Behind The Bet

CHAPTER2

“Well, well, our poor little wife-to-be,” she sneered, waving her hand dramatically. I’m starving, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just help myself. Don’t worry, I’ll leave you enough to lick the spoon.”

Reyna said nothing. Her face was unreadable. Cold. Her stomach churned as Nadia headed straight to the kitchen and began devouring the pot like a woman who hadn’t eaten in weeks.

“Mmm… this is delicious! " No wonder he keeps you around, you do make a hell of a housewife.” She laughed and wiped sweat from her brow, then walked back to the dining area. “Now this is life,” she said, lounging in the chair, breathing hard. “We’re going to enjoy every damn coin of our man’s money together.”

Reyna sat still. Her hands were clenched under the table, her heart pounding so loud she could barely hear Nadia’s voice. But her face stayed calm. She waited. Quiet. Listening.

Then came the first groan.

Nadia’s smile faded.

“Hmm…” she muttered, pressing her palm to the side of her belly. Her face twisted in discomfort. “What… what’s going on?” Another sharp pain hit, and her body jerked. “Ah… my baby—Reyna… something’s wrong!”

Panic spread across her face. She tried to rise, gripping the dining table with one hand while the other clutched her

“I… I don’t feel good…” she gasped.

Then her knees gave way.

She collapsed onto the floor with a loud thud, writhing for a moment… then lay still.

Just then, the front door burst open.

David stepped in.

His eyes locked on the lifeless figure on the floor. Nadia.

And then they shifted to Reyna, who had shot up from her chair, frozen in place, eyes wide with terror.

Her mouth opened to speak but no sound came.

Her voice… was gone.

The silence between them was louder than any scream.

Nadia lay sprawled across the cold floor, a pool of blood forming beneath her, thick and crimson. Her limbs were limp, her face pale, and the silence in the room was deafening.

David rushed to her side, dropping to his knees as he shook her frantically.

“Nadia! Wake up! Nadia!”

No response.

His chest heaved, panic taking over. His hands were stained red as he checked for a pulse, but all he could feel was the slow, creeping dread.

Then his head snapped toward Reyna, eyes wild, jaw clenched.

“What have you done to her, you i***t!?” he roared.

Reyna stood frozen, hands raised in surrender, eyes wide with fear.

“I—I did nothing… David, I swear, I didn’t do anything,” she stammered, her voice cracking with panic.

But he wasn’t listening. Rage had already blinded him. Without another word, he yanked his phone from his pocket and called for emergency help.

“Get an ambulance here. Now. She’s pregnant and she’s bleeding out.”

Within minutes, medics arrived and wheeled Nadia away, her fate uncertain. David went with them, not sparing Reyna a single glance.

That night, the house was dead silent. Reyna sat alone in the dark, her fingers trembling around a glass of untouched water. Every tick of the clock echoed like a scream.

When David finally returned, it was well past midnight. His shirt was stained, his eyes red, his expression unreadable.

He walked past Reyna like she wasn’t even there.

She swallowed hard and whispered, “Is she…?”

He stopped. Cold.

“She’s alive. But she lost the baby.”

Then he added, without turning around.

“If I ever find out you had anything to do with this... you’ll regret stepping into my life.”

And with that, he disappeared into the room, slamming the door behind him.

Reyna was left standing there, her heart pounding louder than the silence.

David burst through the bedroom door like a storm, rage practically steaming from his skin. Reyna, seated quietly on the couch, barely had a chance to look up before a stinging slap knocked her head to the side. Her world spun for a moment as heat surged through her cheek, and tears welled up immediately, not just from the pain, but from the shock, the betrayal.

“You have the guts to poison Nadia?” David bellowed, his voice trembling with fury. She’s carrying my child! Are you so consumed by jealousy you’d stoop this low?”

Reyna clutched her face, breathing shallowly. “David…”

He didn’t let her speak. “If I hadn’t promised to marry you, it would’ve been her. Nadia got pregnant first, and I was ready to do the right thing. But no, you, with your pitiful love and needy tears, you’ve ruined everything.”

Her chest tightened like a vice was gripping her heart. But she wasn’t going to let him have the final word. Not this time.

“You never speak to me that way again,” she said, her voice low but filled with trembling rage. I gave up my entire life for you. My education. My dreams. My peace. And what do I get in return? Disrespect. Humiliation. A side chick in our home, and your baby in her belly.

David scoffed, his lips curling with disgust.

Reyna’s eyes brimmed with tears, but her voice grew stronger. “I loved you. More than I should have. And you… you used me. You lied to me. You broke me!”

That last word cracked from her like thunder and then, with no warning, David shoved her. She stumbled backward, her body slamming into the mirrored closet with a loud crash. Shards of glass scattered around her as she collapsed to the floor, clutching her side.

Her belly throbbed. A wave of pain gripped her.

“Ahhh… David…” she gasped, trying to breathe. “You’re hurting me…”

But David didn’t come to help. He stood above her, fists clenched, breathing heavily, eyes dark with rage and confusion.

Reyna looked up at him through blurred eyes, barely able to lift her hand. She wasn’t sure if she was crying from the pain or the heartbreak.

“You said you loved me,” she whispered.