Replaced By A Pregnant Substitute

a

pain in my shoulder was a constant, throbbing reminder of his betrayal. Hunger was a dull ache beneath it, but I

e. I looked down. My uninjured arm, the one I had squeezed my ring into, was now wrap

checking my IV. "Ah, you're awake.

mind struggling to catch up.

n her leg... well, Mr. Kent was very insistent that there be no scar. He authorized the use of your tissue for the graft. A perfect match, o

y own skin to heal the woman who had tried to kill me. He had taken a piece of my b

d over my mouth, my face a ghastly shade of white. He was car

I said, the words barely a w

favorite peonies and a thermal container of the chicken soup my grandmother used to make. He

k. "Look what I have for you. I had a chef work

my lips. His movements were so familiar, so tender, it felt like a scene from another l

This wasn't love. This was maintenance. He was tending to his b

ng, while I got the broth. I watched him kneel by her bed, his hand pressed gently to her stomach, his face lit with wonder as he waite

roducing her to a business as

ught I was would have been hysterical, would have thrown things, would have demanded answers. Bu

I used a burner phone Dario

longer?" I

Your new passport and identity are almost ready.

at felt like a lifetime, touched my li

faltering as he saw mine. "What are you so happy a

unny," I said, my face revert

econd, his lips grazing my cheek. A flash of irritation

e said, his tone brisk. He pressed a kiss to my fo

t me in the rearview mirror. I felt his eyes on me, searching, questioni

Kamila shrieked from

urtling towards us from a side road, barreling straig

the brutal, deafening crunch of metal. The car was thrown into the air, fl

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