Page 97 of Secret Baby for my Off-Limits Fiancé

I press a hand to my chest, feeling my heart racing. "This… isn’t fair to him. And it isn’t fair to you, either."

He closes his eyes, his head tilting back slightly, like he’s taking in the weight of my words.

Then, slowly, he opens them.

And when he looks at me, there’s something in his eyes that breaks me.

"I never wanted to hurt you," he murmurs.

I nod, swallowing past the lump in my throat. "I know."

His hands fist at his sides. "And I sure as hell don’t want to hurt Vincent."

The sound of my son’s name coming from his lips sends a sharp pain through my chest.

Tears burn at the back of my eyes. "Then why does it feel like that’s exactly what we’re doing?"

Valentino doesn’t answer. Maybe because he knows I’m right.

His brows pull together, his breathing shallow. "I love you, Layla."

My breath catches.

And for a second, just a second, I let myself feel it.

The weight of those words. The truth in them. The way my heart screams that I feel it too.

But it doesn’t change anything.

Not when we built this on lies.

I shake my head, my voice barely above a whisper. "This isn’t the way to love someone, Valentino."

His expression shatters.

"I want to be with you." His voice comes out low, desperate. "But not like this."

Tears slip down my cheek before I can stop them.

"I want to be with you too," I whisper, breaking apart. "But if it means losing myself, I can’t."

The truth sits between us, heavy and inescapable.

We love each other.

But we can’t keep doing this.

I reach for his hand, just once, just to feel him one last time.

His fingers curl around mine tight, as if he knows it too. That this moment is the end of something.

His jaw clenches, his throat working like he’s trying to say something.

But before he can, my phone rings.

I flinch, blinking down at the screen.

Mom.

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