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Mother Didn't Lie

Author: Double-L
last update Last Updated: 2024-11-17 23:23:38
{EDMONDO'S POV}

*

*

I don’t stop.

My hand, calloused from years of holding reins and gripping steel, brushes against her trembling shoulder. She flinches at the contact, her body taut, as if bracing for a blow.

But it’s not the fear in her wide, tear-filled eyes that holds me in place. No. It’s something else; something deeper. A raw, gnawing needs to peel away every last layer she’s clinging to. Her body. Her secrets.

With a sharp tug, I force her to face me.

Her breath hitches, and her chest rises and falls in rapid, uneven gasps. The remnants of her dress, torn and hanging limply, barely conceal her. It’s as if her very skin is daring me to look deeper. To see what she’s hidden. What she’s tried so desperately to bury.

Her skin is pale, smooth in some places... but it’s the imperfections that catch my eye.

Another scar, jagged and pale, slashes across her navel, curving downward with a disturbing grace. It's not the kind of mark a blade would leave behind. No, this i
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