Chapter 19: Consequences of Desire

I lay beside Bruno, my body still humming with the aftermath of our lovemaking, I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of satisfaction. I had done it. I had gotten Bruno into bed, just as Mrs. Alfonzo had ordered. 

The memory of her sharp voice, the dangerous look in her eyes when she gave me the command, flashed in my mind. This was what she wanted, and I had delivered. Now, all I could do was hope that it had worked— I would be carrying Bruno's child.

That thought stirred something deep inside me, a mixture of excitement and fear. 

A child. It wasn't that I particularly wanted to be a mother. In fact, the idea of raising a baby in this world, under the constant control of the Alfonzo family, terrified me. But if getting pregnant would make Mrs. Alfonzo leave me alone, then it was worth it. I needed her off my back—needed her threats to stop lingering over me like a dark cloud.