As soon as I finished speaking, I saw my mother-in-law return from the kitchen, holding a pot of boiling chicken soup. Her smile was cruel, the malice in her eyes unmistakable, as she poured the entire pot onto my stomach. My body tensed in agony as I screamed, unable to stop the intense pain that seared through me.
"I'll burn you, you adulterous woman!" she spat, her eyes filled with venom.
The scorching heat made me writhe uncontrollably; my body ached as I struggled. Instinctively, as a mother, I tried to protect my belly, my hands trembling in desperation. But Maximilian, now completely consumed by fury, cursed loudly, holding me down with his brutal grip.
"Whore, I’ll make you watch as the child in your belly dies right in front of you!" he shouted. "You’ll be powerless to stop me."
"You dare go out and get pregnant by another man, bringing that bastard home to deceive me?" His words were venomous, each one a dagger aimed at my heart.
"You slut, bitch!" he roared. "Your whole family deserves to die!"
Just the day before, Maximilian had been holding me, promising to love me and the child with his life. But in the span of one night, he had transformed into a monster, torturing me with the cruelest words and actions.
Weak, unable to speak clearly, I begged through the pain, "I... I can't take it anymore; please, take me to the hospital."
The agony in my stomach felt like every bone, every piece of flesh in my body was screaming in pain. The scalding soup burned my skin, leaving me raw and bright red.
Then, without a moment’s hesitation, my mother-in-law slammed the pot onto my forehead.
"I’ll kill you, you slut!" she screamed. "Tell me, whose bastard is in your belly?"
"You ruined everything for our family," she spat. "Do you know that all of our relatives and friends know about this at the banquet now?"
I was too weak to respond, too numb to move. The only thing I could feel was the overwhelming pain that consumed every inch of my body.
I thought, perhaps, they would stop. But Maximilian, now nothing but a raging beast, ignored my feeble pleas and became even more vicious.
With a forceful tug, he dragged me into the bathroom, the cold winter air biting at my skin. He turned on the freezing shower and the icy water hit my body, sending shockwaves of pain through me.
The cold brought me back to consciousness, but the intense pain in my stomach sent me into darkness again. Blood mixed with the cold water, staining the bathroom floor.
I tried, with every last ounce of strength, to protect my belly with one hand while crawling on the cold, unforgiving floor with the other.
When I finally crawled out of the bathroom, they yanked me back in.
"Whore, trying to run away?" Maximilian screamed.
"You know how much I’ve always wanted a child," he spat. "Why did you go out and cheat with other men, get pregnant with their bastard and deceive me?"
I trembled in fear, shaking my head desperately. "I... I didn’t. Please stop, please."
"I feel like the baby is going to die," I cried, my voice barely a whisper.
"Please take me to the hospital."
No part of my body wasn’t in pain; every inch of me was screaming for mercy.
But despite my desperate pleas, neither Maximilian nor my mother-in-law showed an ounce of compassion.
"Today, I want the bastard in your belly to die in front of you," Maximilian’s voice was cold, devoid of any emotion.
After he had learned of his infertility, all the love and tenderness he once had for me vanished, replaced by a heart as cold as ice.
My mother-in-law knelt, her grip tightening around my throat. No matter how much I fought, how much I screamed, she glared at me with eyes full of hatred, her voice dripping with venom.
"You think my family will raise the bastard in your belly?" she spat.
"Don’t even think about it."
At that moment, the pain in my abdomen was unbearable. It felt like everything inside me was being torn apart like the baby was about to fall from my very core.
