Page 101 of Secret Baby for my Off-Limits Fiancé

Test the family.

The family.

My chest tightens, my breath coming in shallow gasps.

Then Valentino steps forward.

“I’ll get tested, too.” His voice is steady, firm. “We have no blood relation, but maybe it could be a match.”

His words cut me open.

No blood relation.

The phrase echoes in my mind, bouncing off every corner of my guilt-ridden heart.

I can’t take it anymore.

This lie.

This secret.

The truth has been festering inside me for too long, eating away at my own guilt. And now, with Vincent lying in that hospital bed, fighting a battle he shouldn’t have to fight, I know, I can’t keep this a secret anymore.

But God, I wish I could.

Because once I say these words, there’s no going back.

He will never look at me the same way again.

I glance at Valentino from the corner of my eye. His jaw is tight, his profile carved from stone.

“Valentino,” my voice breaks, raw and fragile.

My breath shudders as I exhale.

I should have told him sooner. So much sooner.

I press my hands against my face, willing myself to just say it, to let it out, but the words sit like a lump in my throat, refusing to come out.

“Layla?”

His voice is low, gentle, but firm.

Like he already knows I’m about to break apart.

I lower my hands, my vision blurred by unshed tears as I turn to him.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” I whisper, my voice barely audible over the pounding of my own heartbeat.

His brows furrow slightly, his focus snapping entirely to me. “What is it?”

I clench my fists in my lap, nails digging into my skin.

My lips part, but nothing comes out.

I try again, forcing the words forward, but they stick to the back of my throat, thick and suffocating.

I look away, my vision blurring with hot, stinging tears. “I should have told you a long time ago.”

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