The Godfather’s Forsaken Rose Chapter 17
Isabella did not seem surprised to hear him.
She did not even turn around. She only swirled the champagne in her glass and said in a calm, distant voice, “Mr. Morello. Long time no see. What happens between Adrian and me doesn’t seem to require your approval.”
Mr. Morello.
The formality pierced Dominic like ice.
He stepped closer, close enough to feel the coolness around her.
His voice sharpened with an anxiety he could not control.
“After three years away, have you lost your judgment too? Do you know what kind of man Adrian Castellano is? There has never been a shortage of women around him. He’s reckless, cynical, and unserious. What can he possibly give you?”
Only then did Isabella slowly turn.
Under the moonlight, her beautiful eyes lifted slightly. There was no anger in them. No grievance.
Only a kind of pitying mockery.
Her red lips parted.
“Mr. Morello doesn’t seem to be in any position to criticize anyone.”
She paused, glancing at the hard line of his jaw.
“Adrian is a playboy? What a coincidence. I used to be famous in New York’s mafia circles for being one too. We match quite well.”
Her eyes sharpened.
“At least Adrian never denied wanting me. At least he respects my choices and my wishes. Unlike some people.”
Her gaze drove straight into Dominic’s.
“Some people keep another woman in their hearts from beginning to end, yet still use the excuse of ‘trying’ to waste three years of someone else’s youth. Dominic, between Adrian and you, who is really worse?”
The words struck him like slaps.
His face turned ugly. Something blocked his throat. He opened his mouth, but no answer came.
Rage and a sour, indescribable pain twisted together inside him, almost tearing him apart.
At that moment, a lazy voice cut in, clearly displeased.
“No wonder I couldn’t find you. Turns out you were being cornered by someone irrelevant.”
Adrian Castellano strode over. He slipped an arm naturally around Isabella’s waist, intimate and protective.
He looked at Dominic with a careless smile, but his eyes were sharp as a hawk’s.
“Mr. Morello. Long time no see. What are you discussing with my girlfriend? The atmosphere doesn’t seem very pleasant.”
My girlfriend.
The words detonated in Dominic’s ears.
His pupils tightened. His gaze snapped to Isabella.
For one desperate second, something almost humble appeared deep in his eyes. He wanted her to deny it. Even a frown would have been enough.
But Isabella only tilted her head slightly toward Adrian, silently accepting the title.
She did not even look at Dominic.
Adrian saw Dominic’s reaction clearly. The smile at the corner of his mouth grew more aggressive.
“I heard you and our Bella had some… history,” he said, the provocation undisguised. “But that’s all in the past. Bella is with me now, and she’s doing very well. So please, Mr. Morello, don’t disturb her.”
He paused, his eyes sweeping pointedly over the empty space behind Dominic.
“By the way, where is Miss Sophia? Didn’t bring her out tonight? Careful not to neglect your beautiful fiancée.”
With that, Adrian gave Dominic no chance to answer. He guided Isabella away with an arm around her waist, casual and composed, as if dismissing an unimportant interruption.
Dominic stood frozen, watching them leave together.
Isabella never looked back.
His hands clenched at his sides until his knuckles turned bluish white and veins rose along the backs of them.
Jealousy and rage, both unfamiliar and uncontrollable, burned through his chest like molten metal.
For the first time, Dominic understood with absolute clarity what it meant for the heart to hurt.