203

Damon

"Woe unto a man who cannot take care of his family." I will translate that as "woe unto a man who could not protect his family."

The loss of my child was simply too much pain to bear. I had barely felt the little spark of life within Isabella's belly until it was snuffed out by that madman, only because I couldn't reach her fast enough.

I was too slow, I thought to myself as I pulled off my mask and sat in the lounge. My eyes found the bottle of amber-colored liquid, whiskey, and I poured myself a nearly full glass. I gulped down the contents of the glass in one shot. It was slightly euphoric, feeling the warmth of the alcohol rush down my throat to settle in my belly.

But the feeling only lasted for a short while, as it was nearly impossible to get drunk anymore.

"I don't think you should worry too much about this… Montenegro of a girl," someone said. "After all, she is, as I hear, unable to give birth. I heard that earlier today. Someone was spreading rumors about her. Why didn't you tell me?"

I asked Daniel, who sat opposite me. "The princess was very adamant about me not telling you. I don't know what plan she had, but… forgive me, my King," Daniel said as he shook his head.

"I'm very easily swayed by things like this. Too sympathetic, too sentimental. You know that this decision doesn't just lie with her. It's my child that died. She's my wife, Daniel. I don't appreciate you withholding this kind of information from me. I understand, sir. And I'm sorry."

"She seems to know the future," I said as I agreed. "But I wonder if she has looked at it recently." I raised my head as I heard distinct footsteps approaching.

"Give us a minute, Daniel," I said and sent the man away. I waited for Isabella to show up at the doorway before I stood up. She was still so beautiful, despite the fact that she had lost some weight and her face was even more pale than normal.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But the future I saw was not so clear. The future I saw was…" I walked quickly towards her, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her back to my seat, where I gathered her up into my lap and buried my head in her neck, breathing in her scent.

I felt her tremble in my arms, but eventually, her arms went around my neck as she began to relax into my embrace.

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I'm so sorry. If I had told you, I was scared that it would change the outcome here, but I thought that it was you that would die and not the baby, right? I knew that one of us would go, one of us would die, but even with that, I didn't think it would hurt this bad," I said as I could smell the salty scent of her tears as she began to dampen my shirt.

I held her back until she stopped crying and until I stopped crying. "We have issues," I said softly as I gently pulled her away from my embrace.

 "We have to consolidate. Roman's allies are still out there, and they are demanding to see you. They are demanding that you somehow pay them. You must have some kind of failsafe to ensure that even after he died, they would still cool down."

I wiped off her tears and she sat up straight in my lap. "I understand," she said with a nod of her head.

Her eyes suddenly glazed over, and I figured she was looking at the future. In less than a second, she closed her eyes and turned her head towards me.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't think I'm ready to look yet." She leaned back into my neck.

"It's fine, Mia Bella. You just take as long as you need to rest and heal. I'll handle them the way I can."

"Please don't kill them," she said, and my heart almost broke at the sound of her plea. "I'll try, Mia Bella, but I am very angry and my mask wants blood. Even if I don't give it much, I must give it some."

"What are you going to do about the rest of Roman's family? They are clearly siding with his allies, and they refuse to bend the knee," Alessandro asked me later that day.

"I've asked Isabella. Once she makes a decision, I'll know about it. But I don't think I should interfere with her decision or the way she chooses to deal with them. I would like to watch."

I left the mansion shortly after for the main town. While the massive threat had been taken care of, I was still not very interested in letting anyone know where the house was. The last thing I wanted was for something else to happen to Isabella.

"I heard about what happened," Nicholas said, "and I'm very sorry that I've been unable to come and check up on her. Please accept my apologies."

 He said with a slight bow of his head. I walked past him and took a seat in his living room. "Do you have what I want?" I asked him as I leaned forward on the seat.

"Yes, through it I have their names and their files. Ted was particularly very useful in providing me with the information I needed. I've been able to see some of them, but they're all oblivious to the fact that you are on to them. I just need you to sow a few seeds of discord among them," Nicholas said after listening to his report.

"A few, sir?" he asked as I removed my mask.

"By few, I mean as many as you can. I want them to break from within and fall down based on their own hubris."

As I was leaving Nicholas's house, I was blocked by the familiar face of Raven. "I found something, boss. I think you're going to like it," he said with a smile.