1. The pregnancy

Prologue:

It’s not a crime for her to love or to be loved, love is a bittersweet feeling that can make you have butterflies in your belly and want to scream that against all odds you are finally in love.

And at times, it is suicidal, no one can even save you from the pain that comes with it.

The heart of two people who are in love beats at the same pace, the undeniable yearning for each other in their eyes says it all.

But if it’s an unrequited love, do the hearts still beat, do one person’s heartbeat and can the other person hear it?

Is it okay to feel the butterflies in your belly and you can’t express how you feel to the other person?

Now you want to let go of the shame that would come with it and confess how you feel, he might feel the same way, you just have to try.

The excitement and the nervousness that she feels when she is about to profess her feelings.

Then boom!!! Like a timing bomb it explodes, she can take it all in, the rejection, the betrayal, the resentments. So she thought, little did she know it’s a rough ride, down the cliff she’s about to end it all.

Will she wait to be saved by him? Will she save herself?

Oh! Her past says a whole lot, maybe it is a determiner after all. How could she forget?

It’s her heart after all, but she doesn’t have control over it anymore.

Who was she to demand to be loved? She doesn’t know how it feels, her heart aches at the sight of him, and she thinks it’s love.

Learn to love yourself first she decided and just maybe she will be loved too.

This is a tale of a love that burned brighter than the sun but was extinguished by the darkness of betrayal and deceit.

Will the light be rekindled or will they live forever in the darkness of love all the days of their lives?

{ 3 months into the Future}

(The Pregnancy)

“Wait for a minute, you expect me to believe you, you cheap whore, a slut, you want to convince me into believing that, the bastard you say you are carrying in that rotten stomach of yours is mine?”. Stephano asked Mbali as he pocked her abdomen while glaring at her angrily.

“Stephano, you need to believe me, I can't lie to you, this child is yours, please Stephano….” Mabli’s voice quivered as she confronted him, her words trembling like fragile leaves in the wind.

“I’m carrying your child, and you need to be a part of this. We can't run from it”. Mbali’s tears flowed freely, mirroring the pain etched on her face.

“Oh, I see, now tell me, how did it happen? You are obviously trying to trap me. I remember using condoms, so answer me how am I the father of that bastard?” Stephano roared, this time his eyes were red and hot.

“I don't know I mean any….anything must have happen…ed, the condom must have been broken or something” Mbali stuttered as the tears continued to pour out freely.

“Hahaha, can you hear yourself? The condom broke? Is that the new thing you whores do now, get pregnant and look for someone to pin it on? Is that what this is all about?”, Stephano laughed hysterically.

“We can do a paternity test to determine if this child is yours or not, yes Stephano please do not decline, do not leave me with this burden, Stephano please” Mbali mumbled.

“Let's get these whole shenanigans of yours over with, take this, I hope you don't take me for a fool” Stephano picked up a phone from the table and handed it over to Mbali.

Mbali was stunned at what she saw, her eyes fell, this time the tears poured out more than before, and her hands trembled as she held the phone, she was snapped back to reality when Stephano snatched back the phone from her hands.

“Pedro! How could you?” was all Mbali could say, she felt used and betrayed.

Pedro sat comfortably on the Sofa, unbothered by the events that transpired between Mbali and Stephano.

“What have you done? Pedro why?” Mbali fell to the ground as she crawled her way to where Pedro sat amidst tears as she grabbed Pedro by his shirt.

“Let go you bitch, get your filthy hands off my shirt” Pedro pushed Mbali off him as he stood up to adjust his rumpled shirt properly.

“Is that not what you do? It was a mutual agreement, so why are you pretending to be surprised? Oh, you thought Stephano would want to end up with a slut like you? You belong to the streets, that is where you belong forever”. Pedro continued.

Mbali sat on the floor, her world was in ruins just in a twinkle of an eye. Her heart pounded faster like it was about to explode, it ached as she winced at the pain she felt whilst holding onto her chest.

A masculine figure descended before her as he copped her face in his hands and used his thumbs to wipe the tears from her face.

His blue eyes shone like diamonds, they sparkled in the light that emitted from outside, he was going to save her she thought to herself, save her from this shame she felt.

“Please Stephano, please” these were the only words Mbali said as she slowly opened her eyes.

Stephano still had her face in his hands, bent over to where she sat helplessly on the floor, wiping her tears with his thumbs.

“You are a whore, a gold digger, unfortunately, you met the wrong man, you thought coming here with cooked-up lies about being pregnant with my child would change anything? I've met women like you, I'm never careless my dear. I will advise you to go look for the father of that thing or you remove it”.

“You are very attractive, no man in his right senses would reject you” Stephano continued, despite rejecting her, his eyes still lingered over her body.

He made to touch her thighs but was stopped by Mbali who spat on his face.

“I curse you Stephano, I curse you with my tears, with my unborn child, you shall come to beg to right your wrongs but then it would be too late, I promise you that” Mbali cursed out glaring into his eyes angrily.

“Hahaha, curse me you say, I wouldn't do that if I were you” Stephano got up as he reached out for his handkerchief in the pockets of his jacket wiping off Mbali’s spit from his face.

“And as for you Pedro, Nemesis will catch up with you, I promise you that also”, Mbali turned to face Pedro who did not care about whatever she had to say.

“You think he is a good friend to you? You will come to find out the true colors of this beast you call a friend”. Mbali said to Stephano who waved off what she said with his hands.

The room seemed to hold its breath as their words hung in the air, heart-wrenching emotions swirling in the living room.

Mbali got up from the floor with difficulty, as her legs wobbled, her head ached from crying, and she felt dizzy, she held her forehead as she managed to find the doorknob and found her way out of the living room.

The afternoon sun shone on her face, she reached for the little face towel inside her purse and blew her nose. She panicked for a bit when she couldn't find the pregnancy test result, she searched again and remembered Stephano had torn it into shreds earlier.

She was glad that she still had a copy of the pregnancy test at home as the one she presented to Stephano, had torn into shreds.

“I’m sorry, please forgive me my little one. I wish things could have been different”. Mbali whispered with her hands placed on her abdomen, as tears welled up in her eyes, she raised her eyes to the heavens as she fought back the tears.

(Let's dive into the world of Love, Chaos, Betrayal, and Loyalty)