Betrothed to the demon king

Chapter 2

The night was unusually quiet.

Not even the sound of crickets could be heard outside the small house. The darkness seemed heavier than usual, and a strange tension hung in the air.

Inside the room, his wife lay on the bed, sweating and struggling to breathe.

Her husband knelt beside her, panic written all over his face.

"Please, just hold on," he whispered.

She groaned in pain and gripped his arm.

"I can't do this anymore."

"You can. You have to," he said, trying to sound brave, even though his hands were trembling.

They had tried to get someone to come and help them, but nobody was willing to step outside that night. One person after another had refused.

They were afraid.

No one could explain why, but everyone in the village seemed to feel that something terrible was about to happen.

So, with no one else to help, her husband had no choice but to stay beside her and assist her himself.

Suddenly, she cried out.

"I can see the head of the baby!"

He stared in shock before quickly reaching for her hand.

"Hold my hand."

She held it tightly, squeezing with every bit of strength she had left.

"Push," he encouraged.

She pushed.

Once.

Twice.

Her cries filled the little room.

"Again! Just one more time!"

She gathered the last strength remaining in her body and pushed as hard as she could.

Then, suddenly, the baby slipped into his trembling hands.

For a moment, there was complete silence.

Then—

A loud cry pierced through the night.

The baby's cries echoed throughout the entire village.

Her husband froze.

His wife fell unconscious.

Outside, people began murmuring from inside their houses.

"What is that terrible child?"

"Who is that child that wants to bring a curse upon us?"

"Who is that cursed child?"

Nobody dared to come outside.

Inside the room, the man stared down at the tiny baby in his arms.

Then his eyes widened.

"A girl?"

His voice was filled with disbelief.

A girl.

But how?

Everything had pointed to a boy.

The symptoms of the pregnancy had suggested a boy. The ultrasound she had taken had also confirmed that she was carrying a boy.

So why was he now holding a baby girl?

He looked at the child again.

Then something suddenly came to his mind.

That strange woman.

The woman who had appeared during his wife's pregnancy and given her a pink shawl and a pink baby wrapper.

At the time, he had thought nothing of it.

But now, staring at the little girl in his arms, the memory felt different.

Why had that woman given her those things?

How had she known?

His heart began beating faster.

He looked at his unconscious wife, then back at the baby.

Everything had said it would be a boy.

The ultrasound.

The symptoms.

Everything.

Yet a girl had been born.

He slowly pulled the pink wrapper around the baby and stared at her frightened face.

Outside, the villagers continued whispering.

Inside, he remained silent.

For the first time, a terrifying thought entered his mind.

Perhaps this child was never meant to be born.

And perhaps her birth was only the beginning.