5
In that moment, Serena Hayes resembled nothing less than a zombie bride from a chilling horror story.
Her face a deathly pallor, she struggled forward, her monstrous belly preceding her, extending a trembling hand toward Brandon. “Brandon, darling Brandon,” she rasped, her voice thin and reedy, “help me, quickly.”
But Brandon was utterly paralyzed with terror at her grotesque appearance, his body trembling uncontrollably, his eyes wide as saucers, fixed on her in horror.
Only last week, upon hearing Serena had successfully conceived his child, he had been ecstatic, practically dancing with unbridled joy.
But he never, in his wildest nightmares, imagined a human could carry so many in a single pregnancy.
Was this even human? She was more prolific than a literal brood sow!
Brandon’s parents, too, stood agape, their mouths hanging open in utter shock.
They had believed they were finally on the verge of cradling their first grandchild, but seeing Serena’s monstrous condition, a growing unease, a cold dread, began to
grip their hearts.
Serena lurched forward, one agonizing step after another, moving towards Brandon. Her belly, swollen to an impossible size, had already torn the delicate fabric of her pure white wedding gown, the seams giving way under the obscene strain.
use a grotesque analogy, her belly resembled a massive dumpling, its skin stretched thin and transparent over a monstrous, overflowing filling.
Through that impossibly taut, almost translucent skin, one could even discern the disturbing, fleshy forms of the fetuses churning ceaselessly within.
Serena, her pallid face twisting into a ghastly semblance of a smile, reached out, grasping Brandon’s hand, ready to pose for their wedding photo.
“Brandon,” she rasped, her voice triumphant, “I knew you’d choose me. Only I am worthy of being your Mrs. Sterling.”
But one look at that terrifyingly swollen abdomen, and Brandon instinctively recoiled, shoving her away in utter revulsion.
“Get away from me, you hideous hag!” he shrieked, his voice filled with disgust. “Who gave you permission to touch me, the great Mr. Sterling?!”
Serena, caught completely off guard, toppled backwards, falling hard. Her grotesquely distended belly slammed directly onto the floor, sending a searing wave of
agony through her. She immediately began to wail, a pained, desperate cry, and within moments, ominous spots of blood began to stain the floor beneath her.
The County Clerk’s staff gasped in horror, rushing over. It took their combined efforts to carefully help Serena back to her feet.
The other couples, waiting to register their own marriages, began to whisper, their voices laced with shock and judgment.
“My God, whose pregnant wife gets a belly that big? She must have secretly pumped herself full of ovulation stimulants, didn’t she?”
“Didn’t you hear? They just wanted a woman who could birth sons. So desperate for an heir, they probably forced that girl to take all those shots!”
“She should have realized something was wrong by this point in the pregnancy. Look at that family, dripping in gold and jewels, and yet they didn’t even bother to
get a doctor for the pregnant woman? What kind of people are they?”
“They’re heartless monsters, truly! That poor woman, carrying all those babies, and they actually laid hands on her?!”
“Just looking at her is terrifying. And that man was still rushing to marry her, after all that?”
The three Sterlings, subjected to the stinging judgment and pointed whispers of the crowd, could only glare at Serena, their eyes burning with bitter resentment.
Serena met Brandon’s gaze, seeing the stark, undeniable disgust blazing in his eyes. Her own eyes instantly welled, tears streaming down her pallid cheeks.
Witnessing this spectacle, I let out a triumphant, unrestrained laugh, a sound of pure, unadulterated satisfaction.
“Wow,” I exclaimed, my voice dripping with mock awe, “so this is the ‘abundant blessings and many children‘ Brandon Sterling so desperately craved!”
“No wonder I couldn’t conceive. This kind of blessing‘? You couldn’t pay me enough to take it.”
Serena, hearing my words, gasped, her chest heaving violently with indignation.
Her face stark white, she shrieked, her voice raw and hoarse, unleashing a torrent of furious curses upon me.
“Skylar Vance, you bitch!” she screamed, her voice cracking “This is all your fault! You did this to me!”
“What in God’s name did you do to me?”
She lunged, intent on striking me, but her attempt was futile. The early signs of miscarriage had left her dangerously weak. After only a few agonizing steps, the
searing pain in her abdomen overwhelmed her, forcing her to double over, clutching her stomach, whimpering in tormented agony
I watched her, a faint, mocking smile playing on my lips, an almost amused detachment in my gaze.
“Your pregnancy has nothing to do with me,” I stated calmly, my voice deceptively sweet. “Did I force you to conceive?”
She shrieked, a raw, desperate sound, her composure completely shattered
“It was your if it wasn’t for you, why would I be like this? Because I was already bound to bound to a systemi
But her words caught in her throat. £he clamped her mouth shut abruptly
Chapter 2
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