Page 24 of Unspoken Vendetta

"Ok, we can't have you in here if you're getting a tummy bug, sweetie. Pack up and go home. Get some rest. Let me know when you're feeling better."

"I'm sorry," I say, pulling my apron off.

"Don't be sorry sweetie; just go home and take care of yourself."

Outside in the fresh air, away from all the different scents of baked goods, I slowly start to feel a little better. I must have eaten something that upset my stomach. Maybe food poisoning, or maybe even a bug.

I decide to stop at the pharmacy on the way home to get something for nausea.

While I am walking there a sudden harsh truth slaps me in the face.

I haven't had my period yet.

And I'm about three weeks late.

I can't believe I didn't even realize this.

I start walking faster, filled with anxiety. Now I am suddenly going to the pharmacy for an entirely different reason.

I go straight to the shelves filled with different brands of pregnancy tests.

I don't know what the difference is between each one, so I just grab three of them and go to the counter to pay.

I can't make eye contact with the lady behind the counter because I know I look like I just saw a ghost. I am so anxious it's pushing the nausea to new levels. All I want to do is get home and take the test.

Once I've paid, I hurry outside and wave down a taxi.

All the way home I am thinking. Non-stop thinking.

At first, I was terrified, but then I was excited. If I am pregnant that means Stefano and I are going to have our own little family. I will be having a baby with the man I love.

But by the time I am upstairs in my own bathroom and unwrapping the tests the excited feeling has been replaced by fear.

I can't stop the reality of who he is, and the life he lives, from weighing down on me.

I pee on each stick and then snap the lids back in place and put them all on my bathroom countertop. While I wait, I pace nervously.

Could I really raise my baby in that environment?

Would I want my baby to be at permanent risk, always fearful that someone might come after us as revenge for something Stefano has done?

The time is up. I have my back to the tests. I need to turn around and look at them, but tears are stinging in my eyes.

My heart is beating heavy and fast.

I force my feet to move. I turn towards the sink and stare down at the three tests.

They all say the same thing.

I am definitely pregnant.

There is absolutely no chance of mistaking it when two of them have two very, unmistakably solid lines and one actually says the word pregnant.

Suddenly I can't breathe.

My lungs seem to lock up and I clutch at my throat, sinking to the bathroom floor as tears fill my eyes.

What am I going to do?

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