Sin and Redemption

by Cora Reilly

The moment Paolo entered our house, I knew there wouldn’t be a wedding. He couldn’t even look at my face.

“Hey, Sara,” he said as a way of greeting, his smile awkward and tight. He kept his distance from me. Not that we’d ever exchanged physical contact, but the distance between us had grown in every possible way.

eyes. I wouldn’t marry this winter and build a beautiful family with three kids.

I’d be the center of gossip, with a canceled wedding and possibly a child from a man I wasn’t married to, born from an act I was trying to forget.

“I don’t think we should go through with the wedding,”

“That’s what you came here to say, right?”

“Is that why you’re here?”

“It’s dishonorable to break an engagement, especially if your fiancée was hurt.”

“Don’t,” I muttered. “Don’t say anything. I don’t want to hear it. It’s over. You’re free to move on, and so am I.”

“I’ll be gone then. My father will call to make the necessary arrangements for the announcement.”

The pregnancy test on the counter didn’t leave any room for doubt. It wasn’t a slight second line, not one you’d have to look for like some people did in those cutesy pregnancy test videos I used to watch on TikTok. My second line was fat and blue.

This one was even more blunt. Pregnant. It was as simple as that.

Pregnant out of wedlock. Oh, the gossip mills would love it.

“You look like you want to punch me.” He shrugged.

“If that helps you get over the shit you’ve been through, be my guest.”

“Maybe there can be a happy end for you too.”

“A happy ending after what I did? Do you think Marcella would have become your wife if you had raped her?”

“From what I saw, neither of you had a choice.”

“You’re here to help me find the men responsible for our capture, not to be the judge over my sins. Only Sara and God can do that.”

I was brushing my dog Bacon’s white fur on my parents’ veranda when my phone rang.

He let out a yowl when I put down the brush. His short fur didn’t require combing, but he loved being petted like that, so I tried to brush him every other night.

Despite his upbringing in a puppy mill, he was a very gentle Dogo Argentino. When I saw the name on the screen, m...

It was Romero. Did he...

“Can you come over?” Romero asked.

“To your house?” I asked, stunned. I’d never been there, and after what had happened, I hadn’t expected for that to change.

“Yes. We need to discuss something.”

“Sure.” I stood and dusted myself off. “I can be there in forty minutes.”

“Do you think it’s a trap? Do you want me to come with you as backup?”

You killing yourself with guilt won’t make a difference. But you killing every Bratva soldier as brutally as you can will.”

I patted Bacon’s head who’d picked up on my agitation and pressed himself against my leg.

I could see Primo in the rearview mirror with Bacon by his side, watching me leave. I wondered if this was the last time I’d see my brother. Should I have hugged my mom one more time?

“Took you a long time to get out of your car.”

Romero appeared behind his son and gave me a tight smile. They were the same height and looked remarkably alike, with brown hair, brown eyes, and similar facial features.

“Should I take my shoes off?” I asked. My boots would probably leave marks on the beige carpet.

“Liliana would rip your head off if you didn’t,” Romero said with a tight smile.

I had a feeling she would do it with or without shoes. I slipped out of my shoes and left...

Steps sounded upstairs, then Liliana rushed down the wooden staircase and stormed my way.

She slapped me hard. I didn’t move, waiting for more of her anger to manifest in violence, but she simply breathed harshly, glaring at my chest.

Sara shared similar facial features to her mother, and just that reminder was enough to make me take whatever...

She was a petite woman, but her slap would have made even so...

“I shouldn’t have done it,” she whispered, h...

“No, I understand.” I had expected something like this when Sara’s famil...

Happiness is homemade.

waited for the others to sit as well, but instead, they exchanged looks.

“The past few weeks have been difficult for our family. In particular for Sara of course. Yesterday, we...

“Sara is pregnant.”

I froze. It took me several moments to realize why they were telling me this—I was the father.

Sara was pregnant because of what had happened between us, becau...

Liliana and Romero exchanged a look that spoke of shared trust and wordless understanding, one I sometimes witnessed between my parents and had always admired.

“Sara canceled the wedding with Paolo. She didn’t want to bring a child into their marriage,”