Page 27 of Broken Crown

He smirked, leaning in to rasp in my ear, "My come is inside of you, babygirl. And soon my child will be. There is no wiping it away."

I curled my fingers into fists as my teeth sank into my already sore lip to keep me from screaming.

His hand slid from my hip to my lower belly, splaying possessively over where his heir might already be growing.

A child.

His child.

It would be the end and the beginning of everything if I became pregnant.

There would be no escape.

Only death would separate me from this man.

CHAPTER 9

SABRINA

Two weeks later.

Pink-stained water ran between my legs to swirl over the polished marble tile.

I slipped down the shower wall and sat on the floor with my knees pulled up, staring at the water spiraling downward into the drain.

My period.

Thank God.

Relief crashed over me so intensely I nearly choked on it.

I covered my mouth to stifle a sob that threatened to escape.

But beneath the relief, for just a moment—one traitorous, shameful moment—there was disappointment. And I physically recoiled from it, pressing my back harder against the cold tile.

No. That wasn't me. That was weeks of his hands on my body, his voice in my ear, his relentless campaign to make me forget who I was before him.

I pressed my forehead against my knees, letting the scalding water pummel my back while I tried to calm my racing thoughts.

A baby would have been a chain—an unbreakable one.

Sebastian Diamanti was without a doubt the most intelligent, powerful, and enigmatic man I’d ever met. A dark energy surrounded him and pulled me in every time.

The way he ruled over everyone in his orbit like a king was intoxicating.

And terrifying.

There was also no denying he had effortlessly made all my career dreams come true.

Working for the House of Diamanti was life changing.

I loved everything about my job. The creativity. The people. And yes, the recognition.

I wasn’t stupid. Initially, I suspected it was because the staff knew of my connection to Sebastian, but as the weeks stretched on, my insecurities had waned.

There were no side-eyed looks or whispering behind my back. Nothing you’d expect from people who had been forced to swallow bullshit because of their boss’s nepotism.

I was excelling there on my own merits.