Page 60 of Baby for the Bratva King

“Did anyone ever touch you?”

“It was only ever a hand grab,” says Saskia, still staring through the window. “It was their eyes I hated most.”

“Why?”

Saskia turns around to face me, legs curled up on the couch. She looks small, helpless, her green dress pooling around her ankles. The skirt is loose, the opposite of what she used to wear.

“Have you ever felt like a stranger in your own body?” she asks.

For the most part—no, but I certainly felt helpless when I saw my brother lying dead on the kitchen floor.

“No,” I decide to answer. Our stories are very different, and I will never know how it feels to be a young woman surrounded by powerful men.

“They didn’t have to touch me,” explains Saskia. “I already felt like they were taking something from me, like I owed them something.”

“You don’t owe anyone anything.”

“But when all you’ve ever wanted is to be loved, to be acknowledged by your own father…”

“You would do anything.”

Saskia nods, turning back to the window.

I sigh, taking a seat on the couch beside her. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s in the past. Fleur and I eventually found the strength to leave…”

“I’m talking more about your virginity, sweetheart. I never should have taken it so… abrasively.”

“I’m not weak. Certainly a lot stronger than those honeysuckle flowers you compare me to.”

“I know, but if I had known⁠—”

“If it’s any consolation,” says Saskia. “I’m glad you didn’t. It feels different with you.”

“Different how?”

“I’m not so sure.” Saskia twirls her hair through her fingers, contemplating something. “If it wasn’t for Fleur, I would still be living with Vesper, chasing his affection. My sister helped me get out.”

“Sometimes the younger siblings can be the stronger ones.”

“Yeah…” Saskia releases her hair. “Did you not have siblings?”

“One, but he passed when I was young.”

“You never talk about him, or anyone else…” She studies me intently, her amber eyes coming alive like two dancing flames. “I guess I have something to apologize for, since you never pushed your family away.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“Maybe I should thank you instead.”

I sniff a laugh, not entirely sure where she’s going with this.

“No, I’m serious. Thanks to you, karma is starting to catch up to my father.”

“Everyone pays the price of their actions eventually…”

A grin stretches across Saskia’s face, the sadness receding from her eyes. “People are calling me a whore.”