Page 26 of Flawed

He purses his lips, tilting his head, studying me.

I nervously ask, "What?"

"Nothing is boring about you, my sexy French girl," he states, as if it's a fact and not his opinion.

"I assure you, I am," I reiterate.

He rises and pulls me off the stool.

"Whoa!" I exclaim.

He smiles. "Come with me."

"Where?" I question, glancing at my robe.

He circles his arm around my waist, directing, "Here," and leads me to the full-length mirror by my front door. He stands behind me, tugs my belt, and the robe flies open, exposing my naked body.

I try to shut it, but he grabs my hands and laces his fingers through mine.

His cheek grazes mine, and he locks eyes with me in the mirror, demanding, "Tell me what you see."

My face burns red. I groan. "A naked woman. Can I close my robe?"

He releases one of my hands and shoves the robe over my shoulders.

"Luca!"

"Shh! Just look," he orders.

I squeeze my eyes shut then reopen them, still mortified Luca's studying me like he's looking at a piece of art to see if it's real or fake.

"What do you see, stellina? And think before you talk, or we'll be here until the sun rises," he threatens.

I sigh, lean against him, and fight with the emotions raging around my heart.

I can't tell him what I see. If I do, I'll put my baby into the hands of monsters.

"Once you tell me what you see, I'll tell you what I see," he asserts.

I close my eyes again, hating the tears welling in my eyes.

"Stellina, why are you crying?" he gently asks, swiping his thumb over the one that escaped.

I open my eyes again and begin to sob.

All I see when I look in the mirror is what will never be.

A mother.

A father.

An unborn baby who deserves to have it all but will never experience what every child should.

I can't escape the truth. The more I get to see who Luca is as a person, the further I fall for him. But a mother's duty is to protect her child at all costs.

It doesn't matter if he's everything I could ever want. He works for the devil, and our child deserves better.

Looking in the mirror, it's so easy to forget the world Luca lives in that our baby should never be subjected to. All it would take is for me to look the other way, leave my job with the Marinos, and fall into Luca's arms.

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