Chapter 74
A R I A N A
Sarah got the test in no time and I went into the bathroom alone and did the test.
I put it on the sink and walked out, I couldn’t watch, I sat on the floor in the living room, hugging my knees.
Sarah sat with me, not saying a word.
I was so scared part of me hoped that it wasn’t true because where do I even start from?
After three long minutes, we went back in.
There it was, two pink lines.
I was pregnant.
A new, deeper wave of panic washed over me as my breath caught in my throat I felt my whole world crashing down all over again.
I was carrying Dante’s baby a product of our love, a love I had betrayed, a man I had destroyed.
And now I was going to have to raise this child all by myself in a new country with no father.
The father would probably hate me forever he might never even know he had a child cause it wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.
If he did find my whereabouts and know about the child, he’d take my baby away and the thought of losing my child, it didn’t seat well with me.
I broke down completely as I slid down the wall to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
It was all too much, the guilt, the fear, the loneliness.
Sarah knelt beside me and put her arms around me. “Shhh,” she whispered, rocking me gently. “It’s going to be okay. We will figure this out. You are not alone. I’m here. We will get through this together p>
But her kind words could not calm the storm inside me I was pregnant with the baby of the man I had ruined and I had never felt more lost or more terrified in my life.
Sarah kept saying it would be okay but it felt like a lie.
I snapped. “It is not going to be okay!” I yelled, my voice raw from crying. “Nothing is okay! What do I tell this baby, Sarah? Huh? When he or she is old enough to ask about their father? Do I say, ’I loved him, but I destroyed him’? Do I say, ’Your mother is a backstabber who broke your father’s heart and ruined his life p>
The words poured out of me, full of pain and self-hatred.
“I love him, Sarah! I love Dante so much it hurts! And I hate myself! I hate myself for what I did to him! He trusted me! He let me into his life, into his heart, and I used him! I stole from him! I gave his enemies the power to destroy him p>
I was sobbing so hard I could barely breathe. “He probably hates me now, he will never want to see me again and he will never know he has a child and our child will never know their father. It is all my fault! Everything is my fault p>
I curled into a ball on the floor, my arms wrapped around my stomach, crying for the man I loved, for the child I was carrying, and for the terrible mess I had made of everything.
Sarah didn’t try to tell me it was okay anymore She just sat with me, her hand on my back, letting me cry.
She knew there were no words that could fix this. The truth was too heavy, and the pain was too deep.
Later that day, Sarah and I were sitting in my small living room my mind still wondering the situation Dante is in.
Sarah ordered food for us.
“Let me turn on the television” she says as she takes a seat next to me, handing over a bowl of noodles.
“It’s over!” Sarah says bolting up.
I drew my attention back to the television sitting up straight.
The scandal was over.
“Oh my god p>
The news reporters were saying new information had come out, they said Dante Russo was innocent.
They said the papers that were leaked were fake and were part of a plan by his business rival, Damien Voss, to ruin him.
And then, I saw my father’s face on the screen.
The reporter said my father, Ricardo Melendez, had been arrested.
They said he worked with Damien Voss.
“That asshole! He used my father as his prawn” I say gulping a lump.
They said he helped plan the whole thing.
I felt a rush of relief so strong it made me dizzy.
Dante was safe he had figured it out, he had cleared his name.
I was happy for him, so happy.
But then, a new fear, cold and sharp, took the place of my relief.
If Dante could do all that… if he could uncover a plot that big and have my father arrested… then he could find me.
He would find out that I was the one who took the papers he would know I betrayed him, god help l if he doesn’t already know it was me.
And when he found me, he would punish me I knew how angry he could get I had seen his rage.
He would never forgive me for this.
I was happy he was safe but I knew my own life was about to get much, much harder because Dante Russo was coming for me and I was terrified of what he would do.
So for now I need to lay very low and protect my baby alongside Asher.
“Come on Ari! You should be happy for him” Sarah says pulling me into a comforting hug.
I nod as a lone tear slipped. “I know and I am happy for him, it’s just that..” I broke into sobs.
She nods pulling me into a hug, “It’s going to be okay”