The Venomous Snake

"Are you sure the kidney's a match? I've waited three years for this."

Samuel released my hand and pulled Meredith into his arms. He kissed her forehead. "Dr. Lawson ran the tests. It's a match. I'll give you the healthy body you deserve."

Meredith nodded. When she spoke again, her voice was soft but also a little hurt. "What about her womb? You promised I'd be the only one to bear your family's heir. Your housekeeper told me Rachel's been trying for a baby."

My heart skipped a beat. She even knew something that private?

Samuel's kisses stopped. "Do we have to remove it? I can make her use an IUD."

Meredith stiffened, rejecting the idea outright. Her voice cracked. "So, you really have fallen for her, Samuel. I thought I was the only one for you. If you won't take her womb out, I'm not doing the transplant! Let me die and spend your life with Rachel!"

Samuel sighed softly. "Stop it, Meredith. You're having the transplant. You need that kidney. I won't let anything happen to you." He paused, then added in a gentler tone, "Fine. You'll get what you want, babe."

My heart sank. My soul was hit by a sledgehammer.

Meredith spoke again. "What if Rachel finds out? Will it affect your claim as heir? George did appoint her as your wife."

Samuel soothed Meredith softly, but there was pride in his voice. "It's fine. She loves me way too much to find out. She believes everything I say.

"And the driver's a fugitive anyway. I've smuggled him overseas. If she asks, I'll tell her the rebar stabbed through her kidney and womb. She'll never know it was surgery."

An invisible knife tore through my heart. This whole accident was his idea. He would take away my kidney and womb just for Meredith.

Darkness crept into my mind, their voices fading with it. Just before everything went silent, I heard Samuel murmur gently, "It'll go smoothly, Meredith."

My blood ran cold.

…

My eyes slowly fluttered open, and the blinding light made me squint. The air still reeked of antiseptic. I could feel pain swimming out of the deepest parts of my body, especially my belly.

It felt like something had torn through it.

"You're awake!" Samuel's voice trembled with shock and relief. He clutched my hand, his fingers shaking.

His eyes were bloodshot, his face twisted with guilt and worry. "And I thought you were…" He trailed off and rested his forehead on my hand. His shoulders were shaking.

I could feel his tears drenching my skin. Though warm, it only froze my heart further.

"Rachel, I'm sorry. The rebar pierced your body, and the doctor… The doctor had to take a kidney and your womb away. I… I didn't know what else to do…"

He struggled to speak, every word sounding like it tore him apart. Then, he whispered a promise. "But I'll stay with you, even if we can't have children of our own. We can adopt."

His Mask

"I'll always treat you like a queen."

He sounded so sincere that anyone could have believed him. But to me, it felt like my heart was being crushed all over again. Every word, every trace of concern he showed me was part of the lie he'd built. I used to trust him with everything I had.

"Is something the matter, Rachel?" The mask of agony I wore made him panic. He stood up. "I'll get the doctor. Wait for me. I'll be back in a minute."

He rushed out of the ward, leaving his phone behind. Silence swallowed the room, broken only by the soft hum of the machines.

Then, his phone rang, slicing through the quiet.

Slowly, I reached for it and answered.

"What took you so long, Samuel?" Meredith's voice dripped with sweetness. "Don't forget to talk to Rachel about adopting Riley. She can't have children anymore anyway.

"You don't need to keep taking those pills. And bring Riley to her once she recovers. She'll raise our child, I'm sure."

My hand tightened around the phone until my knuckles turned white. So that was why I never had a child. I'd worried about it for years, and Samuel always brushed it off. "It's not the right time," he would say. "Just wait."

Tears trickled down my cheek and drenched the pillow.

Meredith was still talking, and everything she said ripped deeper into me.

"Why are you so quiet, Samuel? Come over tonight. It's boring being alone in the ward. Play with me." Her voice was soft and needy, the kind that could melt anyone.

I grunted quietly, but just enough for her to hear. Meredith suspected nothing, so she kept on talking.

"You promised we'd go to see the aurora once I get better. We can go on vacation once you hand Riley over to Rachel."

That was it. With a shaking finger, I hung up. The screen went dark, and silence rushed back in.

Moments later, the door burst open. Samuel hurried in with the doctor, worry written all over his face. "The doctor's here. Just hold on, Rachel." He clasped my hand tightly.

My heart turned colder by the second. I watched him quietly, watched the performance unfold.

He picked me up the day I was cleared, and he was nothing short of caring the whole way.

…

The sounds of a child's laughter came from the living room.

I stood at the entrance, my eyes resting on the boy playing with his toys on the rug. He was about three, fair-skinned, and shared some resemblance with Samuel.

He looked like the kid version of the man.

Samuel stepped beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. Softly, he said, "This is the boy I told you about. Riley. He's a good kid. He's ours now."

My chest tightened, but my face stayed calm. "He looks like you. You don't see that kind of resemblance often. Let's keep him."

Samuel let out a breath of relief, and his smile softened.

Adopted

"You're the best, Rachel."

The boy looked at me with innocent curiosity. I smiled back, but my heart felt frozen.

Samuel held a grand welcoming party that night. He said it was to celebrate my coming home safely.

"Samuel's a good husband. You're so lucky, Rachel."

"Yeah. He stayed with you even through all that. Not all men could do that."

The guests lavished praise on me, but I was numb. Still, I smiled at them while my heart was getting sliced to pieces.

Samuel's parents were there too, gazing at Riley with affection and calling him their precious grandson.

Of course, they knew the truth.

Charlotte, Samuel's mother, sneered at me. "Some women are just barren. Years go by, and still no child. Completely useless."

Samuel's expression darkened. "Stop it, Mom. It's not her fault. It's mine."

I clenched the hem of my dress, and humiliation filled my heart. I wanted to snap and tell them the truth, but I swallowed my words.

One little rant couldn't possibly tell them the enormity of my pain and suffering.

Every smile in that room felt fake, thin masks hiding rot beneath.

The air grew suffocating. I needed to breathe.

Just as I reached the stairs, Meredith followed me.

She wore an elegant gown, lips curled in a venomous smile, eyes glittering with malice.

"Just because everyone's stroking your ego doesn't mean you've won. Samuel wouldn't have married you if George hadn't threatened him with the inheritance. You're a replacement, and a defective one at that. You have no right to be his partner!"

I met her gaze coldly and refused to answer.

Meredith's voice sharpened. "Let's see who he loves more."

She grabbed my wrist and yanked me ahead. Caught off guard, I fell forward, while she fell backward.

Meredith let out a scream and fell down the stairs.

I grabbed the banister as tightly as I could and barely caught my bearings. Even so, my knees hit the steps.

"Meredith!" Samuel's voice thundered behind me. His footsteps rushed past. He shoved me aside and ran straight to her. Lifting her into his arms, he asked frantically, "Are you hurt? I'm taking you to the hospital!"

I leaned against the banister, pain twisting through my abdomen. The wounds from surgery still hadn't healed.

Samuel didn't even look at me as he went off in a hurry.

I forced myself upright and staggered back upstairs. Quietly, I packed a small bag. I was leaving this house built on lies.

Right after I tossed my luggage into the trunk, something hard rammed into my lower back.

…

Two hours later, Samuel received a call from the police.

"Are you the owner of the vehicle with the license plate STO 123? A gas tanker collided with it on Goodrich Avenue and exploded. We found a body inside. We need you to identify it."

All the color drained from Samuel's face. His phone slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.