ISABELLA

Chapter 25

Isabella’s pov

My pulse hadn’t slowed since the first gun came out.

Leo walked ahead, sharp and untouchable in his dark suit, Matteo shadowing close behind as though nothing had happened. Like the world hadn’t just exploded in that room.

But I couldn’t just let it go.

“Leo!” I snapped, my heels clicking hard against the pavement as I caught up to him, grabbing his arm.

He stopped, turning slowly, eyes already cold and unreadable.

My chest rose and fell, anger pouring out of me. “What the hell was that? You brought me into a room where men were literally pointing guns at each other! Where they were pointing guns at you!”

His jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer.

I stepped closer, shoving at his chest with both hands. “What if something happened to me, Leo? Huh? What if I got hurt tonight because of your business? Did you even think about that?”

He caught my wrists before I could shove him again, his grip firm but not cruel. His eyes burned down into mine, a storm I couldn’t read.

“You think I’d ever let anything happen to you?” he asked, voice low, sharp as a blade.

“You can’t control bullets!” I shot back, my voice breaking with a mix of fear and fury. “You can’t control the men in that room. You can’t control what I saw! I’m not like you, Leo—I’m not built for… for this!”

For a heartbeat, something flickered in his eyes. A shadow of guilt. Then it was gone, replaced by steel.

“You think I’d put you somewhere I couldn’t protect you?” he growled, leaning closer, his breath hot against my face. “You think I’d ever risk you like that?”

“Yes!” My voice cracked, my eyes stinging. “That’s exactly what you did tonight!”

His hands loosened around my wrists, sliding down until his fingers laced with mine, holding me there, grounding me. “You don’t get it yet,” he said, softer this time, though his tone carried the weight of a vow. “As long as you’re with me, no one touches you. No one lays a hand on you. Ever.”

But the promise didn’t soothe me. It only scared me more. Because promises like that always come with blood.

I yanked my hands free, my voice trembling with both defiance and fear. “I didn’t ask to be part of your world, Leo. And I don’t know if I ever want to be.”

Silence stretched, heavy, suffocating. Matteo cleared his throat somewhere in the background, muttering about the car being ready, but neither of us moved.

Leo’s pov

She was trembling when she said it. “I didn’t ask to be part of your world, Leo. And I don’t know if I ever want to be.”

I burned.

I stepped closer, forcing her back until her spine brushed the sleek metal of the car door. My hands braced on either side of her, caging her in. The headlights caught the fire in her eyes, that defiance that drove me insane.

“Too late for that,” I said, my voice flat, commanding. “You walked into my world the second I laid eyes on you. And now—you don’t get to walk out.”

Her lips parted, shock mixing with anger. “You can’t just—”

“I can.” My jaw tightened. “And I will. Don’t mistake your choices here, Isabella. You belong to me now. Whether you want to admit it or not.”

She pushed at my chest again, but I didn’t budge. Not an inch. She looked so damn beautiful like this—furious, terrified, alive. My weakness and my weapon, standing in front of me.

“You’re insane,” she hissed. “You can’t own me like I’m some—some thing!”

My eyes darkened. “Don’t test me. I warned you once, Isa—don’t roll your eyes at me, don’t shove me, don’t push where you don’t understand. Because when it comes to you, my control only goes so far.”

Her breath hitched, but she didn’t look away. That stubborn fire held me captive.

“Get in the car,” I ordered, my voice sharp, leaving no room for argument.

She hesitated, and for a heartbeat I wondered if she’d defy me. But then she yanked the car door open and slid inside, slamming it shut.

I stood there for a moment, the night air cutting into me like knives, before climbing in beside her.

She didn’t look at me, her gaze fixed out the window, but her silence screamed louder than any words.

And still—I couldn’t stop the corner of my mouth from curving into the faintest, cruelest smirk. Because she didn’t realize it yet.

But every step she took away from me… only chained her closer to me.

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Matteo drove, his eyes glued to the road, wisely keeping his mouth shut. The only sound was the low purr of the engine and Isabella’s shallow breaths beside me.

She didn’t look at me once. Not when I slid into the seat next to her. Not when my arm brushed hers as I shifted. Not even when my gaze burned holes into her profile, daring her to meet me.

Her jaw was tight, lips pressed into a stubborn line, and she leaned just enough toward the window to keep her distance. As if I were poison.

The silence gnawed at me. I’d faced enemies with guns in my face who didn’t make me feel this restless.

I let the seconds stretch, my patience thinning with every passing one. Finally, I leaned in, close enough for her perfume to stir the beast inside me.

“You think ignoring me will save you?” I murmured, my voice cold, sharp. “It won’t. If anything, it makes me want to break that silence out of you… force it out of you.”

Her hand curled into a fist on her lap, but she didn’t move. Didn’t speak.

My jaw clenched. She was playing with fire, and she didn’t even know it. Or maybe she did. Maybe she wanted to see how far I’d go.

I leaned back, my eyes still fixed on her. Obsession, possession, jealousy—they all tangled in my chest like barbed wire.

“Keep ignoring me, piccola stella,” I whispered under my breath, low enough only for me to hear. “But remember… the longer you stay silent, the louder I’ll make you scream when the time comes.”

And for the rest of the drive, her silence was mine to endure.

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The ride ended in that same silence. Matteo pulled the car into the long drive of the mansion, and the heavy gates shut behind us with a metallic echo that seemed to seal Isabella in my world all over again.

The moment the car stopped, she unbuckled quickly, her eyes fixed anywhere but on me. Without a word, she slipped out and disappeared into the house, her heels clicking sharp against the marble floor before fading away up the stairs.

I stayed behind a moment, my hand gripping the door handle so tightly my knuckles whitened. That silence of hers was starting to feel like a war I hadn’t planned for.

When I finally stepped inside, Aria was waiting in the hallway, arms folded, her sharp eyes scanning me the way only a sister could. She didn’t even try to hide her curiosity.

“What happened?” she asked bluntly, tilting her head. “She walked past me like a storm cloud. You piss her off already?”

I exhaled slowly, loosening my tie as if it were the problem and not the ache in my chest. “She doesn’t understand,” I muttered.

Aria smirked, stepping closer. “Or maybe you don’t. You think dragging a girl into a mafia negotiation is… what? Romantic?”

Her teasing tone scraped against my fraying patience, but she wasn’t wrong. I just didn’t admit it.

“I don’t need her to like it,” I said flatly, pouring myself a drink from the crystal decanter on the table. “I need her to learn her place. To understand who she belongs to.”

Aria arched a brow, her smirk fading into something sharper. “Careful, Leo. There’s a difference between protecting someone and caging them. And from what I just saw… she’s already pulling against the bars.”

Her words lingered like smoke as she walked off, leaving me standing there,staring up toward the hallway where Isabella’s room waited.