Athalia

**Initial Notes: ***Dear readers, I'd like to apologize for all the delays in updating and keeping you waiting. Finally, I've updated all the chapters that had been uploaded incorrectly. I'd like to ask you, if you don't mind, to take a look because they've all been rewritten and there's a lot that's new and different, because the chapters I'll be uploading from now on will be different, and you won't understand a thing. So I advise you to read them again in order to understand. This is a new, exclusive chapter. I hope you like it, with love from the writer.*

**Cassy point of view**

I didn't know what to do, I didn't know where exactly to go, I didn't know who I should call. At that moment my world came crashing down, because seeing the guy I thought I was in love with in bed with his ex left me destabilized, starting with the knowledge that I was carrying a part of him in my womb. What would I do now? It hurt, and it reminded me of the relationship I had with Luca, a relationship in which I accepted and forgave his betrayals because I didn't think anyone would accept me, because I knew how dirty I felt at the time due to the abuse I had suffered as a child.

I felt like my heart was in a thousand pieces. Not that I loved Zac, you know? But I had a feeling for him, a feeling that wasn't small at all. I feel tears wet my face, and the scene of the two of them on that bed invades my mind. Was I not good enough? Was sex with me that bad? What had I done wrong?

My mind went back to Harry and what we had done, which was nothing compared to what Zac had done, but it didn't exempt me from having betrayed him. Zac could have been with anyone else, but to go back to Mandy was to leave my pride as a woman wounded, and I hated myself for allowing myself to feel that way. Everything around me was spinning, I could only hear distant echoes in my head. The next thing I knew, I had the keys in my hand to unlock the door, I had walked for over an hour to get here, and at the moment the only thing I was doing was crying, and nothing else. As soon as I got inside, I locked the door and went up to my room, and climbing each step made my stomach churn, as I was once again taken to that damn scene, I could perfectly see Mandy on top of Zac, riding him, I saw when Zac turned her over and penetrated her hard, I saw the way he came and made her come, I squeezed my eyes tightly shut to try and get it out of my mind, but that scene had stuck with me so strongly, it was making me frustrated and I just wanted to close my eyes, sleep for a long time and not remember any more of it.

I threw my bag on the floor and walked into the bathroom, I needed to take a nice, long, hot shower, I needed to cleanse myself of all the dirt that had surrounded me for as long as I could remember. Under the shower, I closed my eyes as the water fell on my face, wetting my hair and my whole body. As soon as I'd finished my hair, I started to lather up, and that's when I realized that my belly was starting to get a little round. I smiled at that and touched it lightly, caressing it. I sighed deeply and let a few more tears fall, and it was at that moment that I decided that he wouldn't know, Zac would never know that he was going to be a father. I was going to call my mother, tell her about my pregnancy and go back to Brazil, raise my son away from all this madness and if I had to start again, let it be where I was most humiliated, and I would start again with my head held high.

As soon as I'd finished my shower, I put on some warm clothes and lay down, covering myself completely. But not even in my dreams did I have peace, because I remember every scene I went through as a little girl, every threat, every slap and every time he touched me and made me touch him. The screams I made when he penetrated me hard and hurt me echoed inside my head, I tried to wake up from that nightmare, I hadn't dreamt about it for months. Suddenly I was in front of Zac's room, and I saw him with Mandy again, but both of them swearing their love and making fun of me, saying how foolish I was for trusting him. I wanted to wake up, I knew I was dreaming and for some reason God heard my prayers, because then the insistent sound of the doorbell ringing woke me up from that damn nightmare, I took a deep breath and thanked him for it. I went downstairs slowly, and the person was desperate, because he kept pressing that damn button, making that unbearable noise take over every room in the house.

I was about to curse the bastard for it, but as soon as I opened the door, my heart softened and I allowed myself to cry like a baby and jumped into my best friend's arms.

“Hey, what's wrong?” she asks me, but I hug her even tighter "Cas, darling." she says and returns my embrace. I don't know how long we stayed in that position, but all I remember is that within seconds I was sitting on the sofa, with her staring at me, not understanding anything.

“I missed you Athalia.” I say and she smiles sideways and touches my cheek.

“And I'm your Cas,” she says "I asked your parents for the address, I wanted to surprise you, and from the looks of it you have a lot to tell me." she says, making me sigh deeply.

“A lot has really happened around here,” I said and then pulled her into another hug "But I'm so happy you're here, I can't thank you enough for this surprise," I said and she laughed.

“My God, you're so emotional and tearful.” she says and moves away a little.

“I have a good reason for that,” I say and she looks at me curiously "I'm pregnant." I say and Athalia goes silent, nothing comes out of her mouth for a while and that makes me nervous.

“You're what?” she asks.

“Pregnant, I'm pregnant,” I repeat and she leans back on the sofa.

“Cassidy, what the fuck did you do?” she asks and looks at me like I'm crazy.

“It wasn't in my plans, it was a single fucking slip-up and I didn't even remember it,” I say and she laughs through her nose.

“Was it so good that you didn't remember to put a fucking condom on your boyfriend's cock?” she says, making me bite my lip.

“Athalia...” she interrupts me.

“Fuck him! Does he know?” she asks and I deny it. You need to tell him Cas, that's his responsibility too,” my friend says and I deny it again.

“He's just cheated on me,” she rolls her eyes "I went to his house today to tell him about the pregnancy, and I caught him in bed having sex with his ex," I say and she curses.

“What a son of a bitch! Tell me this story straight Cassy, because I feel like I'm missing something here.” she says and I smile sideways.

“Let's go to my room, I'll tell you everything.”