ron clamps. She tried to struggle, to dig her heels into the floor, but she was weak, her body wracked with
gan to
her legs, leaving a dark trail on the
essly against the smooth, pa
ereal drumbeat. They weren't men watching a woman in agony; they were o
contractions, the crushing weight of her belly, the brutal grip on her arms-it all conspired to push her into a hazy, dreamlike stat
he memories came. U
msy accident. It was a calculated interception. He had known she would be there. He had already run the backgro
ingle, casual conversation. She had thought he was being thoughtful. Now she knew:
tell her stories until she fell asleep. She had believed he was comforting his beloved. Now she understood:
destar, the light that guided him through his cold, dark world. What a sick, poetic lie. The only sta
ms, laughing, promising her the world. He wasn't celebrating the creation of their family. He was celebrating a successful yield. He
belly, as if to shield her childr
ouch was an assessment. Every whispered "I l
g. All the beautiful, cherished moments of the last three years curdled
e had been a project. A long-te
e of nausea so profound it wa
she had thought was her savior, her soulmate, was a monster. A creature
death for the last hour, finally gave its last gasp. And in th
a
ld, and
d again-harder this time, more coordinated. They wer
e. It spread through her veins, sharpening her
r voice a ragged whisper. "Hold on, babi
rds a vow in the deepest part of her s
p away everything he held dear, just as he had done to her. She would make him feel a
ed into a steady, reassuri
ve her a reason to fight through the waves of pain, a
meras, fire exit, two in the morning." A seed. S
A sign on the wall read: SURGICAL WING - RESTRICTED A
cution
corridor. Somewhere back there was the room wher
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