"I'm pregnant." Alice's smile spread wide, dripping with triumph and venom, like a snake flicking its tongue to show off a fresh kill. "Dustin was thrilled when he found out."
Her lips kept moving. "You saw it all just now, didn't you? To celebrate our baby, he was absolutely insatiable with me. That waterbed? He bought it just for me. Said it makes things more… comfortable."
Her eyes locked onto mine, hungry for the breakdown. Waiting for the tears. Waiting for me to fall apart and flee the way I always had before.
But I was eerily calm. I refused to give her what she wanted.
My lack of reaction infuriated her.
Frustration radiated off her like heat from a furnace, so intense her smug smile began to crack at the edges. She leaned closer, voice dropping to something more vicious.
"Oh," she murmured, soft and poisonous, like an old friend sharing a secret. "I know what will break you."
She brought her lips to my ear and spoke slowly, savoring every word:
"For instance… that baby you lost six months ago. Did you really think it was an accident?"
Every muscle in my body locked.
My blood turned to ice water.
"What did you just say?"
### Chapter 4