Chapter 2: A Heart Left Behind
1004 Words
The taxi sped through the rain-soaked streets while Isabella stared blankly out the window.
The city lights blurred into streaks of gold and white, but she barely noticed them. Every word Lorenzo had spoken replayed in her mind like a cruel melody.
"I found someone else."
"My fiancée arrives tomorrow."
"Forget me."
Her chest tightened until breathing became painful.
The driver glanced at her through the rearview mirror.
"Miss, are you alright?"
She quickly wiped away her tears and forced a smile that fooled no one.
"I'm fine."
He didn't press further.
When the taxi stopped outside her apartment building, Isabella paid the fare and stepped into the cold night.
The rain had finally eased into a gentle drizzle.
She climbed the stairs slowly, each step heavier than the last.
As soon as she unlocked the door and entered the tiny apartment, the silence swallowed her.
This place had once been filled with laughter.
Lorenzo used to visit whenever he could.
He had complained that the apartment was too small.
One day, he had wrapped his arms around her waist while she cooked dinner and whispered against her ear, "Soon, Bella. I'll build you a home with a kitchen twice this size."
She had laughed and told him she didn't care about expensive houses.
As long as she had him, anywhere would feel like home.
Now those memories felt like knives.
She slid to the floor beside the door and cried until there were no tears left.
Hours later, she remembered the small envelope lying inside her handbag.
The pregnancy test.
The doctor's report.
With trembling fingers, she pulled it out.
Eight weeks pregnant.
A tiny heartbeat.
A tiny life.
Their baby.
Her lips quivered as she rested a hand over her stomach.
"I guess it's just you and me now," she whispered.
"You'll never know how much your father loved us..."
Her voice broke.
"...or maybe he never did."
The words hurt too much to say.
She couldn't believe them.
Not completely.
Because somewhere deep inside, the Lorenzo she knew still existed.
But the man standing at those gates tonight...
He had looked at her as if she meant nothing.
That version of him was impossible to understand.
A loud knock startled her.
She quickly hid the medical report before opening the door.
Her best friend, Sofia, rushed inside carrying grocery bags.
One look at Isabella's swollen eyes told her everything.
"Oh, Bella."
Sofia wrapped her in a tight embrace.
"What happened?"
Isabella tried to stay strong.
She really did.
But the moment someone showed her kindness, the dam inside her burst again.
"He ended it."
Sofia frowned.
"What?"
"He said he has another woman."
"No."
"He told me she's his fiancée."
Sofia stared at her in disbelief.
"That doesn't make sense."
"It doesn't have to."
"It does."
"Lorenzo adored you."
"Not anymore."
Sofia shook her head repeatedly.
"I've met powerful men before. They lie. They manipulate. But Lorenzo looked at you like you were his entire world."
Isabella laughed bitterly.
"Apparently his world changed."
She handed Sofia the doctor's report.
Sofia's eyes widened.
"Oh my God..."
"You didn't tell him?"
"I couldn't."
"Does he know?"
Isabella slowly shook her head.
"No."
Silence filled the room.
Finally, Sofia reached for her friend's hand.
"What are you going to do?"
Isabella looked toward the rain-covered window.
Outside, the city continued moving as though nothing had happened.
People laughed.
Cars passed.
Life continued.
Only hers had stopped.
"I'm leaving."
"What?"
"I'm leaving this city."
"You can't be serious."
"I have to."
"What if Lorenzo comes looking for you?"
"He won't."
"And if he does?"
Isabella closed her eyes.
"He already chose someone else."
"I'm not going to stay here waiting to watch him marry another woman."
Sofia sighed.
"Where will you go?"
"My grandmother left me a small house in Raven Hill."
"The coastal town?"
She nodded.
"No one knows me there."
"It'll be a fresh start."
"For me..."
She rested both hands over her stomach.
"...and for my baby."
Miles away, inside the heavily guarded De Luca estate, Lorenzo stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows in his office.
The room was silent except for the ticking of an antique clock.
His right-hand man, Marco, entered without knocking.
"You should have told her."
Lorenzo didn't turn around.
"I couldn't."
"She deserves the truth."
"The truth gets her killed."
Marco clenched his jaw.
"Our spies confirmed it?"
"Yes."
"The Romano family sold information to the Moretti syndicate."
"They know Isabella was with me."
"They planned to use her."
Marco lowered his voice.
"So instead, you made her hate you."
Lorenzo finally looked at him.
Pain flickered in his usually emotionless eyes.
"I'd rather she hate me for the rest of her life than die because she loved me."
Marco remained silent.
For years he had watched Lorenzo survive betrayals, assassinations, and bloody wars without showing emotion.
Tonight was different.
Tonight his boss looked like a broken man.
A guard rushed into the office.
"Boss."
"What is it?"
"We lost sight of Miss Romano."
Lorenzo's expression darkened.
"What do you mean?"
"She left her apartment."
"No one knows where she went."
Lorenzo's heartbeat quickened for the first time in years.
"Find her."
"Search every airport."
"Every train station."
"Every road leading out of the city."
"I don't care how much it costs."
Marco frowned.
"If the rival families see us searching for her—"
"I said find her."
The guard immediately nodded.
"Yes, Boss."
As the office emptied, Lorenzo stared at the engagement ring hidden inside his desk drawer.
The ring he had bought for Isabella six months ago.
The proposal he had planned.
The future that would never happen.
He closed the drawer and whispered into the darkness,
"Stay alive, Bella."
"I'll carry the burden of your hatred if it means you're still breathing."
Neither of them knew that fate had already begun writing a different story.
One that revolved around a little boy with his father's eyes...
...the hidden heir to the De Luca empire.
- Writer
