Chapter 15

• “Mundane?” Nayeli’s laugh was sharp, brittle, devoid of any mirth. “You call survival ‘mundane’? You think your pregnancy makes you special? You think it’s a shield against his wrath?” Her voice dropped, becoming dangerously quiet. “Tell me, Mariselle. Are you literally going to prioritise a fatherless and unwanted child over the life of your own father? The man who has been nothing but kind to you? The man who saved you from… whatever hell you crawled out of before this?”
• The words struck Mariselle like a whip. “How dare you!” she exploded, her voice echoing off the stone walls. All fear was momentarily forgotten, replaced by a searing, protective rage. “How dare you talk about my child like that? My baby is not unwanted! And who said my child is fatherless? You know nothing about me, nothing about my life!”
• “Oh, I know enough!” Nayeli retorted, her voice rising again, raw and desperate. “I know enough to see a fool when I’m locked in with one! It would not cost you anything, Mariselle, to pretend! To be obedient! To do what you have to do to stay afloat around here! To survive!” She paused, and Mariselle could almost feel the weight of her gaze in the darkness. “But no. Your pride. Your defiance. And now… because of your insolence, your innocent dad is being tortured in the guard room right now, because he came as soon as he got Don Carlo’s message!”