Chapter 23

Isabella’s POV

“You don’t know that,” Papa croaked. There was a bit of a distance between us, but that didn’t make it any difficult to notice his eyes were already glistening with tears. “Maybe he’s not as ruthless as his father. Maybe he’s the apple that fell off and…”

“I’m sorry,” I cut him off again. I watched a million and one emotions flicker on his face as he sunk deeper into his chair. There was no way I was going to put my father through this. Yes, he was in pain from being separated from me, but this could never be compared to the pain ahead.

Knowing Alessandro, he wouldn’t just decline Father’s request; he would make sure he broke him even more. And what other way to break him than me? Papa had no idea of my other identity and it’d been like that for a while now, and if I was being honest, I wanted it to stay that way. Maybe Alessandro would embarrass my father, but there was something else I was sure of; he would rub it in his face that