Page 130 of Detained

How can he go through this again?

“No, angel. I’m fucking sorry.”

I grip onto his suit and squeeze, wanting to rid myself of this agony.

“It hurts, so bad,” I sob.

“I know, baby. I know.”

I don’t just mean the physical pain, it’s the pain in my heart. The way it’s crumbling is enough to make me numb.

He rests his head on mine, holding me so tight I can barely breathe.

“I love you,” he whispers. His voice breaks, which shatters my world.

We’ve had our future, our baby, painfully ripped from us.

Nothing has felt quite like this in my life.

55

FRANKIE

Everything is a blur, as I fight to keep myself together for her. How much can one person lose before they finally snap?

I’m not sure, I must be seriously close now.

The second the door closes, she rips her hand from mine and balls her fists, bashing them against the bed, letting out a scream that is laced with raw agony.

“Why! Frankie! WHY?” she asks in defeat. She holds her face in her hands and her chest heaves.

Without thinking, I pull her tight against me.

“Shhh, it’s going to be okay, baby.” I don’t know what else to say. I failed her. I failed our baby. I should never have let her leave my side.

This is my mistake to live with.

“It’s not. It’s not ever going to be okay.” She shakes her head, her body trembling against me.

I ignore the pain in my chest. She needs me to be the one to pull her through this, no matter how hard that might be.

“Maybe we’re just bad people who don’t deserve to be parents,”

I stiffen at her words and pull back.

“You fucking deserve every damn thing in this world, Zara.”

She sniffles, and I wipe away her tears from her puffy face.

“Then why would this happen to us?” Her bottom lip trembles and makes my heart splinter. I can’t take much more.

“Because life is so fucking cruel, Zara. That doesn’t mean we give up.”

It’s not her fault. It’s mine, for letting Romano live. For not getting to the club quick enough.

I will never forgive myself for letting her down like this.

She tries to press her face into the pillow to muffle her sobs. I stroke her hair away from her face and gently pull her up. I need to look at her.

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