Page 31 of Broken

His words aren’t what I expected, but I wait for the guy’s reply with bated breath.

“Forgive me, Father?—”

“No. I won’t forgive you.”

The man falls quiet, then, his tone more modulated, states, “She?—”

“Before you carry on with that sentence,shecan do whatevershewants, it isyouwho sinned. It is your sins I want to hear, not hers. And if she did sin, I’m sure she’ll come here and tell me herself. She can ask for forgiveness and I can grant her absolution.

“Whatshedid has nothing to do withyouractions, Paolo. So, before you utter another word, before I toss you out of this booth, you will stop right there and reconsider your confession. Coming to me without laying bare your heart makes this a waste of both my time and yours.”

The strength in his voice, the passion, they whoosh into being, making tingles shoot down my spine.

Where at the lectern he was wooden and almost lifeless as he invoked his sermon, now, he’s alive.

I withhold a gasp, trying not to be turned on by his strength, by the way he stated everything that needed to be said.

The sinner here is this Paolo schmuck.

Not the woman who dared to wear a short fucking skirt like that’s a goddamn crime.

Tension throbs through me as I wait for the bastard’s next words, and I can almost feel the jerk’s mind churning, trying to figure out how to make this right, how to say what he wishes to confess without making himself look too bad.

But there’s no prettying up what he says next:

“I took her.”

Three words.

A lie.

Took.

Euphemisms don’t cut it.

RAPE.

Me: Diana?

Diana: Yup?

Me: If I tell you something, you can’t hate me

Diana: Don’t think I could ever hate you, babe. You saved me a long time ago and you’ve been saving me ever since. (Even if you are a stalker. :P)

Me: You’d have saved me if the situation was reversed

Diana: I’d like to think that I would but I’m not so sure. You’re a very brave woman, Andrea. I’m lucky that you forgive me my weaknesses and love me anyway

Me: You’re family

Diana: I know. So, come on, confess your sins, haha

Diana: You wanna fuck the priest, huh?

Me: Maybe. But that’s not it.

Diana: What is it?

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