Chapter 3
While Cullen and Kim played in the cave, I led the others in werving nets to fish.
Our food was nearly gone. Even with strict rationing, we’d starve in two days,
After hours of work, we caught a pot of small fish.
To maximize nutrition, we bolled them–guts and all–into a stew.
It reeked, but everyone ate eagerly.
Then-
Cullen burst from the cave, carrying Kim in a panle,
“Help! We are bitten!”
Black blood oozed from twin puncture wounds on their fingers.
Cullen screamed at me, sweat pouring down his face,
“Elena! Do something”
eto
Oh my lord, he used to accuse me of being the “overbearing helikopter wife and now he wants me to save his ass?
1 feigned helplessness.
“That snake’s venomous like hell! Amputate now, or you’ll diel”
Kim wailed,
“No! If I lose a finger, how will I wear my wedding ring?!”
She snuggled deeper into Cullen’s arms at the word “wedding”
Furious, Cullen turned on me
“You knew we were coming to a deserted island! Where’s the medicine you should have prepared?!”
“Didn’t I tell you to
He choked on his words.
Because he was the one who’d chosen this island–to indulge Kim’s “love of adventure.”
When I said no, he threatened to divorce me
For the sake of our unborn child, I’d relented.
Before the trip, I’d packed first–aid kits for everyone.
But Cullen called me “alarınist‘
“Why bring this heavy junk?”
Kim added sweetly,
“Elena, are you hoping we get hurt?”
So Cullen ordered everyone to dump their lots to make room for Kim’s makeup stuff.
Only I kept mine.
Now, black veins crawled up their arms. They collapsed, trembling
As death loomed, I slowly pulled out the antivenGen.
“ph, it just came to my mind–I have this.”
“Bit so pity…”
“There’s only one dose.”
“Which of you I will live? How about you tell me
Death was a mercy for them.
I wanted them alive–to suffer what I’ve been put through
Cullen’s face twisted in fury as he rounded on me. “Why the hell didn’t you bring more antivenom?”
While he was busy berating me, Kim moved like a ghost–snatching the precious antivenom from his grasp
“Cullen, you’re stronger than me,” she cooed, batting her lashes. “You can survive without it. But me? I’ll die!“.
Cullen’s grip on the syringe tightened. “None of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t dragged ine into that goddamn cave! This is your
with
He wrestled the syringe back, poised to inject himself- until Kim played her trump card.
-you deal
Her voice dripped with honeyed poison. “Didn’t you promise to love me forever? To give me everything?” When Cullen hesitated, her hand flew to her stomach in a dramatic flourish. “I’m sorry, my baby… Mommy failed you. Couldn’t even give you a decent dad…”
Cullen froze. “Kim… you’re pregnant? After just one time?”
Kim’s laugh was razor–wire sharp. “What does it matter now? We’ll both be dead soon anyway.”
The change was instantaneous. Cullen jammed the needle into Kim’s arm–though not without stealing a third of the dose for himself.
As the antivenom took effect, his gaze flicked to me with glacial disdain. “Don’t worry, Elena. When the baby’s born, we’ll let you be the godmother.” His smile curdled. “After all, Kim’s bearing the child you couldn’t. You owe her.”
The old me from my previous life would’ve screamed and torn my hair out.
w? just watched without any feeling surging through my heart,
Kim immediately started whining “I need some nutrition after that accident!
Kim had snatched the pot of fish stew and chugged it greedily, only to gag and vomit it all out.
“Disgusting!” With a flick of her wrist, she dumped our only food left into the ocean.
Chapter 4
The meager meal we had worked so hard to obtain–gone in an instant.
Ten days of starvation, and our only food–wasted.
new one.
The group’s fury was palpable. If their rage could kill, Kim would have been ripped a new
But Cullen shielded her like a loyal guard dog.
With her fingers pointing at me arrogantly, Kimany told me to get something to eat for her.
“You! Go fetch me some sea cucumbers!”
Nearly everyone stood by my side.
“Can’t you see Elena’s Injuries? She’s covered in wounds!”
“If you want sea cucumbers, go eat diet!”
The night wind bit into my cuts, sending sharp jolts of pain through my body.
On our first night stranded, 1 had led everyone in building shelters from driftwood.
Kim, over the kutz, had “accidentally” tripped me off a cliff.
My body was a mess af gashes and bruises, some deep enough to scrape bune.
When I tried to tend to my wounds, Cullen had snatched the medical supplies away.
“Why did you throw yourself under Kimmy’s feet? It’s your own fault!”
“Kimmy’s face gets even a tiny scar, I swear you’ll pay for it!”
So all the medicine went to treating Kim’s slightly swollen cheek
Meanwhile, my untreated wounds festered
For a second, Cullen’s gaze flickered with something resembling guilt–but the moment he glanced at Kim’s belly, his expression hardened. “Kimmy’s pregnant. She needs proper nutrition.”
“Your injuries are nothing compared to the baby inside her!”
1 laughed coldly and refused
It was the first time I’d ever openly defied him
Humiliated, Cullen grabbed me by the collar and dragged me toward the deep water.
Saltwater seared my wounds. I screamed.
The more I screamed, the harder he grinned.
A chilling realization hit me–Cullen had been bitten by a venomous stake. Why was he so st
Before I could p process it, he yanked my hair and shoved my face underwater.
Then a rush of warmth between my legs.
reachd down, trembling
In the moonlight, the sight nearly made me piss out.
A tiny, lifeless form of the baby floated in the water
My baby!
Tor a heartbeat, Cullen Iruar
strong?
He scooped up the fetus and rushed to kim like it was some kind
Kimmy! Eat this! It’s the nutrition you need!TM
kind of offering
R
eRomance–Romance
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