Chapter 32 Chapter 0032

Chapter 32 Chapter 0032
•ISABELLA•

I turned toward Antonio after Tom had been escorted away by the security guards.

Even though he was no longer someone I ever wanted to see again, he was still an inescapable part of my life, and that reality weighed heavily on me.

“Did you want to kill him, Antonio?” I asked quietly.

He closed the distance between us with slow, deliberate steps. “You didn’t really expect me to let him leave with you, did you?”

“He had every right to come here and claim me, just like you did after you and my father drugged and auctioned me,” I shot back.

His expression hardened. “Wasn’t I the one who defended you when that boy tried to humiliate you in front of his friends? I did you a favor by taking you from him, Bella, and you should be grateful.”

Anger surged through me. “I will never be grateful
that you bought me against my will. Because of you, I’m trapped here like a prisoner who needs your permission just to breathe.”

His jaw tightened. “What is it that I haven’t allowed you to do in this house? I treat you as I would treat my wife.”

“But I am not your wife, Antonio, and I never will be. You can force whatever you want, but I will never look at you and see anything other than the beast that you are.” With that said, I turned sharply and started up the stairs.

“Stop right there, Bella,” he commanded.

I ignored him and kept climbing, my footsteps quick and determined.

“Bella, I said stop. This is my house, and you will listen to me when I speak to you.”

I paused just long enough to glance over my shoulder. “If you want me to stop, then stop me yourself.” I continued up the stairs and headed straight for my room.

“Bella!” he shouted after me.

I slammed the door shut behind me and locked it, my chest heaving with anger and adrenaline. I felt so overwhelmed that I wanted to smash something, anything, just to release the storm inside me.

Then came the pounding on the door.

“Open this door, Bella. Open it right now!”

I folded my arms and refused to move, waiting in tense silence.

“Open this door this instant, or you will regret it.”

When everything suddenly went quiet, I assumed he had finally walked away. I turned toward the bathroom, ready for a shower, when two gunshots rang out just outside my door.

I screamed and dove behind the couch.

Moments later, the door was kicked open with brutal
force. Antonio stepped inside, handed his gun to Melo, and then dismissed him without a word.

When I slowly emerged from my hiding place, he was already glaring at me.

“How dare you ignore me when I was speaking to you?” he demanded.

My heart was still racing as I stood before him. “I am not Melo, Antonio. You do not order me around.”

“You are my wife. You signed the papers, and by law, I am your husband. You owe me respect.”

“I owe you nothing. You owe me my life and my freedom.”

His eyes darkened as he stepped closer. “Your father has already spent half the money I gave him, which means you belong to me now. You are mine, Isabella, completely mine, and I can do whatever I want with you.”

He was so close that I could feel the heat of his body, and my heart raced. I swallowed hard before speaking.

“You can’t do anything to me,” I whispered.

His fingers brushed lightly against my cheek. “You can deny it all you want, but I know you still think about it.”

I tried to look away, but his gaze held me captive.
“When you close your eyes, you remember me against that bathroom door. You remember how I took you, how I held your throat, and how you came apart beneath me.”

My breath grew shallow despite myself.

“You remember my mouth on your neck, don’t you? How you begged me to go deeper, faster, and harder? How your legs wrapped around me as we both lost control?”

For a moment, I was pulled back into that memory so vividly that my body reacted before my mind could stop it.

Heat spread through me, and I hated myself for it.

But I snapped out of it and jerked his hand away from my face.

“I want to be alone, Antonio. Please leave.” I turned to walk past him.

He caught my wrist and pulled me against his chest so suddenly that I gasped.

“You are mine, Bella,” he said, low and fierce. “If any man tries to take you from me, I will kill him. If you had listened earlier, Tom would already be dead.”

His words chilled me, and in that moment, my thoughts drifted to Peter and a plan formed in my mind.

I knew then that freedom would not come easily, and it would not come without a price.