I Was Pregnant, But He Still Chose Her

Before she was taken hostage alongside Tiffany Hudson, a college junior of Colin Paisley's, Hilary Sanchez had never once imagined she would end up losing to a girl like that. The kidnapper flashed a grin as he pressed a dice into Colin's hand. "Simple rules," the kidnapper said. "Even number, your fiancée goes free. Odd number, the sweet little thing over there gets to walk." When the dice first hit the floor, it came up four. The tension in Hilary's shoulders started to ease, but the moment she lifted her gaze, she met Colin's face, drained white. He was staring at those dice as if they were some kind of menace that could destroy him. Off to the side, Tiffany had gone just as pale, looking like she was on the verge of tears. "Colin." She did not call him Mr. Paisley. She simply called his name, plain and direct. Hilary stood frozen, watching helplessly as Colin called out to stop the kidnapper who had been coming to cut her loose. "Hold on!" Colin said. "That roll doesn't count. My hand was shaking, and I wasn't ready when I threw it." The kidnapper let out a manic laugh. "Fine," he said. "You grovel for me, and I'll let you roll again." Colin went down on his knees and prostrated himself without a second of hesitation. Hilary's breath stopped in her chest. The man she knew, the one whose pride ran all the way down to the bone, was sprawled on the floor with his forehead pressed flat against the ground, and the sight of it hit her heart like a hammer. It came back to her then, how quite a few people at the company had dropped hints here and there to remind her to watch out for Tiffany, that female college schoolmate Colin had brought in. And Hilary had just smiled and brushed it off every time. She had been so confident, so sure that no one could ever come between her and Colin. After all, they had a bond that went ten whole years back, all the way from childhood! Yet there he was, groveling for another woman. And on top of that, he was about to let all the hurt fall on Hilary. When he cheated to make the dice come up odd, Colin let out a sigh of relief, but Hilary felt her heart sink deep into her chest. Colin lifted his head, flashing Tiffany a quick smile before he seemed to remember Hilary and turned to her with a look that was almost apologetic. "Hilary, I'm sorry," he said, "but Tiffany's dream is to be a jewelry designer. If they ruin her hands, she wouldn't be able to handle it." Hilary fought to hold back the wave of devastation threatening to consume her, her voice shaking as she managed to get the words out. "So what, I'm supposed to be able to handle it instead?" It came back to her then, how not so long ago Colin had held her hand and told her, "You have to play that piece, Dream Wedding, at our wedding." And now here he was, ready to sacrifice her hands for Tiffany. Colin paused for a moment, his voice dropping a little lower. "You've always been the strong one," he said. "When you get hurt, you never make a fuss about it. I knew you could take it." "I'm pregnant." Hilary cut in. The air went still for a second. Then Tiffany spoke up in a timid, hesitant voice. "Hilary, I saw you taking medicine this morning. You're not supposed to take pills when you're pregnant." Colin's face turned cold. "Hilary, have you really sunk so low that you would lie about being pregnant?" "I'm not..." Hilary wanted to explain that it was just lutein supplements, wanted to tell him about the morning sickness she had been having for the past two weeks, wanted to take his hand and let him feel the baby that had barely begun to form inside her. Colin had already turned away to shield Tiffany, though, and he would not even spare Hilary a single glance. The kidnapper whistled as he shoved Colin and Tiffany into the room next door. "Mr. Paisley, you're a cold one, aren't you? A woman who has been with you for ten years, and you throw her away like that. You stay right here and listen. I do not believe for a second that you can just sit there and feel nothing." But he had seriously underestimated just how cruel Colin could be. When the iron pliers came down and crushed her first finger, Hilary's scream nearly tore her throat raw. The kidnapper grabbed her by the hair and forced her to look toward the closed iron door. "See that? That man you have helped all these years, he doesn't even care about you!" Hilary's eyes were bloodshot as she kept them fixed on that door, which stayed silent and still. The kidnapper waved the iron pliers in front of her. "Time to continue the game, Ms. Sanchez." The second finger went, then the third, and the ones after that, until he had crushed every last bone in her ten fingers, and her screams had long since turned so raw and broken that they barely sounded human anymore, but still the door stayed shut. When the police finally burst in and let Colin out, he came rushing past with Tiffany cradled in his arms, calling out frantically, "Where's the ambulance? Where are the doctors? Someone take a look at Tiffany. She's passed out!" From start to finish, he did not spare a single glance at the bloodied figure lying unconscious in the corner. ***** Hilary had a dream. She dreamed of when she was little. Back then, she was the big sister at the orphanage, with five little kids trailing along behind her wherever she went. Colin was one of them. Ever since he was small, he would call her "Wifey" with the lisp from his missing teeth. Later, Hilary used everything she had to shield Colin and help him rise to become one of the new names in the business world. By day, she worked as his executive assistant, sharp and endlessly capable, handling everything that came her way. By night, he would take her with a kind of relentless hunger, never seeming to get enough. He told her he was happy to spend the rest of his life kneeling at her feet. But then he turned around with something vicious in his face and shoved Hilary straight into the deep end. ***** Hilary jolted awake with a scream and found herself in a hospital room. Colin was nowhere to be found. Instead, her assistant, Cathy Blackwood, sat beside her. Hilary's voice came out raw and hoarse as she forced the words out. "Where's Mr. Paisley?" Cathy hesitated, stumbling over herself to get the words out. "Mr. Paisley, he's... he's over with Ms. Hudson." Hilary went still. "What?" "Well, Mr. Paisley said that since you're hurt and can't do the work anymore, Ms. Hudson is going to take over as his executive assistant from now on." The wound in Hilary's heart, already torn wide open, had just taken another heavy blow straight to the center. Hilary closed her eyes and let the tears fall. When she opened them again after a long time, every bit of emotion that had been surging inside her was gone, replaced by nothing but emptiness. She told Cathy to fetch her phone and open a group chat called "Little Tails". "Kick Colin out for me," she said. Cathy did it. Then Hilary had her bring the phone closer to her lips and sent a short voice message. "Come pick me up and take me home."