Page 99 of Broken Bonds

I know Stella still thinks it might be from the night when that asshole got into the house they shared, but from the dates the doctor gave us it’s clear he’s mine. Like the caveman that I am, I want to puff my chest out in pride, thinking this baby is the offspring of our first time. Maybe one of them. When we decided to cross the Mississippi, everything changed. Like Newton famously said, every action has a reaction.

“Do you think we should go to the police and report what happened at the house?” Stella asks me, cutting off the thread of my thoughts. “I’m afraid he might want to do something now that we’re going to be on familiar ground for him.”

I kiss her on the forehead to comfort her, wishing I could do more. I have to remind myself that we aren’t alone. “Josh is already taking care of that,” and it’s true. He traveled very early this morning to fix some things prior to our arrival, while Sanders is with us. “You have nothing to worry about.”

She turns to face me. “Because you’re already worrying about both of us, aren’t you?”

A smile pulls my lips up. She knows me well. Very well. “You two are going to be perfectly fine. I’ll take care of that.”

Her blue eyes fixate on mine as she looks at me.

“And who takes care of you?”

Without being able to avoid it, a laugh comes from my throat. “I’m a big boy. I can manage on my own.”

“Yeah, sure,” she replies, her words full of sarcasm. “We saw how that turned out in the past.” Then she lowers her voice an octave. “I’m afraid, Lionel, I don’t want to be alone again, nor do I want whoever that man is to come for me. I don’t want him to touch me ever again.”

A pang of jealousy pierces my chest like a double-edged sword, cutting through my insides.

Jealousy is a powerful emotion. At this moment, I understand the expression to kill for love.

“It isn’t going to happen, a plan is already in motion. We’ll be safe.”

She seems to relax a little, so I take the opportunity to press her against my chest once more. The seats of this plane are quite wide, so I can hug her without having the armrest poking me in my ribs.

“Maybe I should invest in a plane like this,” I say, radically changing the subject. I don’t want her to worry about anything.

Her mouth opens in a perfect circle and her eyes widen as she looks around.

“And why do you want something so extravagant?” Good question.

Decorated in blue and beige tones, leather, wood, and steel accents. Ethan has spared no expense. I’m not a flashy person, but it might be a good investment.

“If you want to stay in Carrollton to be close to your mother once the baby is born, I’ll have to be trotting between Los Angeles and Kentucky all the time. I have a business to attend to and as much as I enjoy spending time with you, there are people who depend on me. I can’t throw it all away.”

In the blue of her eyes I see a shadow of sadness appear. My heart shatters because I know I put it there.

“Sorry,” she mutters, looking down. “It’s just I want to be close to my family. After what happened in your house with your mother I don’t know…”

I don’t want to hear her say those words.

“Our house, Stella. The house belongs to both of us,” I clarify before giving her a soft kiss on those pink lips. When I built it I had no idea I was waiting for her. Getting ready for her arrival.

“How did I ever fall in love with him? I’m such an idiot,” she adds again, looking me in the eye. “And how didn’t I realize you are different people, now everything is so clear. Even if you are identical twins, you have some differences. Your eyes are less dark than his and you have this freckle here next to your mouth…” She traces it with the tip of her finger, then I catch it with my teeth, nibbling on it gently.

The things I would do to her if we were alone. Patience, I tell my cock who wants to be part of the fun. We still wait.

“Hvezda, you’re not an idiot. You are one of the smartest women I know. What did you expect? We all fell for his game. Even though we are not Xerox copies, it would be easy to get confused. Also, all the stress of the attack and my recovery, your head was all over the place.”

“I’m still mad at you for lying to me,” she says, sticking her bottom lip out in an adorable pout. I really want to bite it. “You don’t know how I felt when I overheard you talking to your mother. I felt beyond silly. Fooled by everyone, living in a pantomime without knowing it. The Truman Show featuring Stella Lambert.”

“Stella Kral,” I remind her, that is her name. “And frankly I hope this time you don’t intend to run away again…”

She closes her eyes for a moment, as if thinking of the correct answer.

“No, but we have a lot of work ahead of us. And with a baby on the way…”

This time I do kiss her. Enough doubts, enough.

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