Chapter 3
“Well, well. You two lovebirds move fast,” Laria said, her voice syrupy sweet while her eyes remained cold as winter. “Pregnant after just one year! How… efficient.”
She let her voice crack on the last word, her eyes suddenly swimming with perfectly timed tears.
“I’ve been trying for four fucking years with nothing to show for it.”
Those fat, glistening tears started their practiced descent down her flawless cheeks.
I watched something shift in Hektor’s expression–a look he’d never once given me–raw devotion mixed with fierce protectiveness that made my stomach twist into knots.
He pressed his lips together before turning to me, his decision already made.
“Get rid of it.”
His words hit me like a slap. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.
“What did you just say?” I whispered, certain I’d misheard.
Hektor sighed dramatically. “Your body can’t handle a pregnancy, Yunifer. You’re missing a kidney. I couldn’t bear watching you go through labor.”
“I’m only thinking of you,” he added with practiced concern. “I couldn’t stand seeing you suffer through childbirth.”
The same man who, moments earlier, had been desperately reassuring Laria about her fertility issues.
A bitter laugh escaped my throat. “This is my child, Hektor. My body. My goddamn choice.”
With only one kidney, I lived on borrowed time anyway.
But I desperately wanted–needed–this child. Someone who would look after my mother when I was gone.
Hektor’s expression flickered with what might have been a microsecond of actual hesitation.
“Oh, Hektor,” Laria cut in, her voice a masterful blend of martyrdom and sweetness. “Maybe we should let Yunifer keep the baby. I absolutely adore children.”
She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue before delivering her knockout punch.
“I’m just terrified that when Julian sees his precious little niece or nephew, he’ll finally realize what a broken, barren failure I am.” Her voice dissolved into a delicate whimper.
Whatever momentary doubt had crossed Hektor’s face vanished instantly. His voice hardened.
“Yunifer, this ends now. I’m calling my doctor to schedule the procedure.”
“The hell you are,” I shot back, “this baby stays. If you don’t want us, fine–we’ll disappear.”
“You’ll never have to see either of us again.”
Chapter 3
Something dangerous flashed in Hektor’s eyes.
“You will never leave me,” he said, each word like a shard of ice. “And this pregnancy ends today,”
Before I could react, his security team materialized from nowhere. They half dragged, half carried me to the car as I screamed and fought against their grip.
In the sterile hospital room, 1 collapsed to my knees before Hektor.
“Please,” I sobbed, clutching at his pants. “I have nothing left in this world. Nothing. All I want is this one small mercy, Please let me keep my baby.”
The doctor looked profoundly uncomfortable.
“Mr. Reed, modern medicine has advanced significantly. Many women with a single kidney deliver perfectly healthy babies. And this fetus is developing beautifully.”
Hektor’s face remained carved from stone as he coldly ordered.
“Proceed with the termination. Now.”
In the end, they strapped me to the table like an animal,
Even through the fog of anesthesia, I felt the cold instruments invading my body, destroying the tiny heartbeat I’d already fallen in
love with.
My chest felt like it was being crushed as silent tears streamed down my face.
When I finally regained consciousness, I recognized our bedroom by the scent of Hektor’s cologne before I could even open my eyes.
Through barely–parted lids, I spotted them on the sofa across the room–Hektor and Laria–her body curled against his like they were
two pieces of the same puzzle.
“I can’t believe you actually went through with it,” Laria whispered, her voice a perfect blend of feigned horror and secret
fascination.
“Making Yunifer terminate like that.”
Hektor’s voice was low and intimate–a tone he’d never once used with me.
“Think about it, Liv. You’ve been married for years without getting pregnant. If I had a child before you, your mother–in–law would
make your life absolute hell.”
“You’re my precious sister. How could I let some… inconvenient pregnancy hurt you?”
“Oh, Hektor,” Laria sighed, her voice trembling with emotion. “If only we weren’t legally siblings. I would have chosen you in a heartbeat.”
“But now I’m Julian’s wife,” she continued with rehearsed sadness.
“It’s too late for us. All I can do to repay your devotion is…”
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