Chapter 2

Silas drags me out of bed at dawn the next day, his tone sickly gentle.

Silas: Let’s head to the hospital for your prenatal scan, baby. You’ve lost so much weight carrying this kid.

Once, those words would’ve made my heart flutter. Now they make my stomach churn with revulsion.

I let him lead me to his luxury SUV. The passenger window rolls down before I climb in, Chloe’s simpering voice cutting through the air.

Chloe: Silas, I’m feeling under the weather too. Can I tag along with you two?

She glances straight at me, fake saccharine pity oozing from every word.

Silas leans in to murmur in my ear, hand light on my waist.

Silas: Let her ride with us, don’t get upset. I’ll make it up to you later.

I see right through their scheme. They’re parading Chloe around to scope the baby growing inside me.

Elara: Sure, I don’t mind.

Silas sighs in relief and lifts me into the backseat. Chloe flounces into the front passenger spot, throwing obvious flirty glances over her shoulder at him the whole drive.

We reach the private clinic Silas owns. I sit on the exam table as the ultrasound wand slides over my stomach.

Doctor: How many pregnancies have you had?

Elara: This will be my eleventh live birth.

The other waiting mothers start whispering loud enough for everyone to hear.

Random Woman 1: That guy’s clearly cheating on her with the blonde up front.

Random Woman 2: Ten kids and she’s still stuck as his side piece, what a shame.

Silas ignores all the gossip without a single reaction. Chloe’s eyes lock onto the ultrasound screen instantly, greedy excitement lighting up her face.

Chloe: Doc, is it a boy or girl?

This clinic’s under Silas’s full control—he can twist any medical result to fit his wants. He pulls the doctor and Chloe into a private consultation room, leaving me alone in the exam hall.

They re-emerge minutes later, Silas’s face heavy with manufactured guilt.

Silas: Elara, I’m so sorry. The fetus has severe developmental defects. We need to schedule an abortion immediately.

The doctor nods to back up his lie.

I stare at both of them, sharp mocking amusement bubbling in my chest. Silas forgot I pre-med before I got pregnant with our first child. The scan showed a completely healthy baby girl—they just don’t want another daughter for Chloe to throw away.

Elara: What if I refuse to terminate this pregnancy?

Silas’s warm act drops, cold irritation hardening his features.

Silas: Don’t be unreasonable, Elara.

I turn to storm out, but Chloe lunges forward to grab my arm, her nails digging deep into my skin.

Chloe: I didn’t mean to upset you, let me apologize—

She fakes a clumsy stumble backward, yanking my arm hard to drag me along with her. I lose balance and tumble down the full flight of clinic stairs, hard concrete slamming into my spine and stomach.

Silas’s only panicked shout isn’t for me.

Silas: Chloe!