003

ISABELLA

Damien stared at me like I was the last person he’d expected to see, and of course, I was.

Caterina stood there, her eyes darting between us as she looked in confusion. My smile almost disappeared, but I did everything I could to keep it.

“You know each other?” She asked.

Getting Damien to take his eyes off me felt like a difficult task. I made the first move by glancing away, not responding to Caterina’s question.

Until he did. “Yeah.”

That was the perfect moment for Axel to walk in, and I was grateful that he did. He paused for a second, realizing what he’d walked into.

I gave him a glance and he understood immediately. He raised his head to his brother, forced a small smile and murmured.

“Damien, you came.”

Damien cleared his throat slightly. I didn’t see what he was doing because I’d turned my back.

“Yes. How’s Olivia?”

“She’s inside,” Axel replied before turning to Caterina. “Maybe you could go in to meet her, Rina?”

She didn’t even argue. “Okay.”

Then he tugged at my arm, his voice slowly telling me what to do. “Come with me, Rosetta. There’s a lot we’ve got to talk about.”

It was weird that I didn’t spare Damien another glance even with the strong urge to do so, but I felt his eyes on me as I walked away.

I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding the minute we walked into the council room. Nothing much had changed like I’d expected.

It seemed like time had stood still in there.

Axel took his seat and pointed at the chair across from him, signaling that I sat down as well.

I exhaled sharply, still trying to act normal after I’d walked into the biggest moment of my life.

“You came back.”

He said softly, starting the conversation and grabbing a bottle of wine from the table before pouring it into an empty glass.

I sat upright, looking at him and wondering how he managed to remain so calm and relaxed.

“I had to.”

He dropped the bottle after filling the glass and pushed it forward to me.

“Care for a drink?”

I needed it. I needed something to ground me, to keep me calm, but it wasn’t alcohol.

“I’m trying to stay sober,” I whispered.

“That’s a good thing.”

I nodded. Damien’s thoughts found their way into my head again, but I pushed everything away, determined to think about anything else but him.

“She hates me, doesn’t she?” I asked after a few seconds, fidgeting with the strap of my purse. “I looked into her eyes and… all I saw was… hatred.”

Axel leaned forward, his fingers tightening around the glass as he held it close to his lips.

“Olivia is going through a rough patch right now.”

“She doesn’t want to see me.”

“That’s not true.”

“She hates me,” I cried. “My sister… she…” my voice cracked softly. “I ruined everything.”

Axel took a quick sip and placed the glass gently on the table. He stared at me, his fingers brushing against my hands to keep me calm.

“You’re overthinking everything.”

“Ace…”

“You have no idea what your sister’s going through,” his voice was thick with pain. “She didn’t just lose her mother. She lost the baby too. Our baby.”

My chest tightened, and it felt like something had been snatched away from me.

“W-what?”

Axel turned his face away after I’d seen the hurt in them. I knew then that he wasn’t just relaxed, he was trying to stay and act strong for my sister so she wouldn’t break completely.

“She went into labor prematurely,” his voice trembled. “Shortly after the baby was born, she… she died.”

“It was a baby girl?”

“The most beautiful baby I’d ever seen,” he said with a faint smile. “She looked just like her mother.”

Her heart broke into a thousand pieces for my sister—for both of them. They’d gone through so much that it didn’t make sense for something terrible to happen to them.

“I’m…” my voice shook as I battled with my words. “I’m so sorry.”

Axel nodded, forcing another smile on his face. I swear, he didn’t deserve that. I hated the fact that he had to act strong when he was breaking inside.

“It’s fine,” he murmured, taking another sip from his glass. “How’re you, Rosetta?”

A faint smile touched my lips. “You’re never going to stop calling me that, are you?”

His smile deepened. “Never.”

I chuckled, and it was the first time I’d genuinely done so after arriving in New Orleans.

After moments of silence, Axel’s voice rang out again.

“How does it feel to see Damien again?”

Damien… the last name I wanted to hear but was always going to keep hearing since I was back now.

I darted my eyes to the wall briefly, a wave of memories forcefully flashing through my mind.

“I… I don’t know.”

“Hmm.”

“I mean, I’m not sure,” I swallowed hard. “I’m still mad and… it’s not going to go away anytime soon.”

Axel poured himself some more wine, and I allowed him, knowing it was the only way he could drown his emotions.

“I understand you.”

I wasn’t sure that he did though.

I parted my lips again. “I expected to see him here, but I never braced myself for the moment we’d meet again.”

“Fair enough.”

I sighed frustratingly, then raked my fingers through my hair.

“He still doesn’t know, does he?”

Axel raised his gaze to me, understanding what I’d asked. He reclined his back against his chair, carefully swirling around.

“It was hard to keep your secret.‘’

My eyes widened. “Don’t tell me you told him. I begged you not to.”

“Relax,” he muttered. “He doesn’t know it yet. Your sister almost spilled the tea, but I managed to stop her.”

My heart was relieved, and I retreated quietly, tucking strands of my hair behind my ears.

“How long do you plan on keeping it away from him?” He asked.

I didn’t answer immediately. I battled with my mind. Seeing him again, knowing he was still with Caterina after all these years, I… I felt… cheated.

“Forever,” I replied blatantly.

“Rosetta—‘’

Axel was interrupted by another hoarse voice after the footsteps walked in. I sucked in a deep breath, realizing that it was the same person we were talking about.

“Salvatore…” Damien called hoarsely, his voice almost impatient. “I was—‘’

“—I’m leaving, Ace.” I said immediately, then stood up without thinking twice. “I’ll see you some other time.”

I didn’t want to be in the same room with that man. Never.

Grabbing my purse from the chair next to me, I turned around to leave, but Damien stood there, directly blocking my way.

His eyes bore into mine with an intensity, and my knees almost went numb from his lingering gaze.

I clenched my teeth hard, replaying the last words I’d heard from him five years ago so it would keep my fury burning.

“I’ll drop you off,” Axel offered, already standing up. “Just let me get my car keys.”

“No,” I declined politely. “I’m good.”

“Rosetta…”

“I’ll be fine, Ace,” I whispered, brushing past Damien roughly since he refused to move away. “Don’t worry.”

A hand caught my wrist before I could leave, and it felt familiar enough to strike a memory. I shuddered slightly, not turning around because I knew who was holding me back.

Quietly, carefully and slowly, he turned me to face him, his voice thick and void of the anger I’d expected to hear.

“I’ve got my car keys,” Damien said. “I’ll take you home.”