Chapter 169 Try For Me

Chapter 169 Try For Me
Isabella POV

My mom watched me with her gentle blue eyes. “I do understand, bella because I can see it clearly written all over your face but sometimes, we can’t choose who we love.”

“Then why can’t you guys just accept him?”

“Isabella, while you may love him with all your heart, it’s difficult to expect us to forget everything we’ve been through. It was before your time, so it’s hard for you to comprehend, but his father did many terrible things to us…”

My heart broke when I imagined what that man had done to my mother. “But he’s not him. You’re punishing him for something he didn’t do.”

“Up until he met you, he didn’t seem to be that different.”

“But he is different because he would never hurt me or any of you.”

“You’re right,” she said. “He probably wouldn’t but you’re asking us to welcome a man into our family that we despise. Remember, who you marry is who we marry. He will be a son to your father and this is the last man your father wants to have as a son, the son of his greatest enemy.”

“Let’s not skip to marriage just yet,” I said. “I just want you to accept the fact that I’m dating him.”

“Are you telling me you don’t want to marry him?” She raised an eyebrow. “Because if this isn’t serious, then it’s not worth our heartache.”

“Yes, I do want to marry him.” I didn’t want to say the words out loud because it would make losing him more painful. “I want a family and a life together. There’s probably someone out there better suited for me, but I don’t want that person, I want him.”

She sighed quietly under her breath..“I’m begging you.”

She looked away, as if she couldn’t handle my emotion. “He said he would let me go if you didn’t approve of him and if that’s not a declaration of true love, then what is?”

“I’m not denying that he loves you. He wouldn’t put up with your father if he didn’t. He obviously doesn’t scare easily, and I respect him for that. He’s fighting for you and taking insults when he would normally kill the man who issued them but you’re asking us to love him too…and I’m not sure if we can.”

“You said you would try,” I whispered. “You aren’t trying.”

“I know.” She closed her eyes for a brief moment. “You’re right but It’s hard to try when the only thing connecting us is something we don’t speak of. The name Moretti hasn’t been said in our home for thirty years. Your father forbade anyone from saying that name and now the door to our past has reopened, and it seems like we’ll never escape it.”

“Maybe you aren’t supposed to escape it or this is the closure everyone needs. What better way to end the blood war for good than to
welcome him into our family?”

My mother didn't give a response but her lips pressed together tightly, and she looked as though she was carefully choosing whether to say anything at all.

I watched her for a moment before continuing.

“You told me Father wasn't perfect.”

My voice remained calm, but there was something more emotional underneath it now.

“You told me he was cold and cruel. You said he wasn't easy to love, and that he refused to love you.”

I paused, letting the words settle..“It sounds like he wasn't much better than Dante.”

I knew that wasn't an easy thing to say about my father, but I couldn't ignore the similarities.

“He did criminal things for a living, and he killed people too.”

I shook my head slightly. “Maybe I don't really understand the full story and I know there are things you haven't told me about your relationship with Father that I don't know or couldn't possibly understand.”

“But from what you've told me, it sounds like our stories are extremely similar.”

My voice softened. “You loved Father.”

I swallowed, trying to make her understand what I was really asking. “And I see how much he loves you every day.”

There was no denying it that whatever their past had looked like, whatever kind of man my father had been before, I could see the way he loved my mother now. “So how is it any different?”

I wasn't trying to attack her or dismiss everything she'd been through but I simply wanted her to understand that, from where I stood because I couldn't see the difference.

She didn’t answer, staring at me with a guarded gaze..“How is it any different?” I repeated.

“It just is, Isabella...”

Silence settled between us, the quiet full of discomfort. She tucked her hair behind her ear, her button wedding ring catching the light. “We will try to overcome this, Isabella. We’ll try harder but don’t expect this to happen overnight. It’ll take time.”

“That’s fine,” I said. “But anytime you’re in the same room together, all Father does is yell at him.”

“I know,” she said quietly. “I’ll talk to him about that…again. He can’t see.straight when it comes to you. He gets very emotional and aggressive. He’s so angry because he loves you so deeply, but he’s also trying to make this work because he loves you so deeply. Your father is at war with himself, and he has no control over it.”

“Yeah…I can see that.”

She placed her hand on mine. “I want you to be happy. I really do.”

“I know, Mama…”

“Just be patient with us. It seems like Cassian is more than patient with us.”

“He’ll do anything for me. It wasn’t easy for him to let go of his hate. It took a long time but he finally did it, so I know he understands it’ll take you a while to feel the same and I would just like it if we could be in the same room without…everything going to shit.”

“Me too,” she said. “Maybe we’ll get there eventually.”

“Yeah…maybe.