Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 44

Reborn From Regret A Second Chance at Luna’s Heart

Chapter 44

“This is what you did to Riley, isn’t it?” I said, holding her hand against the stove as she struggled to pull away. “This is how you’ve

been controlling him, how you’ve been making him afraid to disobey you.”

“Let go of me!” she gasped, tears streaming down her face.

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“How does it feel?” I pressed her hand down harder, and the smell of burning flesh filled the kitchen. “How does it feel to be helpless,

to have someone stronger than you causing you pain?”

The back door slammed open, and Xenois rushed into the kitchen, his face going white when he saw what was happening.

“Lumina! What the hell are you doing?”

I released Sophia’s hand, and she stumbled backward, cradling her burned palm against her chest. The look she gave me was pure

hatred, but underneath it, I could see something else – fear.

“She attacked me,” Sophia sobbed, turning to Xenois with tears streaming down her face. “I was just trying to apologize, and she… she

burned me!”

Xenois looked between us, his expression torn between disbelief and horror. “Lumina, please tell me this isn’t what it looks like.”

“It’s exactly what it looks like,” I said, turning off the stove. “I burned her hand the same way she’s been burning her son’s hand. The same way she somehow burned Ollie’s hand yesterday.”

“That’s insane!” Sophia cried. “I would never hurt Riley! He’s my child, I love him!”

“Then explain why he flinches every time you move. Explain why he’s so scared of you that he can barely speak in your presence. Explain why he keeps trying to shake hands with my son using the same hand that was mysteriously burned.”

I could see the doubt flickering in Xenois’s eyes, and for a moment I thought he might actually believe me. But then Sophia let out another sob, and his protective instincts kicked in.

“We need to get you to a hospital,” he said, moving toward her.

“No,” she said quickly. “It’s not that bad. I just… I just want to take Riley and go home.”

“Sophia, you need medical attention-”

“Please, Xenois. I just want to leave.”

Through the kitchen window, I could see both boys standing in the backyard, staring at the house with wide, frightened eyes. They had obviously heard Sophia screaming, and they looked terrified.

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Chapter 44

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“Fine, Xenois said. “But I’m driving you home, and we’re stopping at urgent care on the way.”

‘That’s not necessary-

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“It’s not a request.”

Sophia nodded reluctantly, still cradling her hand. As they moved toward the back door to collect Riley, she turned to look at me one

more time.

“This isn’t over,” she said quietly, her voice filled with venom.

“No,” I agreed. “It’s not.”

But as I watched them leave – Xenois’s arm around Sophia’s shoulders, Riley trailing behind them with his head down – I knew I had

just made everything so much worse.

I had lost control, just like she’d wanted me to. I had hurt her in front of my husband, proving every terrible thing she’d been saying

about me.

And now she had all the ammunition she needed to destroy my marriage and take my son away from me.

The protection spell Carol had cast would keep Ollie safe from magical attacks, but it couldn’t protect him from the very real, very human monster who was determined to tear our family apart.

I sank down onto one of the kitchen chairs, my hands shaking as the adrenaline began to wear off. Outside, I could hear car doors

slamming and an engine starting.

“Mama?” Ollie appeared in the kitchen doorway, his face pale and confused. “What happened? Why was that lady screaming?”

I looked at my son

–

my beautiful, innocent boy who had been through so much already – and I didn’t know what to tell him.

‘Come here, baby,” I said, opening my arms.

He ran to me, and I held him tight, breathing in the familiar scent of his hair and trying to memorize the feeling of his small body pressed against mine.

Because I had the terrible feeling that our time together was running out.

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