AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her eyebrows shoot up in question.
"Can we talk?"
"About?" She frowns.
We haven't interacted much before, so I see why this could come as a little sudden.
"Michele," I simply say, and she immediately stiffens.
"I… I don't…" she stammers in an attempt to find an excuse.
"I know," I state carefully as I take a seat on her bed.
Her room is small but clean, with only a few items around. Certainly, it doesn't look like a teenager's room. And as I scan it, I'm struck by a certain item on her desk.
"What do you know?" she asks carefully, coming closer and seating herself across from me.
"He took advantage of you," I start but she immediately shuts me off.
"He didn’t. That is to say," she wets her lips, "it wasn't like that."
"What was it like then?"
Her big eyes turn to look at me, and I note all those hidden emotions—the fear, the shame, and the longing. All sentiments I'mveryfamiliar with.
"Please don't tell Sisi. Or Vlad. Or…anyone…" she breathes out, her hands seeking mine in a small plea. "I don't want anyone to know about us."
"Don't worry," I assure her. "Only Raf and I know for now."
Nodding to herself, she continues to bite her lip in anxiety.
"He was my boyfriend," she finally admits. "For a time."
"But you know he must have gotten close to you on purpose. With hidden intentions," I measure my words so I don't come across as accusatory. Not when it's clear the girl is head over heels in love with him, and even now, after everything he's done, her instinct is to protect him.
She gives a tight nod.
"Then why are you defending him? Why keep this a secret?"
She doesn't meet my eyes as her hands move lower, to her flat stomach. Still, her expression coupled with the protective way she's holding on to her belly are enough to tell me everything I need to know.
"You're pregnant," I whisper, half in horror, half in awe.
"Yes," she confirms. "And if anyone finds out…" she shakes her head, a tear falling down her cheek. "I don't want anyone to know Michele is the father, or that he has anything at all to do with this baby…"
"You think they'd try to make you get an abortion?"
Somehow I doubtanyonein her family would do that.
"I know they would," she releases a weary sigh. "They all hate Michele so much they would rationalize it as doing me a favor. They would assume, like you did, that he took advantage of me. I'm sure they would try to convincemethat it wasn't consensual when I know what happened—I was there for every step. I might have been naïve, but I wanted him. I…loved him."
"Venezia…"
"Let's not forget the other tidbit," she laughs nervously. "We’re technically related, aren’t we? Another reason why they would try to convince me to get rid of it, and I won't. I won't do it," she shakes her head vehemently.
"You want this baby that much?" I ask, even as the question burns on my tongue, memories of long ago surfacing in my mind and makingmeshake from too much bottled up emotion.
"I love him. I loved…Michele," she pauses, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to find a modicum of calm. "But I know he never loved me back. But this baby… Ilovehim," she simply states, and that's reason enough for her to do whatever she can to protect him.
