The Devil's Bride (Book 1)

Chapter 26- In Chains

"You don't have to lie to me too, Faith." He pipes in, scooting closer to her. She edges further from him, barely perched on the wooden chair. Grant coughs, rising from his seat as Faith does too. She stands in the centre of the room, frozen for a single moment. Grant pauses beside her. "I don't want to frighten you." He pauses with his hands to his side, resisting the urge to treat this girl like his niece. He wants to place his arms on her shoulders and hug her, but this girl is a stranger. He can't protect her.

She turns her back to him. "Leave me alone. Please." He steps backwards as her voice raises. "Just stop dragging me down!" She screams, pushing her hands in his direction. Her fingers collide with his arms, and she collapses back against the bedside table. Tears form in her eyes. "Go. Go before I hurt you too much." Teardrops cascade down her scarlet cheeks. He's left speechless.

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Helena pauses to stare out the window. A mother caresses her child after he falls on the concrete pathway. She brushes his hair to the side, kissing his forehead. Helena smiles. That'll be her one day, won't it? She watches him smile up to his mother, and the smile that embraces the mother is a smile worth waiting for. There's no way Helena would give up the possibility of someone like that, even if it is Adam's.

Peter and Reyna nudge her on the shoulder. "Hey, what's up?" Peter speaks, sipping from the cappuccino in the light cocoa brown mug. Reyna checks his phone before nodding with Peter.

"Well, I've got something to say." The smile disappears from her face as she watches the mother and son disappear from the street in the corner of her eye. The happiness she saw with that family is something she wants. She had to admit to her friends that she was having this baby. Her friends waited anxiously for the next words to exit her mouth. She swallows and begins to speak. "Well, uh, I have some exciting news from the doctor..." Peter and Reyna nodded in anticipation of the exciting news. "I visited the doctor because I was feeling sick, but it turns out I'm actually-"

"You're pregnant! I'm so happy for you!" Reyna exclaims, almost jumping up from her chair. Peter smiles, lifting his head from his phone. Helena's grin suddenly widens more than ever and in this moment, she's happier than she had ever been. To know that she can bring this child into the world and raise them to grow up to be someone great for this world amazes her. "Are you having a boy or a girl?" Her eyes twitch as she stares at her two friends.

"Well, I want a surprise," Helena replies. "You know, when I give birth to him or her, I'll be happy without having known beforehand. It'll be fine to know he or she is mine." Her two friends smile and nod, because they know in their hearts that she'll be the perfect mother to this child. Peter types a message on his phone before Helena begins to confess. In her heart, they need to know who the father is, and that she doesn't care about him anymore.

"I have something to say, and it has to do with the baby." She frowns, tilting her head to the side. Her frown furthers when she notices Peter constantly texting someone. She continues the conversation. "Adam's the father." The two friends freeze at the table. Reyna places the cappuccino down.

"That's great! You're back together." Reyna chirps, her eyes wide. Helena didn't like the idea of talking about Adam at all, but keeping this boiled up inside broke her heart and she didn't want to give birth to a lie. Peter lifted his head to rejoin the conversation, nodding and smiling.

"No, we're not." Reyna's smile dropped. "Adam...well, he...he raped me." Peter and Reyna's jaws dropped at the sound of her voice, those words passing through her lips. "We were at a party, and I couldn't help but want him. It was foolish of me to think that nothing would come from this." She replies, sinking her head into her hands. The image of the mother and her son dissipated from her memory thinking about everything she will face with him. It's best he never knows about the baby, she thought to herself.