Sin and Redemption

by Cora Reilly

it wasn’t as if Maximus scared me. The demons of our shared past did.

It was almost as if I could see the guilt burning in his eyes and thus the reminder of what happened.

“I asked my mother to teach me how to dance. I knew it would be required today, and I didn’t want to embarrass you in front of all these people,”

“Whore,” one of them hissed as he passed me by, stunning me.

“Paolo’s lucky he didn’t marry your cheating ass.”

Maximus stormed past me, grabbed the first guy by the neck, and smashed him face-first into the wall.

Then he grabbed the second by the throat and thrust his fist into his mouth. Blood spurted everywhere.

he was wearing brass knuckles. Both guys sank to the floor and remained there, moaning and clutching their bleeding faces.

“It’s okay.”

I’d said those words before, and the way Maximus’s eyes flashed with recognition and regret told me he thought the same thing.

“It’s not,” he growled, not looking at me but at them. His eyes burned with barely con...

“Our Capo gave an order. If you don’t keep your fucking mouth shu...

“Leave now and don’t come back. Next time I hear you talking shit, I’ll break more than your noses.”

“I don’t like this violent side of you,” I said quietly.

“Then you won’t find much to like,” he growled, the remnants of aggression still swirling in his amber eyes.

“I’m trying to redeem myself. You don’t have to fear this side of me.”

It said “I trust you to redeem yourself,” which was worse than any threat could have been.

“Is it normal that women lose weight in early pregnancy?” I had asked my

“I have bad nausea, but I take supplements. The baby’s size was okay during my checkup two weeks ago.”

“This is your home too. I don’t want to be the reason you sleep in the guest bedroom,”

“I’ll be fine. It’s only for sleep.”

“I have another scan tomorrow morning. Do you want to come?”

“You’re bleeding.” Sara’s voice made me turn around. She stood in the doorway, still in her dress.

“It’s fine. Nothing I haven’t handled before.”

“I burned my back when I blew up a laboratory of the Bratva with Jabba’s brother inside.”

“If you’re sure you don’t need my help, I’m going to sleep.”

I’d never been a good sleeper, but now my nights were miserable. Lying in bed at night wasn’t the welcome relaxation of the past.

A scream woke me. I jumped out of bed and rushed out of my room and into the primary bedroom.

“Morning,” I said to break up the uncomfortable silence. “Is there breakfast?”

I can’t cook, so I didn’t prepare anything. Plus, I don’t usually eat breakfast.”

He sank down, dwarfing the chair with his tall and muscled frame.

The doctor put the ultrasound sensor on my belly and quickly found the amniotic sac.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Give me another moment,” the doctor said quietly as she kept moving the sensor. She rose to her feet. “I’m getting my colleague.”

“We can’t find a heartbeat.”

I blinked, not sure what they were saying. “Last time, the heart was beating.”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “But it’s n...

“The baby is dead?” Maximus as...

I stared at him in horro...

“But how? Why...

“It’s difficult to say. My guess is that the heart stopped about a week ago, judging ...

How could I not have noticed that the baby—my baby had died?

Because you tried to ignore the pregnancy. Because you weren’t happy about it.

“It’s called a missed abort and happens more often than one would think. Often, the fetus has an undetected gene defect ...

“I need my mom.” I was almost twenty-one, but I felt like a little girl who could only be consoled by her mother’s warm touch.

“Liliana, can you come over to the apartment? Sara lost the baby.”

Sara lost the baby. I lost the baby.

A baby I didn’t think I wanted. But then why was it hurting so much? Why did I feel as if someone had cut my...

Maximus lightly touched my back to guide me outside, but I flinched away. I couldn’t bear his touch now.

but somehow, finding out the heart of our unborn child had stopped beating made me feel… off. I’d thought I’d become part of Sara’s pregnancy today, and instead, I’d witnessed the end of it.