《Isabella》Chapter 23
Advertisement
Dante caught her before she could fall.
She wiggled in his arms for a few seconds before becoming still.
Dante' eyes widened and he gently slapped her cheeks. "Ashley, come on. This isn't funny. Open your eyes."
Worry crept inside of his body and he made no move to stop it.
She didn't move. She laid limp in his arms. The only sign of life was the low inhales and exhales that kept decreasing by the minute.
Dante's heart raced in his chest as he stared down at her unmoving body. No. This can't be happening right now. She didn't just faint. She's going to wake up. She's going to be okay. But the rapid slowing of her heartbeat and breath proved something else.
"No." he whispered.
He ran to the kitchen with her in his arms. "Help me, please." he shouted to her brother and father.
A plate dropped to the ground, shattering and breaking into tiny pieces. Someone gasped while another dropped to the ground behind him.
"Ashley!" Samuel shouted, running over. He took Ashley into his arms and started shaking her slightly.
Dante felt cold and empty when Samuel pulled Ashley away from him. His hands fell to his side as Samuel tried to wake up Ashley.
"Don't just stand there! Someone call the ambulance."
"No time." Samuel hissed. "I'll take her. Come with me Mayla."
Dante watched as Samuel and Mayla ran out of the kitchen and out of the house. He stepped forward to follow them when a hand stopped him.
"Stop." A woman commanded him. Fury swam in her eyes and threatened to come out of her hands. "What did you do to my daughter?"
Dante shook his head, tears coming down his face. "I didn't mean to."
"What did you do to her?" Antonio spoke up for the first time. "What did you do to my daughter? You hurt her again!"
Dante shook his head again. He walked backwards until he hit a wall. Sliding down, he buried his head into his hands. "I-I don't know what happened."
For the first time, he's showing them weakness. For the first time, someone other than Ashley and his mother saw him at his most vulnerable state. For he didn't care. How could he care about how pathetic he looked when the love of his life could be in danger.
And the babies.
What if something happened to the babies?
He would never be able to forgive himself if something happened to the babies. Even if they weren't his, he knew that they were still innocent. Everything about them was still pure. He prayed that nothing will happen to the babies.
He felt himself being picked up by his collar. He looked up and met the furious eyes of a man. His face burned with rage and his eyes were dark with danger.
"What did you do to my cousin?" The man asked, landing a punch onto his face.
Dante pushed the man away and glared at him. Something possessed him and he pounced on the man, throwing a punch back. He straddled him and started to land punch after punch onto his face.
Advertisement
The man blocked every single one of them and flipped them over. He was quick with his moves, landing another punch to Dante's nose.
Blood dripped down Dante's nose as he pushed the man away and stood up. His hand held onto his nose that was probably broken. He looked at the man and noticed a cut on his jaw. Dante shook his head and looked around the room.
Disgust was the only thing that he saw in their eyes. He stepped back and looked into the eyes of the man.
Hatred and fury burned in them.
Those eyes scarred Dante's heart because those were the same eyes that stared back at him only an hour before. Only they were the eyes of a different person.
"I'm sorry." Dante muttered before running away.
He got into his car and shoved his keys into the ignition. He stepped on the acceleration and sped down the streets, not looking back once. His hands gripped on the wheel tightly and his brain replayed today's events over and over in his mind.
He didn't realize it until he got there and parked the car. He ran into the building, heading straight for the receptionist's desk. He was out of breath when he got there but he wasted no time. "Ashley Hastings." he huffed out.
The receptionist gave him a weird look before typing on the computer. She frowned at him and shook her head. "Sorry, I don't have any Ashley Hastings in here."
Dante stood up straighter and he looked down at his left ring finger. There was nothing on it. He had to remember that he are divorced now.
"Ashley Denorro." He gulped the ball that suffocated him. His heart beat painfully in his chest at the thought of the worse thing that could happen to Ashley.
The receptionist nodded her head and smiled at him sadly. "I'm sorry but only family are allowed in." She saw the heartbroken look on his face and sighed. "What's your name? I might be able to pull some strings."
"Dante Hastings," he paused, "her ex-husband."
He didn't know why but a scowl made its way onto her face. But then she smiled sweetly at him and pointed down the hall. "Third floor, fifth door on your right. It's an office. The doctor in there will brief you on everything."
Dante sighed in relief and thanked her. He ran towards the elevator and smashed the buttons. His foot tapped on the tiled floor as the elevator moved up. When it opened, he ran out of there and into the room that the receptionist had told him to go.
He opened the door and dashed in. The office had been empty. He paced around the room, wishing for the doctor would come in to talk to him already. He couldn't handle the anticipation any longer. He needs to know if Ashley is okay or not.
His phone vibrated in his pockets. He pulled it out and answered it quickly. "Thomas, what did you find out?"
"It's real but before—"
Advertisement
Gone was the worry he had for Ashley and back came the hatred for her.
He knew it.
He knew those pictures were real. They all lied to him. Her whole family is full of manipulative people. He should have known better than to actually believe that she had been innocent. There's no part of her that is innocent.
"I knew it." he hissed out. "I knew she cheated."
"Listen to me first." Thomas demanded.
"Fine. But nothing is going to change my mind again. I shouldn't have come to Italy. This had been a mistake. I'm going to get on the first plane back. I don't want to be here any longer." Dante shouted into the phone.
"Just listen for once in your life." Thomas shouted back.
"What is there left?!"
Thomas inhaled. "The girl in the picture. It can't be Ashley and it's not. They hired an actress or something but whoever that girl in the picture is, it's not Ashley. "
Dante's heart dropped in his chest. The fury slowly left his body and worry came back. "What do you mean?"
"Mayla and Ashley were together the entire time. The timestamp of the picture does not match the timestamp of Ashley. Dante, the girl in the picture is not Ashley. Someone impersonated her." Thomas explained.
"So you mean to say," Dante swallowed the ball that began to form in his throat again. "That Ashley—"
"She's innocent. The child is yours. Dante, I'm sorry. You're on your own now. You made the mistake, now you have to fix it before it's too late," he paused, "actually I think it already it too late."
He then hung up.
Dante let out a sob and tears dripped down his face. He couldn't believe it. She's innocent. She had been innocent all along and he blamed her for everything. He staggered back at the remembrance of the words that he threw at her.
He called their children bastards and signed away his parental rights. He then threatened to take them away from her. What father would do that to his own children? How did this happen? How could he have allowed it to happen?
God, he's a horrible human being. Through all this time he blamed her and made her the bad guy when all along it had been him. He was the one to blame. He didn't trust her enough to dig deeper. He just accepted whatever was thrown at him.
She's right.
He is a coward. He ran away from their problems instead of trying to fix it. He never confronted her about it.
He didn't even think about it.
He saw a way out and he took it. And he will never regret anything more than the day he walked out of that door. The day he demanded for a divorce before trying to find out the truth.
Thomas is right. It's too late now. He had already done too much damage to their relationship. Everything that went wrong had been his fault. No one else's fault but his own. He is the only one to blame for this.
He vow to himself that the moment she wakes up, he's going to repent, hard. He's going to beg for her forgiveness and do whatever it takes for her to forgive him and left him back into her life. He will do anything for her to let back in and allow everything to return back to normal. They're going to be okay again.
Everything will change from this day forward. He know that it would be hard to gain her trust again but she loved him before. She can love him again. She will love him again. They can be a happy family.
Once she wakes up, everything will be okay again. He will make sure of it. No one will stand in their way ever again.
Someone cleared their throat. Dante wiped away all signs of his weakness and turned around.
His eyes met with that of the man who he didn't hate until this evening. "Dr. Morcelli." he hissed out.
The doctor looked at him, bored. "Mr. Hastings. How unlovely it is to see you again. Have a seat. We have much to discuss."
.
.
.
Samuel's phone went off. He took it out of his pocket and read the text. He looked up and saw Ashley smiling at him. He sighed.
"You need to stop scaring us like this Ash." Samuel said, brushing her hair back. He kissed her forehead and smiled at her. "We should just rent a room out for you."
Ashley smiled at him and looked down at her belly. "I'm just glad nothing happened to Isabella." A tear slipped down her face. "I don't know what I would do if she leaves me too."
Samuel and Mayla both shook their heads. "She won't. She's like her mother, a fighter." Mayla said, holding Ashley's hand. "You just have to believe in her."
"I do." Ashley whispered. She smiled at both of them. "Thank you guys. For being here for me in times like these. I don't know what I would do without you."
Samuel smiled sadly at her and gripped her hand tighter. "Don't worry about it. We're family. Family is always there for each other."
"Ohana means family and family—" Mayla started.
"Means no one gets left behind." Ashley finished with a grin on her face.
"Disney losers." Samuel muttered under his breath.
Ashley gasped and threw her pillow at him. "Get out of my room."
Samuel rolled his eyes and got off the chair. "Gladly."
"You can do better than him, May." Ashley joked.
Samuel flipped her off and laughed before walking out of her room. He closed the door behind him and placed a mask back on. He walked towards Morcelli's office. Without knocking, he came into the room.
A smirk came to his lips. "Did you start without me?"
.
.
.
Advertisement
- In Serial16 Chapters
The Little Black Umbrella
Gillean had just lost his best friend and is feeling utterly miserable and lonely. Being smart doesn't fend off loneliness. If nothing having the combination of smarts AND the lack of forward planning got him into the state he currently was in - rejection and the feeling of being a failure. Cue in the sounds of angelic trumpets. RaRa, his best friend, returns to "save the day". Well. What she thinks of as saving the day that is. Corny ideals, lame ideas. The two get into one last patch of trouble together as they sneak back into RaRa's home. Just what kind of family secrets has RaRa been keeping from Gill. In blood and thunder, Gill finds out. Please read the content warnings (there may be spoilers within though) if you have triggers. Also there is a slight mention of LGBTQ+, so please don't read this short story if even a short mention bothers you. ======================= My first short story (It's short - 5 chapters, 10,000 word-ish kinda short! And also completed *self pats* that I will be releasing in mini chapters (of 500-800 words each) on Fridays and Saturdays.). Happy to hear actionable and constructive criticisms on how I can improve, but please don't be too harsh okay? :) I know it's not perfect. But hey, we all have to start somewhere.
8 144 - In Serial22 Chapters
Elsewhere
The story follows a boy who hates his name. After the suicide of a close friend and peer role model, he's on the brink of the same fate. But he doesn't follow her. Not even as his resolve to keep going is tested time and time again once he's sent into the worlds of magic and monsters he once longed for. (I do not claim ownership of the cover art. If the original artist would like me to take it down, contact me here.)
8 181 - In Serial8 Chapters
The Relistar
It's been hundreds of years since the Three Empires collapsed. Hundreds of years since belief in gods died out, and cults became the mainstay religions of Caloria. On the lone, warring island of Kylinstrom, most have turned their worship from the heavens to the world, though some yet worship strange beings and powers beyond their own. Cedric Castelbre felt the same. But now he may have no choice but to believe in gods and demons; Serkukan, the Great Red One of Etheria, has fled his own plane, seeking refuge... And it was within the boy's mind that he found it.
8 204 - In Serial20 Chapters
The Hero Fox and Dungeon Core
There's only the one title character.*Warning* Adult content. Mature readers only.No smut, but almost everything else. An Isekai Truck got me while I was running an errand.But a Goddess has given an opportunity for a new and interesting life, so it's not all bad. The problem is that a second Isekai Truck got me at the same time, with a 'Richard' of a God forcing me into a bland and monotonous existence.Two reincarnations/transfers at the same time, in the same world. But in very different bodies. How's a Core Crystal/Fox Boi gonna cope? The world of Vulamar has been plagued by Demon Kings since time immemorial. They bring a devastating war upon the rest of the peoples once every 500 years. But the Gods bring forth a Hero to protect them and vanquish the Demon King. Thereby assuring continued prosperity. To lessen the ravages of war, the Gods also create dungeons. These strange extraplanar labyrinths are meant to trap and house the monsters, common across the lands. That they may be eradicated at leisure. This mainly provides battle training, but also powerful and exotic materials to craft with. However, since the last invasion, the humans kingdoms have become brazen and set about conquering the western continent, home of the beastkin tribes. . Updates every fri, sat, sun when I can. here and on Scribblehub. Nowhere else.
8 151 - In Serial21 Chapters
Bewitching Illusions (Part II)
Hi loves! I have unpublished all the chapters, save one.If you can, check out my new book on K I N D L E &on A M A Z O Nthe title of my new book is Bewitching Illusions: Yandere Prince.Please feel free to read my new book (Bewitching Illusions: Yandere Prince) on K I N D L E : $ 6. 99 U.S. dollars. A M A Z O N : $ 11. 99 U.S. dollarsgrab a copy of the book now. ❤️
8 130 - In Serial32 Chapters
Making A Yuri Harem (Fem Reader x Date a Live)
Y/N has died due to Truck-Kun then you meet god. You choose to reincarnate into the date a live World, but God chooses to give you a gift that even you didn't know aboutWhat happens when The gift god Gave you Makes the AST, Spirits and ratatoskrCome after you This story doesn't follow canon i made this story for my own enjoyment i do not own Date a Live or any of its characters or fate, Or any images or Videos in this story, They belong to there respective ownersCover art dosen't belong to me
8 159

