Pregnant Without a Man

For the sake of the child in my belly, I could no longer care about my pride or dignity. I turned and dropped to my knees.

I let out two barking sounds, my voice trembling as I said, "I'm filthy."

Hazel leaned down as she curled her lips into a triumphant smile.

"Audrey, when I once kneeled in front of you and begged you not to marry Ethan, did you ever imagine you'd end up like this?"

Hazel had come to plead with me back then, saying she and Ethan were in love, and asked me to call off the engagement.

The marriage between the Moore and the Smith families had been arranged by our elders, bound by countless business interests.

If I were to end it, the blame would fall squarely on my family—we'd be the ones suffering the consequences. So, I rejected her request.

I never thought she'd hold that grudge for this long.

But I had no strength left to argue about the past. I looked up at them, pleading, "Please call an ambulance…"

Ethan stomped down hard on my back.

"Audrey, you really are shameless! You'd do anything for that disreputable child!"

I was crushed to the ground, my belly slamming against the hard floor. Pain exploded across my belly like wildfire.

"You said you'd spare the baby…" I muttered.

Hazel's tone was nonchalant as she remarked, "I said I'd let the child go. Ethan didn't say a thing, did he?"

"You've got some nerve to use that child and my name to lie your way into the Moore family. Do you think I'd let you off that easily? Dream on!" Ethan snapped.

Ethan kicked me square in the stomach. Pain shot through me like lightning, and bright red blood began to stream down my legs.

I could feel the baby in my belly stop moving bit by bit. Despair surged through me, and the hatred in my eyes as I looked at them cut deeper than a blade.

"Ethan, Hazel, you're going to regret it!" I shouted.

Hazel stood next to Ethan, her gaze full of venom.

"Ethan, she still doesn't know how to repent. Clearly, she still hasn't learned her lesson."

Ethan sneered. "We'll see who ends up regretting this. Hazel, go get a rope."

Hazel understood instantly. She rummaged in the living room, returned with a rope, and walked toward me.

I dragged my bloodied body and retreated. My eyes were filled with terror as I asked, "What are you doing?"

But all I got in return were their faces twisted with excitement.

They tied my hands and feet together. They then dragged me out of the house by the rope. Blood smeared the floor behind me in a long, terrible trail.

They dragged me to the edge of the pool. Ethan kicked me into the water.

I couldn't move with my limbs bound, so I sank straight to the bottom in despair.

The pool water rushed into my nose and mouth—I was suffocating. Just when I thought I was going to die, Ethan yanked the rope and pulled me back up.

"Have you learned your lesson, Audrey? Do you dare to cheat on me again?"

I gasped for air, but the pain in my abdomen kept sinking deeper and deeper.

I had taken prenatal classes with Jeremiah. I knew what was happening. The trauma had triggered early labor.

Although I knew the chances of saving the baby were slim, I couldn't give up hope. I begged Ethan again.

"I was wrong. I'll never do it again. Please, spare me and the baby. I'm going into labor. Please call an ambulance. I'm begging you…"

Ethan spat at me. "Even now, you're still thinking about that child? You clearly haven't learned a lesson! There's no way I'm letting that child leave the Moore residence alive!"

With that, he raised his foot again, ready to kick me back into the pool.

I closed my eyes in despair. Fear of drowning filled my heart.

Just then, the front door of the villa slammed open.

Jeremiah rushed over, panic written all over his face as he shouted, "Stop right there!"