Chapter 2
Caleb never liked me. I always knew that.
However, I never imagined he would go to such lengths for his precious Nina.
We grew up together, and Caleb knew my biggest fear was snakes. No matter how much he disliked me or how many pranks he pulled, he’d never used snakes against me. That was a line he wouldn’t cross.
Of course, that was until Nina came along.
Right then, a sharp pain ripped through my abdomen, and I curled up into a ball on the floor. Panic surged through me as I felt something slipping away inside.
Desperately clutching my stomach, I swallowed my pride and begged, my voice trembling. “Please call me an ambulance!”
Nina, nestled in Caleb’s arms, covered her mouth and laughed, her voice dripping with cruelty. “A little stomach pain and you
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already need an ambulance? Still playing the innocent act after all these years? Your tricks to seduce Caleb have gotten even more shameless.”
Her words stung like salt in an open wound. “Like mother, like daughter, huh? Those two–faced genes must be hereditary.”
Nina’s taunt stopped Caleb in his tracks. For a brief moment, there had been a flicker of concern in his eyes, but it quickly morphed into hatred.
“Just like your dead, two–faced mother. So cheap.”
Without another glance at me, he wrapped his arm around Nina and headed upstairs. Before he left, he didn’t forget to grab a snake and throw it at me as if I were the embodiment of all his resentment toward my mother.
“You naughty boy! Come here and kiss me!” Nina cooed, her voice sickeningly sweet as they disappeared.
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As they went upstairs, the cold, slick body of the snake slithered across my skin, its presence overwhelming me.
I blacked out completely.
When I woke up, the doctor had already completed a D&C procedure. My hand instinctively moved to my abdomen. There had once been a child there.
It was a future I had imagined, a happiness I had clung to. Yet it was all gone. The emptiness in my stomach mirrored the hollowness I felt inside.
Tears streamed down my face, soaking the pillow beneath me. The doctors and nurses. looked at me with pity and sympathy. One of them sighed and spoke softly.
“For the next few days, avoid alcohol, and don’t eat anything spicy. We also found several snake bites on your body, but luckily, none were venomous.”
The doctor paused, his brow furrowed with concern. “Miss, did you offend someone?
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Do you need us to call the police?”
I shook my head slowly. ‘What was the point?‘
This all started years ago, in high school, when I fell in love with Caleb.
Back then, Nina had bullied me for two years straight. She was dating Caleb at the time, and I was terrified to tell my mother or stepfather about the bullying. I feared Caleb would hate me even more, and life at home would only get harder.
But Caleb had noticed something was
wrong. After following me for a few days, he found out that Nina was the one tormenting me.
Furious, he picked up a chair and smashed it over Nina’s head. The shock on her face was unforgettable.
“Lily isn’t someone you can just bully! Don’t be shameless!” Caleb growled as he stood beside me with his hand on my shoulder.
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Nina, furious and humiliated, demanded they break up on the spot.
Ever carefree, Caleb shrugged and said, “Suit yourself.”
It was the first time I had ever felt safe from anyone. No matter how much Caleb insulted or disliked me, I loved him with all my heart, like a moth drawn to a flame.
He was my light, who had once stood up
for me.
But now?
He was back with Nina, and together, they had destroyed the one piece of hope I had left… Our child.
I realized then that my one–sided infatuation, this humiliating love I clung to, had to come to an end.
After the doctor left, I wiped the tears from my face, picked up my phone, and made an international call.
“Sir, I’ve made up my mind. I want to go
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abroad and study with,you.”
“Are you sure, Miss Dawson? It’s a tough road. You might not come back for ten, maybe even twenty years.”
I placed a hand on my abdomen, where life. had once been, and let a few more tears fall. “I’m sure. There’s no one left here that I care about.”
Right then, my phone buzzed with a text from Caleb:
‘There’s a dinner party tonight at 8 for Nina. It’s all men, so it’s not safe for her. You go to her place.‘
For the first time in my life, I didn’t reply.
Half an hour later, my phone rang.
It was Caleb.
His voice on the other end was cold and full of menace. “Lily, you’re really testing
my patience, aren’t you? How dare you ignore my message?”
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I was too weak to fight, “Caleb, I’m not feeling well. I can’t go
He let out a dark, sinister laugh that sent shivers down my spine. “Not coming? Fine, Then forget about getting your mother’s ashes! Should I atter them in a dung pit or dump them in a filthy sewer
His words hit me like a blow to the chest. I clenched my fists, biting back the pain. My voice was barely a whisper, but I forced myself to speak.
“יין וויו”
The day my mother was cremated, I cried so hard that I thought my heart would break.
Caleb had watched in silence, a conflicted look passing across his face. Then, without a word, he had taken my mother’s urn from
- me.
“If you’re so upset, I’ll hold on to it for you.” At that moment, I thought he was doing it
Chapter 2
out of kindness. I was so naïve.
But the minute the urn was in his hands, his expression changed.
A sinister smirk twisted his lips as he let out a low, mocking laugh. “You’re such a fool, huh? From now on, you’ll do whatever I tell you, or I’ll scatter your mother’s ashes like they’re nothing!”
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