Chapter 2 Terminate the pregnancy

SELENA

I fell hard against the cold marble floor, and my body shook with loud sobs as the chill of the ground seeped into my bones. Each breath I took felt heavy and hard, as if my sadness made the air thicker. The shadows in the corners of the room seemed to stretch out longer and darker, reflecting the crushing weight pressing down on my chest.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps breaking the quiet.

With great effort, I lifted my tear-soaked face, my heart racing with a tiny spark of hope that it could be Kingsley coming to find me. But it wasn't. It was her.

Kathryn.

She stood in the doorway, wearing that same smug smile she had the day everything went wrong. She held herself tall and proud, just like a queen watching over her kingdom. Seeing her made something twist deeply inside me, changing my sadness into anger.

My thoughts betrayed me, pulling me back to the day when Kingsley walked in and found me in bed with Silas. The pain I saw on his face filled me with regret. He looked heartbroken, betrayed, and so angry. Behind him stood Kathryn, with her arms crossed. Her face was calm and unreadable, but I could see a hint of satisfaction in her eyes at that moment.

I had been waiting for her to stand up for me, to say that I was with her before everything went wrong. But she didn't say a single word to help me.

"Why are you here?" I croaked, trying hard to keep my voice steady.

She tilted her head, looking at me as if she found the situation funny. Without warning, she grabbed my arm and pulled me up roughly. Her touch was cold and strong-nothing like the kind friend I once knew.

"You should really do better, Selena. The situation isn't looking like it's going in your favour, is it?" she mocked, her voice dripping with scorn.

I yanked my arm away, feeling a surge of rage boil beneath my skin. Ever since that horrible day, I had tried to reach Kathryn countless times. I called her, sent her messages, and even showed up at her door, hoping she would speak to me. But she ignored everything, leaving me feeling abandoned and alone. And now, here she was, standing in front of me, her words filled with venom.

"Hear me out, Kathryn," I pleaded, my voice shaky. "That day, you and I were together before everything went wrong. You know that I wouldn't have ended up in that bed willingly. If you had just spoken up, if you had told Kingsley the truth-"

She cut me off with an eye roll, clearly uninterested in my desperate attempt to reason with her.

"I really need your help," I continued, my heart racing. "Kingsley has rejected me. He told me I can only come back if I give up the baby. But Kathryn... it's his child. I swear it. I've never been with Silas like that. You know me. You know I wouldn't lie."

For a brief moment, I saw her expression change. It flickered, but there was no guilt, no regret in her eyes. Instead, there was something else-perhaps amusement?

Then she laughed, a short, cruel sound that echoed off the marble walls.

Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, she turned her back to me and signaled with a flick of her hand. Moments later, four security guards entered the room. My stomach twisted in apprehension. What did she need guards for?

"What is this?" I demanded, though my voice came out shaky and small, betraying my fear.

Kathryn turned her head slightly. "Kingsley has given an order," she said flatly. "To save face. Your affair-and the pregnancy-it's too much for him. He can't risk the scandal."

The men moved closer, their grips like iron around my arms. I struggled against them, my heart racing with panic and terror.

"He wants to terminate the pregnancy," she said calmly. "I volunteered to oversee it personally. To make sure it's... clean."

"No-Kathryn, no!" I shouted, panic taking over as they dragged me from the room.

She didn't flinch.

They took me to a private medical suite-bright lights and sterile white walls. I kicked and screamed, but they forced me onto a bed and strapped my limbs down. The leather restraints bit into my skin, but I didn't stop fighting.

"Kathryn, don't do this," I sobbed. "You know I didn't cheat on him."

She stepped into the room, her gaze sweeping over me with an eerie calmness. "You keep saying that, Selena. But perception is reality. And soon, I'll be Kingsley's fiancée. That's the truth you'll have to live with."

My breath caught. "You... what?"

She leaned closer, voice low and icy. "You can clear your name, sure. But only if you disappear. Permanently."

Tears welled in my eyes. "How could you do this to me? I trusted you! You're my best friend"

"Trust is for the weak," she whispered, "You call yourself my best friend but you keep taking what I want. I wanted the job as his secretary but you took it. I've always had eyes for Kingsley but you took him too. The only way I can stop living in your shadow is if you're gone." She added then signaled the doctors.

They came in like ghosts, silent and efficient. One of them shoved a cloth into my mouth, muffling my screams.

"Secure her," Kathryn said flatly.

I couldn't breathe through the panic. They held my limbs down harder, the straps now unbearably tight. I watched through tear-blurred vision as a syringe was prepared-cold, gleaming, final.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way," Kathryn murmured as she turned to leave.

I tried to call out to her, my voice nothing but muffled agony behind the gag. But she never looked back.

As the needle neared my abdomen and the doctors leaned in, I thrashed with everything I had left. But no one heard my silent screams.

Only the cold, sterile hum of betrayal remained.