MORENO’S POVI left the doctor's office with my head hung low, I couldn’t think straight and my head was spinning. How could I possibly tell Bella that I put her and our baby at risk because of a mistake I made in the past, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her. I was terrified and ashamed. I slumped on the chair outside the room trying to gather my thoughts, but all I could think about was the horror on Bella’s face when she found out the truth.Mateo walked up to me, “How did it go boss?” He asked. “Everything is fine, she just needs to rest,” I could see the worry in Mateo’s eye, I didn’t want to lie to him, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the truth. I knew he didn’t believe me but he didn’t push the issue. I took a deep breath got up and walked into the room Bella was in. She was already awake when I saw her face, all I wanted to do was tell her the truth, but instead, I forced a smile. “Hey cupcake, how are you feeling?” I asked putting on my best smile to hide how I felt i
BELLA’S POVMoreno gave us a little distance which I appreciated, it took everything in me not to break down in tears, but I didn’t want to do that in front of this man whom I had spent my whole life with only to learn that my whole life was built on lies. “How have you been?” I managed to ask, “Good, good.” He replied arrogantly “And you? How’s your husband treating you?” He asked and I replied forcing a smile “Good.”I took a sip of the glass of water that Moreno had ordered for me before he left, it helped to serve as a little distraction from the intense conversation I was about to have with my father. I held onto the glass tightly, using the cool feel of the water to calm my anger. I wanted to lash out, to yell and scream at my father for what he had done. But I knew that wouldn't be wise. I swallowed my anger and tried my best to remain calm and in control.I gently placed the glass on the table and asked, “How’s your new family?” He looked at me surprised, then his expression c
MORENO’S POVI glanced at the document one last time, unsure of how to break the news to Bella about her condition but I couldn’t, I was terrified she would blame me and hate me all over again, I didn’t want that, the thought of it was too much to bear so I made the difficult decision to keep it from her, I convinced myself that it was for the best. If she found out the reason it could make her mentally unstable again and it was a risk I couldn’t take.I placed the document on the table and left in a hurry after I received a call from my mother’s caretaker that she was causing a disturbance again, I didn’t kill her because Bella begged me not to, unfortunately, my mother's erratic behavior was as a result of her failure to take her medication, she was struggling with drug addiction.As I entered the compound, my men greeted me with a nod. “Take me to her,” I instructed one of them. With a swift response of “Yes, boss,” I followed him to her room. Upon entering, I saw her lying on the
MORENO’S POVAfter waiting for what felt like hours, the doctor finally came out of the theatre. “How is my wife?” I asked anxiously. “Congratulations Mr. Moreno, Your wife gave birth to a bouncing baby boy.” He said and I didn’t let him finish out of excitement and relief. “Thank you so much Doctor, I’ll repay you for this.” “It’s fine Mr. Moreno, I was just doing my job.”“Can I see them now?.” I asked eagerly and the Doctor motioned for me to follow him, “Your son is currently in an incubator, he’ll be there for the next two months, where we’ll monitor him closely.” The doctor said and I nodded in understanding.As we entered the room, I was overcome with emotion I never imagined I would feel. I didn't even realize I was crying until I felt the warm tears streaming down my cheeks. I rushed to Bella's side, my heart aching with love and gratitude. She was still asleep, but I couldn't help myself.I grasped her free hand, the one not connected to the IV drip, and kissed it repeatedl
MORENO’S POVAfter bathing and dressing, we ate dinner and went to check up on Gustavo, then Bella and I went back into our room, just the two of us.As soon as we entered the room, I closed my eyes and took a deep calming breath. I didn’t want to lie to Bella anymore, I knew I would have to tell her the truth eventually. “Come here,” I said and she sat on my lap obediently. I knew she was waiting for what I was going to say.“I brought you both here to keep you safe,” I started and I searched her face for any form of reaction, when there was none I continued. I plan to do something very dangerous and it wouldn’t be safe back home. I would not be able to live with myself if anything happened to you both, the weight of that responsibility will crush me and haunt me forever,” I said squeezing her hands softly, my thumbs tracing circles on her skin. “I came so close to losing you once and I won’t let that happen again, the mere thought of reliving that terror is unbearable.”“You should
BELLA’S POVI still couldn’t believe it, had Mateo fabricated the whole thing? Was Moreno pulling some kind of twisted prank? No! I couldn’t accept it. He had promised to come back home and He always kept his word, I clung to that promise refusing to entertain any possibility that he could be dead. My heart clung to the text he sent me, “I’ll be back soon, I love you and our son.”"I crumpled to the floor, overcome with grief, my face buried in my palms. I had to muster every ounce of strength for our innocent child, but the weight of my sorrow was crushing me.Three excruciating weeks had passed since Mateo delivered the devastating news that Moreno was dead, yet I still refused to accept it. If Moreno was truly gone as they claimed, then where was his body? I wouldn't rest until they brought him back to me, until I could hold him in my arms once more. I demanded proof, and I wouldn't settle for anything less.My heart chose to believe that Moreno is somewhere recovering, after he ha
BELLA’S POVI tried my best to hold in the tears that were threatening to drop from my eyes, while I lay on the bed thinking of everything that had been going on in my life. I was grown and beginning to understand some things. I knew my parents were doing the best they could do for me as their only child, they wanted to give me only the best in everything, I wasn't even allowed to get a job when I insisted that I wanted to help them, they believed they should be the ones providing for me. I’ll be starting college next month and I found out that my dad told Uncle Noah to help him borrow some money from the bank for my college tuition, my uncle was the only sibling my dad had and my dad trusted him with his life. I overheard their discussion in Dad’s study room, but I pretended that I didn’t know anything about it. We were a middle-class family living in the city of San Francisco but my parents made me go to an elite school for the rich. And my dad insisted that I study business educa
Isabella’s POVI couldn't bring myself to accept the fact that my mother was gone. I kept thinking that maybe she had just run away, or maybe she had been kidnapped. I clung to these thoughts, even though they were far-fetched and unlikely. It was easier to believe in these fantasies than to face the truth. The grief and the pain were like a weight on my chest, crushing me from the inside.The funeral was a blur. I watched the proceedings with a numbness that I couldn't shake. It all felt like a terrible dream, and I kept waiting for someone to wake me up. But as I watched my mother's casket being lowered into the ground, I knew that this was real. And it was too much to bear. I felt like I was shattering into a million pieces, and I didn't know how to put myself back together.As I watched the casket disappear into the ground, I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. I sank to my knees and the tears came in waves. The sobbing was uncontrollable. The world seemed to be s