Bound By Revenge Redeemed By Love

Chapter Four: A New Life

Isabella’s POV

“Jason, piano, my love, don’t pull the beautiful petals off the roses!” I called out, already laughing out so loud, and my laughter perfectly blending with the not so distant melody of church bells from the Italian town.

“Mamma, but they’re so soft to touch,” Jason argued, and I watched him gently brush his tiny fingers over the beautiful bloom. His eyes were...as in, those story grey eyes that tormented me. I avoided his gaze each day of my life like a plague. The same eyes that ensured I was haunted for years; Alexander's.

“Soft to touch, but they are delicate and should be taken care of, just like you,” I crouched to his level, using my thumb to brush his cheeks. “We must do our best to protect them.”

Jason pouted, and childishly leaned on me for support. then leaned into me with a sigh. “Yes, Mamma. There will be no more pulling petals.”

“Good boy.” I said sweetly, while kissing the top of his dark curls, and I could not be more happier for raising him into a fine young man all alone. Even though my heart had shattered a million times, I'm still very grateful that I'm far away from the grips of Alexander and his likes. Still, the unending whispers of a powerful and feared British investor infiltrating town, and buying properties, kept spreading. Alexender's shadow has refused to be completely erased from my memory.

My innocence was destroyed even before I was old enough to give it willingly, and all I could think of was how I was able to get to this point. Five years has gone since I left London to Italy for a new beginning, and the only good thing I ever got from Alexander is my son. He has been my comforter and my safe place.

As we were in the shop, the bell suddenly jingled, forcing me out of my many thoughts.

“Good morning, Signora Isabella,” I needed no one to tell me who it was. I knew that minute it was Luca Romano.

Jason immediately brightened up on hearing his cooking.“Uncle Luca!” He ran to his arm which was wide open. Luca immediately bend to his level, quickly scooping him like he was his son.

“How are doing, little one,” Luca teased, already tickling Jason’s sides, until the moment he Burt into laugher. “How is my favorite superhero doing today after tending to the beautiful flowers?”

Jason puffed out his chest like a real superhero. “Strong! Mamma told me today that I’m her protector.”

I forced a smile just hearing him talk to him. “And he is so good at his job, isn't he such a sweetheart?"

Luca glanced over at my side from Jason’s head, his eyes softening as he stared at me. “He really took after you.”

My throat tightened when he said that because I already knew the answer. “Or… someone else.”

"Papa, lift me higher again!" Jason giggled, the word coming out unexpectedly, stabbing very deep into my heart, that I lost the boldness to correct him. Luca froze, taken unawares, but used smile to cover it up like it was nothing...but it meant everything.

Luca didn’t push to get the truth from me. He never did, as others would have done. That was a part of him I loved much, most men would have pushed till they know everything, but for him; he followed me each day at a time. But even in his silence, there were days hus gaze lingered, and I knew he wanted more,but chose to respect my decision not to talk about it.

He gently dropped Jason down, then ruffling his hair, he continued. “Go on, little champ. Lend a helping hand to your mamma to arrange those tulips.”

Jason immediately darted back to the counter, his excitement knowing no bound. Luca stepped closer to me, but ensured his voice was low.

“You’re strangely quiet today. Too quiet for my liking. Is everything alright, Isabella?”

I busied myself line I didn't hear him, concentratung more in tying a ribbon around a bouquet. “I’m fine. Just…a little tired.”

“Isabella,” he called firmly, forcing me to look up and meetvhis gaze. “I’ve known you long enough to know that things aren't well, to tell apart when you are lying."

His words were just right. Because I was actually lying to him, trying so hard to hide my past from him. I had overheard a very disturbing news from the market the other day. I heard that Alexander Knight was expanding his empire, and the only place he thought of extending his wings to was my sanctuary.

But I didn't have the guts to say that before him. So instead, I deflected from the topic he was trying to discuss with me. “You sound really like an old man each time you raise up topics like tgat."

Luca smirked like he had won a jackpot. “Perhaps I’m just much wiser than my years of existence on earth.”

I rolled my eyes, because I've succeeded in changing the topic. “You’re really impossible.”

“And yet,” he leaned much closer now, “you keep allowing me into your shop.”

That alone made my body heat up, I quickly switched to my busy mood of arranging the flowers. “Because, unlike a sane being, you keep buying ridiculous amounts of lilies, even more than you need."

“Ah, but from all I know, lilies are for new beginnings, no?” His tone then changed, becoming more softer. “And I know for sure that we all at a point deserve one."

My hands tightened around the vase, the words slicing through me as I remembered my past. Is it possible for me to really have one after all I've been through?

Jason’s voice was the next thing I heard, jolting me back to reality. “Mamma, look! I turned the tulips into a heart!”

I rushed to catch him, grateful to him for the distraction, and Luca followed us from behind, smiling.

“You have an artist for a son, Isabella,” he said with admiration.

“Maybe,” I smiled.

The bell jingled again, then someone entered without waiting to be ushered in. He didn't have Luca's cheerful entrance, he was rigid. Without being told, before he even spoke, I knew that trouble had found me.

It was a stranger that I've never seen. His eyes were sharp, his suit tailored to his body frame, and a glance at him says he wasn't from this part of the world.

“Signora Moretti?” the man asked, calling me by my false surname, the one I had taken before traveling. His accent was British, and that rang a bell

“Yes,” I managed to say, forcing a smile as I awaited whatever he had to say. “How can I help you, sir?”

The man shoved a hand into his jacket and brought out a white card. He dropped it on the counter. There were no words on it, just a black insignia embossed in the corner. I knew at that instant who it belongs to. The Knight Crest.

Jason came tugging at my skirt. “Mamma, who is he?”

I swallowed hard as reality dawned on me“ He's just… a customer.”

The man’s lips curved in a smirk, lacking of any warmth. "Mr Knight sends his regards."

My world turned upside down. Alexander has found me!