Deadly Nightshade by Sem Thornwood

Chapter 25

Isabella

I didn’t stay for Verona and Valerio. I told Maria to told them I had a very important thing that came up. I was not in the condition to hang out with them. My boxes were almost filled, and the rest I did it very fast.

Luckily, I found a turtleneck among my clothes and put it over my tee. I didn’t want anyone to see the bruises. The turtleneck was not very fitting for a spring day, but it was afternoon, and it was getting chillier by the hour.

Emiliano helped me carry the boxes and gave me a weird look when I said we were going back. It was still early, and I wanted to put on make-up before Alessio came home. I really didn’t want him to see me like this. I was even embarrassed to see myself weak like that. I have survived years with that man, and in the end, he managed to bruise me.

I was also going to decline Alessio’s sexual offers. There was no way I could hide the hurt on my ribs if he touched me. I was probably going to try the “I had my period” lie to stop him. I hoped that it’ll work.

To my surprise, when we got into the apartment, Alessio was already there. “You are early,” he yelled from the kitchen. I got tense but tried to hide it from Emiliano. And I tried to hide it when Alessio came to the elevator. “Need help?”

I tried to smile. Luckily sight of Alessio was making it easier. “We need to make one more round.”

He came by and kissed my lips. “I’ll go with Emiliano. There is lasagna in the stove.”

I managed a smile and made my way to the kitchen. He was home early, and he was cooking. Oh, my sweet husband. I would have been stupidly happy by that if I haven’t visited my father’s office. Now I was in physical pain, and I couldn’t get his words about Alessio out of my mind. They hurt a lot because I used to think they were true too. Hell, I never truly stopped thinking they were true. I tried to believe he loved me, but other thoughts always silenced that one.

I desperately wanted to get away but also needed to act normal. So, I checked the lasagna, but it still had some time to go. Luckily it didn’t take long for Alessio to come back.

“I send Emiliano home,” he said and then appeared on the kitchen island. “All of your boxes are here, milady.”

The most natural smile I can manage spread on my face. “Thank you. Is it okay if I took a shower real quick?”

“Don’t take long. We should eat this while it’s still hot.”

I only remembered the meal then. “Oh, right. Thanks for cooking. I forgot to call you about the take-out.”

His brows came together as he stepped closer to me. He gently put his hands on my hips and luckily didn’t touch any bruises that would make me cry out. “You also came back early. I wanted to surprise you. Is there a problem?”

Saying no would be the stupidest lie because it was clear that something was wrong, but I was also not going to tell him the whole truth. “I just saw my father, and it didn’t go well.”

“Want to talk about it?”

A grateful smile found my face. “Not now.”

“Okay,” he said and then pressed a long kiss to my temple. “Go take your shower. And get out of this horrible thing; if it’s cold, I’ll keep you warm.”

I was hoping to keep wearing the turtleneck. Actually, I was hoping to wear it until all the bruises were gone, which was a bad plan, but I needed to get out of this for at least tonight. “About that,” I said, biting my lip. “I actually got my period.”

Alessio smiled devilishly. “It’s cute that you think that’ll stop me.”

It was good news for the rest of my life but bad news for the time being.

I slid away from his hold and rolled my eyes. He didn’t say anything as I walked to the stairs. I knew there was still time for that meal to be done, so that gave me time to get prepared. I choose shorts and a hoodie to wear. I was hoping for shorts to balance the sweater. Because luckily, there were no bruises on my legs.

I took my clothes to the bathroom with me and took a quick shower. Whenever I touched my ribs or my back or my neck, it hurt like hell. It was going to be a challenge to keep Alessio away from me. My best chance was to act sleepy as early as I could.

Also, I didn’t want to take any chances with him seeing the bruises. My hoodie was covering most of my bruises, but my father’s handprint on my neck was still visible. After I dried myself with the towel, I reached for my make-up. They looked bad, but hopefully not bad enough that I wouldn’t be able to cover them. I started with my arms because if Alessio took my sweater, the tank top I wore underneath would still cover my ribs and back, but my arms were on full display. After that, I was going to cover my neck. Arms were a good practice to start with.

The concealer alone was not enough. I also tried the foundation, but it looked weird. So, I decided to put color corrector before concealer. Luckily, I did have a color corrector palette, but I didn’t know which color to put. My bruises were purple in some places and more greenish in others.

Just when I was trying to put yellow, a knock came on the bathroom door, and I froze. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”

It took so much longer than I thought it would, and I was nowhere near done. I was still naked, and all of my bruises were fully exposed. What could I even say? Be there in a minute?

“Isabella, I’m coming inside.”

“No!” okay, that came out too fast and too suspicious. I tried to balance it with saying my next words very calmly. “Sorry I took so long. I’ll be right there.”

A short silence followed. “Bella, something is wrong.”

“It is not, I promise.”

“Then I’m coming inside.”

I wanted to say no, but couldn’t find the time. I cursed myself for not locking the door. Years of having your own room and your own bathroom in every house you stayed in was not good for creating secretive behaviors.

I was only in my towel, and when the door swung open, I instinctively lowered my head to disguise my neck by my still-damp hair. My hands came to my arms to cover the bruises, but I knew it was a losing game from the start.

“What is happening?” Alessio asked and came over to me. His fingers closed around my chin and lifted my gaze to his. For one moment, he was just worried and curious, but then his eyes lowered to my throat. Then I saw murder in his eyes. I saw the side of him I have never seen before. The Cruel.

His jaw tightened, and he whispered between clenched teeth. “How did this happen?”

“It’s nothing.”

He so gently pushed my hair behind my shoulder, and I wondered how he could touch me so softly when his eyes were burning with violence. “Someone hurt you.” Then he looked at my hands that were covering the bruises on my arms. “Drop the towel.”

I hold it to my chest. I really didn’t want him to see it. “There is no point, Alessio.”

“Oh, there is a point. I want to see how much you are hurt so I can remember it when I am killing whoever did this to you.”

I shook my head with a small smile. “You are not killing anybody. You very well know who did this to me, and you are not going to kill him.”

“Your father?” he asked, even though the answer was too obvious.

I nodded. “Now, please leave so I can get dressed. I don’t want you to see.”

He looked at me like I was being ridiculous when he was here threatening to kill his Capo. He was just angry about damaged goods. “You really don’t understand. I’ve killed one asshole for you; I’ll kill another.”

That made me go crazy as well. I could not suppress all the horrible thoughts. “You killed Panaro to have me, Alessio. Now you have me. I get it you are upset I am damaged, but they’ll fade.”

“Fuck!” he pulled his hair in frustration, and when he turned back to me under all that violence, I could see his hurt. “Do you really think that’s it? You think I killed Panaro to have you? You think the problem is the sight of your bruises?”

I only shrugged, but I couldn’t look at his face. Maybe I was giving my father what he wanted, but it was impossible for me to believe everything was perfect. I have never been lucky enough to get perfect. “You always wanted to have me. You made everyone think I was no longer a virgin so that only you will be willing to marry me. You were because you knew I was still untouched. You wanted me undamaged.”

Alessio was not having it, though. He came closer and cupped my cheeks, making me look at him. His look was so much softer than before. It was the look he only reserved for me. “Bella, I am so fucking happy I was your first, and I told you I wished you were my first too. It is not about some primal shit. Even if you have slept with all of the Outfit, I would still want you. You can never be damaged because of shit like that. Hell, you can never be damaged in any way for me. And yes, it makes me so fucking angry to see you get hurt, but it is because I hurt when you hurt. It is not some crazy obsession, Bella. I love you. I have always loved you.”

My breath hitched. Those were the words I wanted to hear for my whole life, and without hearing them firsthand, there was no way I could believe them. Even now, I was not fully sure this was real. “You love me?”

“It pains me that you even have to ask.”

I hold onto his wrists and brush my thumbs in apology. “It is hard for me to believe it.” But then I added because I simply couldn’t hold it in longer. I had promised myself I was going to say it when he said it anyway. “I love you too, you know.”

He smiled. “I think I knew. I was never sure, though. After everything I have done, I got cocky. I wanted you to say it first.”

I shook my head and then pressed a kiss to his palm. “You didn’t get cocky. You were perfectly reasonable. I brought my own insecurities into this. I wanted to make sure you loved me before I told you.”

His hands left my cheeks but lingered on my shoulders and arms. I could see small traces of rage when his knuckles brushed my bruises. “Why is it hard for you to believe? Did I make it hard?”

Oh no, I could not let him blame himself. I could tell him why, even though I thought I would always keep that a secret. I reached and pressed few kisses to his face as I murmured “No,” because I wanted him to relax.

When I pulled back, I sit on the vanity, and Alessio stood between my legs. One of his hands was playing with my wet hair, and the other one was on my thigh. It was like he couldn’t stop touching me, and I didn’t want him to stop.

“My father hates me. He hated me for all his life, and he kind of tried to kill me.”

“What do you mean?” his body went rigid.

“Not like this,” I pointed to my neck. “He was never violent, probably because of my mom. He knew Mom didn’t love him, and he knew she loved us. He tried to give her everything so that she’ll be happy, but she still didn’t love him. Maybe she saw him for what he really was. He even let her have her plants. You know the poisonous ones. Everybody always thought it was extremely risky to let your wife have something like that, and he knew it.”

“He knew she could poison him.”

I nodded. “He was afraid she was going to kill him and run away with us, or at least with me. Salvatore was heir and had a good place ready, but it was not like that for me. He wanted to prevent that. So before every meal, I had to taste his to make sure it was not poisonous.” Alessio’s eyes hardened, but I didn’t let him talk. “He was trusting my mother’s love for me to not to kill him. It was either both or none. Easy choice for him, but it was terrifying for me. Every day I wondered if my mother really loved me enough to stay with him. I questioned her love every day, and I guess it messed me up.”

Alessio pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “Your mother loved you,” he said softly. “And I love you. And there is nothing stronger than my love for you. Nothing can make me harm you. I’ll die before I let something happens to you.”

“I know,” I said. It was the truth, I knew, but there was always a dark feeling in my stomach. “But I cannot get rid of my doubt. I will probably never learn not to doubt you. Are you sure you can be with me like this?”

He smiled and kissed the tip of my nose. “I will always want to be with you, Bella. I will always love you, and I will always have you, and you will always have me.”

Now there were tears in my eyes. They were happy tears, but I didn’t let them fall. I have cried because of agony too much now I wanted to smile. “I was always yours, and I will always be yours, Al.”

“Is there something I can do to help you not doubt me?” he asked with a desperate voice.

I wanted to make that tone gone away. I wanted to rip that darkness off of me, but I knew it was more complicated than that. “Be open and honest with me? Maybe the biggest reason I was afraid was because Mom never talked about this with me. She never assured me about anything. Don’t hide things from me, Al.”

“I won't,” he promised, and his mouth crashed with mine like he wanted to seal his promise.

I was more than happy to accept his kiss. After he told me he loved me, I wanted to kiss him forever. I want to have him while I knew he loved me. I wanted to have him without dark thoughts on my head.

My knees almost instinctively wrapped around his waist as I kissed him hungrily. I wanted to taste him so much that I won’t be able to taste anything else ever again. He didn’t reject my advances. His strong hands pulled me by the waist. Another hand pulled away from my towel. I was completely naked in front of him. Desperately ready for him to take me.

He pulled back with a hungry gaze to take in my nakedness. Only when he looked at me, his lust turned into anger. All of the horrible bruises on my ribcage were visible. I could see him cracking his knuckles. “I am going to kill him,” he murmured.

I didn’t want him angry; I wanted him lost in me. I was suddenly feeling too empty. So, I reached to grab his chin and lifted his eyes to mine. “You can,” I assured him. “But first fuck me.”

That did the trick. Alessio growled low and created a pool between my legs. I could see the bulge in his pants. I wanted it out and in me, but he had other plans before that. He got to his knees and tasted me.

“So wet.”

I was wet. I was so ready for him but still didn’t stop when his tongue drew figure eights on my sex. I hold onto his hair and let him drove me even more crazy. I was so wet it was almost embarrassing. I thought I was about to drip all over the vanity.

“Please,” I murmured when it became too much. I was coming into his mouth for days now. I needed more. “I need you inside me, Alessio.”