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Chapter 44 – A Mother’s Eyes

Author: Billie Patsy
last update Last Updated: 2025-09-02 00:06:49

LENA

I should have known it wouldn’t stay hidden forever. Secrets like mine and Roman’s don’t dissolve into the dark. They rot, they fester, they grow until someone drags them into the light.

That someone was my mother.

The first time I realized she knew, it was in her smile. Not the soft, maternal one I grew up with, but a sharp curve that sliced right through me like glass. She didn’t need to speak; her eyes told me everything. They pinned me in place across the dinner table, flicking between me and Roman with a cruel sort of amusement.

I felt the blood drain from my face, but I forced myself to eat, to pretend, to play along like nothing was wrong.

But the charade didn’t last long.

After that night, she was everywhere. Standing in the hallway when I came out of Roman’s room, as if she’d been waiting. Sitting on the patio when I crossed the garden, her gaze trailing me until my skin prickled. Lingering outside the guesthouse, claiming she was “just checking the roses.”

She wasn’t ch
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Comments (1)
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miriamrodriguez62
She should go to the police because her mother is a stacker.
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