Her Bitter Beginning

Episode 4

The Bitter Drink

The house had grown colder, despite the sweltering heat of the season.

Raquel had taken to sleeping with her daughter in the guest room, locking the door at night. Dave, too, stayed up late, pacing, his thoughts tangled in guilt, anger, and dread.

And Rita? Rita had grown eerily calm. Almost too calm.

One afternoon, the sun hung low, orange and gold slicing through the windows. Raquel had made fruit smoothies for her daughter, who was humming softly as she colored in the living room.

Rita watched them from the hallway.

Monologue – Rita (internal):

He chose her. Even now, when I carry his child, he looks at her like she’s the only one that matters. But what if she wasn’t here? What if their daughter... wasn’t in the picture? Would that baby in her belly still matter more than mine? Would he look at me then, with love in his eyes? Would he finally see me?

She retreated into the kitchen, slowly pulling a sachet from her pocket. Her friend had given it to her.

> “It’s harmless,” her friend had said, smiling. “Just enough to make her sick. He’ll panic. He’ll start paying attention. And if she’s gone... maybe the world will turn toward you.”

Rita tore the sachet open with trembling fingers and poured it into a smoothie cup. Then she placed it on the tray beside a clean one for the child.

Just then, she heard a ding.

Her phone. She’d left it in the kitchen.

Cursing softly, she turned and walked down the hallway to retrieve it.

That was when Raquel entered.

She was coming to refill her daughter's straw when she noticed two drinks — one for her daughter, and one... strange. She saw the torn sachet discarded in the bin. Her instincts screamed.

Carefully, she lifted both glasses, sniffed them. The faint chemical bitterness in one was obvious.

Eyes wide, heart pounding, Raquel quietly switched the drinks and placed them back.

When Rita returned moments later, everything looked untouched.

In the living room, Rita smiled and handed the “untainted” drink to the child. “Drink up, sweetheart. Auntie made it just for you.”

But the girl frowned. “No thank you. Mommy said I should finish my apple juice first.”

“Suit yourself.” Rita shrugged and took a long sip of the second drink — the one she thought was safe.

Two hours later, screaming shattered the stillness of the house.

Rita clutched her stomach, crumpled on the floor near the bathroom. Blood pooled around her as she wailed in agony.

Dave rushed to her side, phone in hand. “We need an ambulance—now!”

Raquel came slowly, cradling her daughter.

“What happened?” Dave asked her, panicked.

Rita looked up, wild-eyed. “She poisoned me! She poisoned me, Dave!”

Raquel blinked. “I switched the drinks.”

Dave froze.

“I saw her,” Raquel said slowly, her voice shaking. “She poured something into the smoothie and walked off to get her phone. I didn’t say anything right away because I wanted to be sure. So I changed them.”

Rita gasped, still in pain. “You killed my baby—!”

Raquel’s voice cracked. “You tried to kill my daughter.”

There was silence. Even the child looked stunned.

Then Raquel pulled out her phone. “I recorded everything.”

She pressed play. The video showed Rita pouring the powder, whispering under her breath about how “he’d finally see her.”

Dave stood back, his hands to his mouth. Rage and sorrow collided in his eyes.

The ambulance sirens began wailing in the distance.

Later, at the Hospital...

Dave sat with Raquel in the waiting room. His face was unreadable.

“She lost the baby,” the doctor confirmed. “The substance she ingested caused immediate trauma. She’s lucky to be alive.”

“And the baby?” Raquel whispered.

“Gone,” the doctor replied. “I'm sorry.”

Monologue – Dave (internal):

What have I done? One mistake, one night of weakness, and it’s cost us everything. A baby lost. A home shattered. A woman I once respected now behind a glass wall of madness. And Raquel… my wife. The strongest woman I know. What do I even say to her?

The police arrived not long after. They escorted Rita, now stabilized, into custody.

As they wheeled her past, her eyes met Raquel’s.

“You’re a monster,” Rita spat. “You stole everything from me.”

Raquel said nothing. She only held her daughter tighter.

Back at Home...

Dave sat beside Raquel in their quiet living room. Their daughter was asleep in her arms.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I never meant for it to go this far.”

Raquel looked at him, eyes wet but no longer soft.

“You broke something in her,” she said. “But you broke something in me, too.”

Dave swallowed hard. “What happens now?”

Raquel didn’t answer immediately.

Then she whispered, “We rebuild... if we can. But this time, for her sake—not for yours.”

Meanwhile, in a Detention Cell...

Rita stared at the ceiling, hands clutching her belly where life had once grown.

Monologue – Rita (internal):

Was it all my fault? Was I the villain? Or just the one who loved too much? No. She made me like this. She let me fall. They all turned their backs. And now... they’ll forget me. But I won’t forget. I’ll never forget.