a chance to move on, to meet someone “better.”
If only she knew.
“So,” Damian continued smoothly, “how about dinner? Or should I go ahead and ask her for your answer too?”
A soft laugh escaped me despite everything.
He was annoyingly charming. “You really caught me off guard,” I admitted.
“I find that hard to believe,” he said. “I’m sure you have men asking you out all the time.”
“They don’t usually ask for a second date when the first one was that bad,” I pointed out honestly.
He chuckled at that, clearly unbothered. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly call this a second date.”
I hesitated. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” he said, his tone shifting slightly still warm, but more sincere now, “I’m not asking you out in that way. I just want to have dinner with you…as friends.”
“Friends?” I repeated, unsure.
“Friends,” he confirmed.
“I get the feeling you’re not ready for anything serious and that’s okay. No pressure, no expectations. We can just get to know each other and you pay for your meal, I pay for mine that simple.”
I went quiet for a moment, considering his words. It did sound…safe.
No expectations and no emotional risk because the truth was, I wasn’t ready.
My heart still belonged to a man I probably should have never loved in the first place a dangerous man, a powerful man…a criminal warlord who had completely consumed me and no matter how much I tried to deny it, I couldn’t imagine myself getting over Dante anytime soon.
“That actually sounds nice…” I admitted softly.
There was a brief pause on the other end before he spoke again, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. “So you’ll meet me tonight?”
I glanced back at my unfinished painting the ache in my chest hasn't change but maybe, just for a few hours, I could step outside of it.
“Sure,” I said finally.
“Alright,” Damian replied smoothly. “I’ll see you tonight.”
The call ended shortly after, leaving the apartment quiet once more but this time, the silence felt…different and for now, that was enough.