Chapter 102 He Left
Isabella POV
“Whatever,” I muttered, my voice thin and exhausted. “Life is not some fairy tale.”
“A woman like you does not need a fairy tale,” he replied, his tone soft but firm. “You told me your family wants you to marry someone powerful.” He lifted both arms slightly, flexing without shame, as if presenting himself like evidence. “Well, I am powerful and I cannot be touched. I have money, influence, everything. I would take care of you better than your own father ever did.”
“No” My throat tightened as fresh tears burned behind my eyes. “I could never love a man who has hurt my family so deeply.”
“I never did anything, Isabella,” he said, his voice sharpening. “Do not make me answer for my father’s sins.”
“You wanted to wipe out my entire family,” I shot back, my chest rising and falling quickly. “So yes, I have to hold you responsible. What if things had gone differently? You might be slaughtering them right now.”
“But that is not what happened,” he said quietly, the anger in his eyes dimming into something heavier. “Right now, I am standing here telling you that I love you that is what is real. I told you I would not hurt your family. I buried my bloodlust for you, that should mean more than where I come from.”
“My father is the most stubborn man alive,” I whispered, wiping my cheeks, though the tears would not stop. “Sometimes my mother is even worse, they will never accept this.”
“I do not care if they do,” he snapped. “This is about us. You and me, not your family.”
“My family is everything to me,” I said firmly. “I would never be with someone they despise.”
“Then do not tell them about me,” he replied instantly. “Problem solved.”
I stared at him, stunned. “You would rather be my secret?”
“It is not like I want anything to do with them anyway,” he said coldly. “I promised I would not kill them, that does not mean I will stop hating them.”
“How can you say that and still want me?” My voice cracked under the weight of everything between us.
“I already told you,” he growled, frustration flashing across his face. “I am with you, not them.”
“My family is part of my life,” I said, shaking my head. “They are involved in everything and I will not lie to them. I will not live some hidden life they know nothing about. They are smart, they will find out eventually and the last thing I want is for them to know I fell in love with the son of the man who destroyed us.”
His eyes narrowed at my words and I froze.
There was no smug smile this time, no teasing arrogance just anger burning hot and raw. “Even if this was never meant to last,” he said, his voice lower now, rougher, “we could still have now. We could still have something real while it exists.”
That only made it worse. I was already too attached, already drowning in him. “No.”
“Why?” His voice cracked slightly, like he could not understand.
“Because I cannot let this go any further,” I whispered. “I will never marry you. That means this ends in pain or I will destroy my family in the process. I cannot bear my father’s disappointment, If he knew about us, he would never look at me the same again.”
“You are a grown woman, Isabella,” he said, his voice rising. “Choose the man you want, you do not need your father’s approval.”
“Yes, I do,” I said immediately, my voice trembling but unyielding. “I need it more than anything. My parents mean everything to me. I know you cannot understand that because…”
“Because I did not have parents?” he snapped, his nostrils flaring. The bitterness in his voice was like poison. “Because your parents killed my father? Because my mother had to sell herself just to keep me alive? Because her throat was slit and she was dumped like trash?” His voice broke into something raw and savage. “No, I did not have the perfect life you had and sometimes I hate you for that. You had everything that should have been mine. I hate you. I hate your family but I can still look past it because whatever this is between us is too damn powerful. Tell me it is not and tell me it is not the strongest thing you have ever felt.”
I could not say it because It would have been the most obvious lie of my life.
“I am not thinking about our parents right now,” he continued, softer but still intense. “This is about us.”
“But you do not understand,” I said, shaking my head as my heart shattered inside my chest. “This cannot go anywhere and I want a future. I want marriage, I want my own family and for that to happen, I need someone my family can accept. He does not have to be perfect but he cannot be you.”
His jaw tightened so hard I thought his teeth might crack. “If I can let go of a vendetta that defined my entire life,” he said slowly, “then your father should be able to let go of his hatred.”
“He never will,” I said quietly. “My father is logical in everything except this. He will never accept you, Dante. Your father destroyed his life, he raped and killed his sister and if that was not enough, he violated my mother too. This can never happen not now, not ever.”
Something in him broke and the tension left his jaw, replaced by something hollow and defeated.
“This is over,” I whispered. The words felt like knives cutting through my own skin. I would not let myself love him. I would not let him loe me. I had to walk away and I had to choose someone safe, someone my family could embrace. It was not Dante. It would never be Dante. “For good.”
He did not look away, his eyes stayed locked on mine, burning with a quiet intensity that hurt more than anger ever could. Slowly, his hands unclenched, the tight fists he had been holding finally relaxing.
Silence fell between us.
This was the last time I would ever see him.
The pain was unbearable, like my chest was collapsing inward. “If you are still planning to kill my family…”
“I am not,” he said immediately. “I swear.”
I stared at him, searching for a lie and finding none. “They are safe,” he added quietly. “Because of you.” He turned away then, taking my decision as absolute. There was nothing left to argue, nothing left to fight for, he walked toward the door and unlocked it, then paused before leaving. He looked back at me one last time. “Do me a favor.”
My voice barely worked. “Okay…”
“Find a better place to live,” he said, his voice quieter now, stripped of everything but truth. “Because I will not be outside anymore to keep you safe.”
And just like that, everything inside me shattered.