Page 102 of Secret Baby for my Off-Limits Fiancé

Valentino doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink. But his entire body tenses.

“Told me what?”

Just say it.

Say it, Layla.

I squeeze my eyes shut, tears slipping down my cheeks before I finally force out the words that I have kept buried for too long.

“Vincent is your son.”

The air is sucked from the room.

The moment the words leave my lips, the earth shifts beneath me, the weight of my confession slamming into me like a wrecking ball.

I finally lift my gaze to Valentino.

His face is completely unreadable, but his eyes…

Oh, God.

His eyes are wide, sharp, piercing, burning with something that looks like disbelief, rage, pain, all tangled together in a violent storm.

For the first time since I met Valentino, I can’t read him.

And it terrifies me.

A silence so thick and heavy settles between us, pressing down on my chest like a boulder.

I want him to say something. Anything.

Yell at me.

Demand an explanation.

But he doesn’t.

He just stares, his breathing uneven, his hands clenched so tightly his knuckles turn white.

“Valentino…” I start, but my voice breaks.

His jaw tightens, his nostrils flaring as if he’s forcing himself to breathe.

“You’re lying.”

His words slice through me like a blade.

I shake my head frantically, tears falling faster now. “I’m not. I swear, I—”

“No.” His voice is low, dangerous. “Don’t. Don’t do this right now.”

“I should have told you,” I sob, my hands shaking as I reach for him. “I should have told you so much sooner, but I was scared—”

“Scared?” His bitter laugh is sharp and cold.

He stands abruptly, running a hand through his hair, his body visibly trembling.

“You were scared? So, instead of telling me, you let me believe…” He stops, his words cut off like he physically can’t say them.

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