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Chapter 3
The chat was flooded with photos. Nude photos. From last night.
Of me.
“Damn, Ethan! Gotta say, your wife still got some curves on her!”
“Pregnant chicks hit different, huh? Wonder what she tastes like.”
“With that slutty look? Bet she’d be top–tier in any club.”
Each filthy message from Zack and the others cut deeper than the last.
Reading their vulgar comments, I felt stripped, exposed, like some animal in a cage–naked and humiliated, on display for their amusement.
“Baby, why are your eyes red?”
Ethan came back downstairs, file in hand, acting like nothing had happened.
He gently draped a blanket over my lap.
“It’s chilly today. You’re still pregnant–you’ve got to take extra care.”
He smiled. Warm. Tender.
Like a knife dipped in honey.
“Kaylee’s birthday is tonight,” he added, almost casually.
“I’m throwing her a small party here. Just a few close friends. Wear something nice, okay?”
My entire body tensed at the sound of her name.
“I’d rather stay in and rest tonight. I don’t want to be disturbed.”
His smile vanished.
“It’s just a birthday, Sophia. One day out of the year. You’re not seriously using your pregnancy to guilt me, are you? I’ve already been more than patient with you. But on this? I’m not backing down.”
I hadn’t even said much. But he was already racing to defend his precious Kaylee.
That’s the thing about love–you know when it’s missing.
The party happened anyway.
By the time I walked downstairs, all eyes were on me.
Some amused.
Some mocking.
Some filled with something darker.
“Sophia! We’re wearing the same dress! Isn’t that adorable? Great minds think alike!”
Kaylee chirped as she looped her arm through mine.
Only then did I realize–we were both in the exact same red dress.
13:41
Chapter 3
“This dress looks way better on Kaylee, though,” Ethan said bluntly.
“Let’s be real–Sophia’s pregnant, bloated, and halfway to hideous. No grace left.”
“Now, now,” Zack chimed in with a smirk, “I think the baby bump gives her character. Kind of a… mature charm.”
He took my hand, slowly rubbing his thumb along the back of it, his gaze crawling over me like something alive.
Author’s Note:Sophia’s allure hasn’t faded one bit–some people just can’t see what they’ve already lost.
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I tried to yank my hand away from Zack’s grip, puit ne voy a um
Ethan stood slowly from the couch and pulled me over.
“Babe, they’re just messing around. You take everything so seriously.”
I jerked my arm from his grasp, coldly.
“Have fun by yourselves. I’m going upstairs to rest.”
Just as I turned, Ethan shoved a glass of milk into my hands.
“Drink this first. It’s for calcium. Then you can go rest.”
“I don’t want it.”
His expression darkened instantly.
“I’ve already given you enough slack today. This is for your own good. Drink it.”
“Don’t be so harsh, Ethan,” Kaylee chimed in, sliding up beside us. “If Sophia doesn’t want it, don’t force her. She’s pregnant–try to be more understanding.”
She handed me a glass of warm water instead.
“Here, Sophia, have some water at least.”
I stared at the clear liquid in the cup.
“If I drink this… I can go upstairs and rest, right?”
Without waiting for an answer, I downed it in one gulp.
The warmth slid down: my throat, but within seconds, my skin began to burn. Like something was crawling beneath the surface–biting, gnawing.
“What… what did you give me?”
My legs turned to lead. Then everything collapsed, and I fell into a pair of unfamiliar arms.
Through the blur, I saw Zack’s twisted grin hovering above me, his hands already moving where they shouldn’t be.
“Kaylee, you’re evil. Using the pictures might not have been enough to shut her up–so you drugged her too? Genius. With this, even if she finds out about the baby switch, she’ll never speak up. We’ll have her right where we want her.”
“Let me go!”
I screamed with the last bit of strength I had. But it was no use.
I turned to Ethan, begging–searching for some flicker of decency left in him.
But he just tightened his arm around Kaylee and looked away.
“Be gentle,” he said coldly. “She’s still carrying my child. Our child.”
Zack’s hands roamed greedily.
“We’ll be careful. No harm will come to your precious little heir.”
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