Filthy Secret

ETHAN

My little lamb is sick. She is in our joined bathroom vomiting into the toilet. Aspen is naive enough to think it was the salmon we ate last night. I wanted to inform her that I would also be ill if that were the case but didn’t want to bother her while she had her head in the toilet.

I had already purchased the pregnancy tests and hidden them in my nightstand. They were waiting to be used. And I couldn’t wait for her to pee on one. Couldn’t wait to see the two lines confirming she was pregnant. Obviously, it was me guessing about that being the case. I wasn’t a doctor, but deep down inside, I knew.

Call it gut feeling.

It’s not.

It’s my knowledge of her being unprotected. I should feel bad. I don’t. Not an hour after holding that package of pills, I contacted my doctor. Twenty-four hours later, an exact replica of her birth control arrived at my penthouse with the placebo inside. I swapped out the packets and left them in the same state as the actual package. She has no idea what I have done. No idea, her being sick could be because my baby is growing inside her. I had been inside her that many times; it would be more of a surprise if she wasn’t pregnant at this point. She better fucking be. I will not stop until she is.

“Ethan?” her weak voice calls out from the bathroom. I jump off the bed and make my way to her. Pushing open the door, I find her wiping her hands on a towel.

I close the distance between us and pull her into my arms. “Yes, little lamb?”

“I think I have food poisoning.” She cries. I want to scream at her that she doesn’t. That if she opens her mind, she will know exactly what it is. I don’t do that though. Instead, I scoop her up and carry her to the bed. Dropping her down, I pull the cover up and over her.

“Stay in bed and get some rest. The restaurant down the road does the best soup. I will order you some and get it delivered.” I drop a kiss on her forehead then leave the room. I make quick work of ordering from the restaurant and ask Albert to bring it up when it arrives.

Pacing my open plan living area, it only takes a few minutes to come to the decision that I will present Aspen with the pregnancy test. I know she will be mad. But I don’t care. All I care about is knowing for sure whether she is pregnant.

I stride to my bedroom with confidence. Entering, I find her in the foetal position, and her eyes closed. She peels them open, obviously sensing me. She cocks a brow in silent question, but I ignore her. Rounding the bed, I pull open the nightstand draw, smiling when my hand lands on the test. I hear rather than see her shuffling around and turn to face her with the box in my hand. Her eyes widen.

“What is that?” she asks the question, but she knows exactly what it is.

I drop down and prepare for the argument I know is coming. “You know what it is, little lamb,” I start softly.

She shakes her head, then shuffles up so she is leaning against the headboard. “No. No, no, no, no. I am on the pill. I have food poisoning. That’s all.” Her denial is adorable. I reach out with my free hand and run my thumb across her full bottom lip.

“I just want to be sure. It won’t do any harm, will it?”Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

Her lip wobbles, and I almost feel guilty for putting her in this position. Almost. I don’t feel guilty. Not one bit. I knew what I was doing when I switched her pills. I wanted this. And I know as much as Aspen was against the idea, she will come to terms with our situation and want it just the same. I will never tell her what I did. No way. I don’t want her hate. I just want her. She will never know the truth of this conception. Never.

“Why do you have a pregnancy test in your nightstand?” I don’t miss the accusation in her voice.

I shrug. “Just happened to buy one the other day.” “Why?” she demands.

“It doesn’t matter why little lamb. What matters is finding out if you are carrying my baby.”

She rolls her eyes. “You are incorrigible. Even if I am pregnant doesn’t mean I will keep it.”

I see red. My hand tightens around the packet, crushing it. “Don’t you dare say that. Ever again. If you are pregnant, you will keep it. There is no other choice.”

“You don’t get to make those decisions for me. You are not God, Ethan. What do you think my family will say? Katrina? Don’t you care about any of that? I am too young for a child.”

Over her dramatics and not acknowledging her words, I pull her into me. Pushing off the bed, I carry her to the toilet and drop her down on top of it. I hold out the box to her.

“Take the test.” My tone leaves no room for argument, and she huffs. I almost smile at her little tantrum, but I bite it down, wanting her to see how serious I am right now.

“A little privacy, please.”

I glare at her. “I have seen every inch of your body, Aspen; up close and personal, I might add. I have had my tongue, cock, and fingers in every one of your holes. I think I am good watching you take a pee.”

She shoots me a look but does as I say. Opening the test, she pulls it out and looks over it like it personally offends her.

“You just pee on that end.” I point to the end of the stick she needs to urinate on. By this point, I am an expert on how they work and have read the instructions repeatedly. Pulling her panties down, she sits on the toilet and holds the stick beneath her. I watch, fixated on what she is doing. In a few minutes, we will know if my seed has taken root. Excitement courses through me, and visions of her belly growing flash in my mind. My dick hardens in my pants at the thought of her swollen belly.

Just then, there is a knock at the door. Irritation courses through me that it dragged me out of my thoughts, but I bet it will be Aspen’s soup. “That will be your food.”

She nods, wiping herself as she finishes. I take the stick from her and lay it on the side before making my way to the door. I smile to myself as I think of the test and hopefully a positive result.

Grabbing the knob, I pull the door open, only to freeze. The smile drops off my face, and I scowl. Just what I fucking need. She would have to come here now and try to ruin things with my little lamb and me.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Katrina purrs.

“No. I’m kind of busy right now, Katrina. What are you doing here?” I say impatiently, wanting to get back to Aspen.

Her smile falls as her eyes narrow on me. “I can’t find Aspen. I came to surprise her with a visit, and she isn’t in her apartment.”

Fuck. Why is she visiting her? Katrina has never been close to her niece in all the years I have known her. “And what makes…” I get cut off when Katrina’s gaze goes over my shoulder, her eyes narrowing further as her brows cinch in confusion. I turn to look at who I know is Aspen. She stumbles towards me, all disorientated, pregnancy test in hand. She hasn’t noticed her aunt; she is so out of it. I spin and rush towards her, grabbing her and the test before she falls.

“Ethan,” she whimpers. I glance at the test, finding the cause of her hysteria.

Positive.

A smile curves my lips. My little lamb is pregnant with my baby. I am so caught up in my happiness I forget about my ex-wife behind me.

“What the fuck?” Katrina screeches. Aspen freezes in my arms, her face paling as she realises who is here.

She pulls out of my arms and straightens. “Aunt Katrina?” she asks like she can’t quite believe it’s her and is making sure she is real.

Katrina’s eyes go from Aspen to me to the pregnancy test in my hand.

“You,” she points at me. “And Aspen.” She swallows, her face turning into disgust.

“Yes, Katrina. Aspen and I are together and are having a baby.” I say confidently. My ex is not going to put a dampener on our happy news.

“What? No. Wait, aunt, I can explain.” Aspen blurts, the panic in her voice making my chest tighten.

Katrina holds up her hand, stopping her from speaking, and I want to rip the fucking hand from her wrist. “You are disgusting. Both of you. He is my ex-husband,” she spits. “And you, are you having some sort of mid-life crisis? She is nineteen.”

I pull Aspen into my arms. She struggles against me, but I grip her harder, stopping her. “Get out. I will not have you upsetting, Aspen. If you can’t accept us, then you don’t have to be in our lives, but we will be

together regardless of what you or anyone else thinks.”

Her face blanches, and she moves her gaze to the girl beside me. “I did you a favor, and this is how you repay me? You are my family, Aspen. What do you think your parents will say?” Aspen sobs beside me, the sound making my chest tighten, but I don’t look at her. I shoot daggers at the woman in front of me.

“Enough.” I boom. “Get the fuck out of my apartment Katrina and don’t come back. I will not have you speaking to her in this way.”

Katrina shoots us both a look of disgust before turning on her heels and leaving, slamming the door behind her. I let out a breath and turn to my little lamb. I wipe the tears from under her eyes and pepper kisses over her beautiful face.

“Everything will be okay, baby. I promise.”

“How? My parents will hate me. Katrina hates me.”

I pull her closer. “They will come around, little lamb. And if they don’t, then that’s on them. They won’t get to see their grandchild grow up. They won’t get to see you happy or how much I love you because I do, Aspen. I love you, and I love our baby growing inside you.”

She gasps, sucking in a breath. Her teary eyes look up at me, and a small smile curves her lips despite what’s just happened. And then she makes me the happiest man in the world and says the words I didn’t know I needed to hear.

“I love you too, Ethan.”