Isabella It saddened me that Damien did not wake me up before he left. I guessed that after yesterday's battle of words with my father, he did not have the mind to be around me for now. He was still feeling awkward after his sudden show of emotions."I am so sorry you had to see that," He had said after we had locked lips and groped each other for over thirty minutes.I had laughed at his apology. I caressed his face. His handsome chiseled face."You are only human, Damien," I had told him as I ran a hand through his soft hair. Emilio's visit had rocked our world and it was not in a good way.I had a quick bath and brushed my teeth. I did not bother to blow dry my air but I rubbed it thoroughly with a towel. I put on blue jeans, a soft white shirt, and a cream-colored woolen jacket.I wondered what I was going to have for breakfast but there was no appetite so I opted for coffee instead. The maids had not yet arrived. I walked into the kitchen and found the coffee machine half filled

Isabella I hated that I loved him. That was why it was too devastating for me any time we had our quarrel. Although, Emilio had not really said what exactly my husband did but his demeanor had revealed that it must have been bad.I wish that I had not confronted him but it was too late. We had both said hurtful things to each other and he had angrily left. If there was one thing Damien hated most, it was fighting with me. He had called it exhausting when we had our first fight.I could not stand the fact that an estranged father knew more about my own husband that me. What Damien failed to realize was that keeping me in the dark only made me doubt his commitment no matter how good of a husband he turned out to be.It was clear now what I want to do. A long no bullshit conversation with Emilio and who he really was. I had mirrored Damien's suspicious feeling about Emilio's mysterious knowledge of Renaissance's bloody and illegal history. Despite the fact that he was open about his wil

Isabella 175.I needed a break from all of them. Emilio, Damien, Natalia and Camilla. I had watched Natalia storm into this place more times than I could count. I had almost feared for my life because I believed that she was going to get physical with me.Natalia was not the kind of person anyone could say no to and that was why she was finding it hard to let go of Damien. I had not actually met her in person but her family were famous in the city as business moguls and elite.However, delving deep into the family dynamics, they just all took advantage of Damien when he was living with them as a child. Natalia's parents were Marcus and Rose St. Dumas. What surprised me was that while living with the St. Dumas, Rose was steadily having an affair with Damien in when he was just barely seventeen and Marcus, the husband was aware of it.Ever since he married me, it had been one unwanted revelation after the other. I packed a little of my things and reluctantl

Isabella 177As I sat across from Ava, the weight of our shared experiences hung heavy in the air. I watched as the early afternoon sunlight danced through the leaves, casting dappled shadows across the porch. Ava's eyes held a sadness that mirrored my own, a silent testament to the burdens we both carried."Tell me about those early days, Ava," I urged gently, breaking the somber silence that had settled between us.Ava sighed, her gaze drifting into the distance as memories from the past flooded her mind. "Those were dark times, Isabella," she began, her voice tinged with regret. "After Vito was arrested by the army, I was left alone to fend for myself and Damien.""Rose was the only one who stood by me back then," Ava relayed to me. "But she took advantage of my helplessness," She added bitterly.I knew what she was talking about. Rose had an affair with a young Damien and it ruined the relationship between Ava and the whole of St. Dumas."I knew about

**Damien 179.There were no words. I could not even describe the carnage and agony the place oozed. People in straitjackets, naked from the waist down, all behaving in a grotesque and disgusting, animalistic nature. I watched in awe as and pity as a woman threw up and shat herself at the same time.There were very plenty. This was the company that I was in charge of taking to a greater height. A company built on pain and misery. I saw big muscular orderlies in white scrub push patients strapped down to the bed. The patients would thrash widely and strain at their bonds while yelling at the top of the their lungs."Those are failed experiments," Camilla said in a bland tone."They are people, Camilla," I told her pointedly."They are useless," Camilla replied with an arrogant shrug. "And before you keep on going about morals and ethics, they were aware of the dangers before they signed the contract," She coldly added."It does not make this right," I insisted."If you are like this bec