Page 78 of Penance

Mine to mold, mine to keep.

“I’ve got you, Mercy,” I tell her. “I’m right here. Just breathe. I’ll always be here for you.”

And I will.

I’ll be her shadow, her stalker.

She’ll never escape me—never escape this.

I hold her tighter, feeling her heartbeat sync with mine. Two hearts beating as one. Two souls entwined, one light, one dark. And I am the serpent that’s forced my way into her garden, and our seed will grow with blood and tears as its fertilizer.

“Draco,” she whispers, her voice raw. “I’m so scared.”

Her fingers twist around my shirt, anchoring her to me.

“This baby, it’s… it’s a product of…” She swallows hard. “It’s a rapist’s baby.”

A rapist’s baby.

The words hang in the air, a poisonous cloud that threatens to suffocate us both. I feel a sting at her words, a barb that pricks at something deep within me, something raw and infected and bleeding, but I don’t let it show.

I can’t.

“Mercy, I know you’re gonna hate what I’m about to say, but…” I pause, my hands cradling her face. “But have you thought… maybe this is too much for you? Maybe you shouldn’t go through with this?”

Her eyes widen, shock and horror writhing inside her.

“You mean… abortion?”

I shrug. “It’s an option, Mercy.”

Except it’s not.

I’d never allow that. I’d keep her tied up in my bedroom if she tried.

“No, Draco. I can’t. I won’t do that.”

Inside, I smile. The serpent coils tighter, drawing her closer to the flames.

“I know I shouldn’t, but I already love this baby so much,” she says with a sigh. “It’s… complicated.”

I let my hand cover hers, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath my palm.

“Complicated,” I say with a snort. “That’s one way to put it.”

She snorts a laugh.

I wasn’t quite expecting that.

“Yeah,” she says. “I just wish I knew what to do.”

“What can you do?” I shrug. “Have you told your parents?”

Her reaction is instantaneous, just as I had been expecting. She recoils, ripping herself away from me, her back pressing against the car door, eyes wide.

“No,” she gasps. “I can’t. They won’t understand. They’ll…”

I know what she’s thinking, but I want to hear her say it.

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