SEX WITH THE VIRGIN MAID by KIARI HORSFALL

Carrying His Child Oh God! Those were the first words that escaped from Hera's lips followed by a tiny gasp as she stared at the test strip in her hands which had visible bold red lines on it. Mariam had bought it for her and had shown her what to do and how to use it. She had wished that what Mariam had told her before was not true but here it was in her hands in plain red.

She was pregnant. She was carrying Bryce's child.

She couldn't help the tears that clouded her vision before dropping off her cheeks like twin rivers. What would she do now? How does she explain this to him? What would he even say about this? "Hera are you okay in there my child?" Mariam's voice cfrom outside the door. The more she called out to her, the more she couldn't stop the tears from falling. Bryce would hate her.

"Please cout Hera so that we can figure something out." The older woman pleaded desperately when she heard the subdued sniffs and hiccups that cfrom inside the bathroom. She didn't need a soothsayer to tell her that the test was positive. She had known all along. The only reason why she asked her to do it was because she wanted her to be sure of it.

She doubted that the sisters at the convent would have educated her on all of these. They might've told her about pregnancy and the rest but she wasn't sure that they went this far otherwise she would've known.

Hera discarded the strip carefully and sluggishly walked out of the bathroom with her shoulders slouched. Her eyes were red from crying too much. Mariam could tell that she was stressed out and didn't know exactly what to say to her to calm her down.

She watched her slowly walk over to the bed before lowering herself on it. "It's positive Mariam just like you said it would." Mariam took to the empty space next to her and pulled her into a hug. "Have you made a decision yet? Would you tell Bryce about it or not?" "I can't tell him. Not after everything he had been through." She thought the last part to herself. Mariam definitely wouldn't understand why she was adamant on not telling him.

Bryce had told her about how his dad brutally abused his mother to death and the trauma it had on him after that experience. There was nothing she would say that would sound pleasant to his ears about this. He hates children. He doesn't want to father them and a family is not even something that he had ever considered. When they were at the convent, she saw how he struggled, how he couldn't let go of the past and if she opened up to him about this then she would be opening up old wounds that he was trying so hard to bury and he might end up hating her for it.

"You know that he's going to find out sooner or later about this right?" Mariam reminded her. "You're pregnant and pregnancy isn't exactly something that you can hide. One day your bump is going to be visible and he will find out. What would you do then?" "I suggest that you tell him about it and hear what he has to say." Mariam pressed on. "I wouldn't even suggest an abortion to someone like you because i know that it's against your belief so your only option is to let him know." She added.

"And if he ends up hating me? What would i do then?" "You're underestimating the love Bryce has for you Hera. You changed him and there's no way on earth he would hate you." She comforted her sincerely. "Listen child, Bryce has ca long way since he met you. He is a different person all because of you and you did that. Maybe you should start believing in that love that brought you both this far." Love? She doesn't even know if he loves her. He had never said it. Not once. She knew that she loved him and she had also accepted that he would never say those words to her. He doesn't believe in it and she had cto terms with it.

"Think about it carefully my child before you make any decision. I'll finish up the soup for you. You still need to eat and so does your baby." She said to her before exiting the bedroom.

The rest of the day went pretty weary for Hera. She had even preferred it when she didn't know that she was pregnant. At least back then, she wasn't this scared and worried about anything.

Now the hardest part was sharing this news with Bryce. A baby is a blessing. That's what the sisters at the convent had always told her but she wasn't feeling it as they said. If anything, it felt like a burden to her because the person who was responsible for it might not want anything to do with it. At the end of the day when Bryce got back from work, she still hadn't made up her mind yet.

As usual, he had been very warm and even told her how much he had missed her. He definitely wouldn't be saying this if he knew exactly what she was hiding from him. They went over their normal routine of him placing his head on her thighs after he has had his shower. Hera's stomach tied up in knots.

"Did you have a good day?" He had asked after kissing her full on the lips. She forced a smile and nodded at his question. "And how was your lessons? Did you do anything fun?" Today was anything but fun. It was worse than fun. For the record, she had almost wished that today never happened at all.

"You're awfully quiet today Cara." He pointed out. "You're never quiet when you're with me. Did something happen today? Are you feeling okay?" "I'm feeling good. I'm just tired that's all." She lied through her teeth. Well, technically it wasn't a lie because she was indeed tired. The burden of the truth that she was hiding was almost choking her to death She felt suffocated.

"Are you feeling cooped up at home? Do you want us to do something fun together tomorrow?" He went further to ask when he noticed how damp her mood was. She unconsciously ran her hands through his hair. "You know that you can tellanything Cara. I'm always here to listen?" Now, she felt bad. He had just gotten back from work and she was making his evening bothersome. But she couldn't help it. She was struggling internally to not burst into tears right now in front of him. "Bryce, can i ask you something?" He stood up from her thighs and faced her, giving her his undivided attention. "Anything." She swallowed. "Have you um...have you thought of ever having kids?" She stared at him, waiting to see his reaction to her question.

Bryce was taken aback by her question and didn't even try to hide it. That was the last thing he ever thought that she would ask him. "Why would you askthat?" "It's just a question." She tried to play it off as cool but she knew that she was failing miserably at it. "Like what do you think about kids?" He thought about her question for a while. "Am i supposed to think anything about them?"

She blinked to keep the tears at bay.

"I just wanted to know if maybe, just maybe you've ever thought of having one. So what's your thought about it?" "Nothing." He answered almost immediately and her heart sank down to the pit of her stomach. "Maybe in the future or someday perhaps." It was settled. He didn't want them.

He was only saying that because he was trying to avoid the question. She knew that he had never wanted them. n. He had never even thought of them for once in his life so how could she hurt him by telling him.

"Why did you ask that Hera?" She shook her head. "Nothing. I just thought that I'd ask you what you thought about them because i wanted to hear your opinion on the matter?" He chuckled and touched her hair. "Was it part of your lessons?" "Maybe." She answered casually.

Bryce was still dumbfounded that om she had asked him such a question. He didn't know exactly what was running through her mind and she wasn't ready to say anything further so he didn't want to push it.

But deep down in Hera's thoughts, she already knew what to do and her mind was already made up. Shem Xade would make sure to act on it as fast as she could before he found out about her present condi tion because the more she delayed, the more detrimental it would be for both of them.