Luca was yelling. Mom was yelling back. And I… I just stood there, frozen.
"Luca! Stay out of it! This isn't your business!" Mom's voice cracked.
"I am part of this family!" Luca snapped. "I care about Isa, and I won't watch you lie to her!"
"Lie?!" My chest tightened. My fists clenched before I even realized it. "Lie about what?!"
"She's just a girl! Too young! I'm trying to protect her!" Mom barked.
"Protect? You call this protecting me?" I stepped forward, voice shaking. "Protecting me is telling me the truth before it ruins my life!"
The room was so loud I could barely think. My stomach churned. Then it hit me. The marriage.
"Tell me this is a joke!" I yelled, voice raw. "All of this… messing with me, right? This is funny?!"
Nothing. Silence. My stomach dropped.
"Oh, fuck no," I hissed. "You think I'll sit here and let you decide my life?!"
"Enough! Everyone, stop this right now!" Dad's voice cut through, but I wasn't done.
"No! I want to hear everything. Every damn word. I am NOT marrying anyone because you say so! Not now. Not ever!"
Dad rubbed his face, voice tight. "Isabella… you deserve the truth."
I was trying to calm the storm inside me, but it wouldn't stop.
"Two years ago, your father borrowed money from a very dangerous man. Matteo Moretti."
The name hit me like a punch. Matteo Moretti… sounded familiar. Too angry to care.
"He made a deal," Dad said, swallowing. "If he couldn't repay him… you would marry his son when you turned eighteen."
I laughed bitterly, a sharp, hollow sound. "You… what?!"
"You… signed me away like a prize?!" I screamed. "Like I wasn't even a person?!"
Luca's fists clenched. "Dad—this is insane!"
"I know it's wrong," Dad admitted, voice hollow. "But we… we begged him for two years. Every month. Every week. We told him you were too young, that you weren't ready. That you couldn't handle it."
"And now?" I spat.
"He's done waiting," Dad said. His voice was quiet, but every word hit like a bullet. "If we don't… he'll destroy everything. Kill anyone in his way. And then… he'll take you."
My stomach dropped to my knees. My hands shook.
"You let him wait?" I whispered, fury flaring. "All this time… and you just extended it? Did nothing to cancel it? My life was on a countdown the whole time?!"
Mom's hands flew to her mouth. "We were trying to protect you! We thought… maybe we could stop it before it came to this!"
"Stop it?" I laughed, bitter, sharp. "You lied! I thought I had a choice. I had nothing! All it did was make things worse!"
"Yes. We tried everything. Bribes, favors… prayers." Dad's voice cracked.
"Prayers?!" I spat. "And now? Now it's too late? Now he's coming for me? For all of us?!"
Mom finally spoke, voice trembling but sharp. "Isabella… your father had no choice. He was trapped in a tight spot. We didn't have the power to stop any of it."
I laughed again, cutting and bitter. "Oh, so it wasn't your fault? You only cared about me so much that you pampered me, loved me, doted on me… all while selling me out behind my back?"
Dad and Mom looked down instantly, shame and guilt written all over them.
"You mean… all the 'Daddy's girl,' all the favorite-child crap, was just a cover?" I spat, voice shaking with fury. "You pretended to love me because you'd already decided my fate? You thought a few smiles, a few gifts, a few pampering moments would make it okay?"
I could see their faces crumple. No words. Just shame.
"Well, news flash, Mr. Romano," I said, venom thick in my throat. "I hate you."
"I turned on my heel and stormed to my room, every step fueled by rage, betrayal, and the sickening realization that nothing in that house had been real."