Whitney's POV

As a descendant of the Eirian clan, I was born with a rare ability—through intimacy, I could heal others.

That was how I ended up married to David Elledge, a wealthy heir from a powerful family in Washington, D.C., who’d been confined to a wheelchair.

For months, I held him close, day and night, using my gift to cure his illness. Eventually, I gave birth to three eggs—yes, actual eggs. Half a year later, David stood tall once again, healthy and full of life.

But everything fell apart over a single warning I gave to his adopted sister. “Be careful not to break the eggs.”

That night, David told me he was cutting ties with her. He even legally stripped off his surname in hers and swore never to let her return to their family.

He did all of those with no hesitation and even sent me car after car of apology gifts, like he truly meant it.

But one month later, I was invited to a grand family party at their estate.

And that night’s menu was our three children.

David sat at the head of the table with his adopted sister, Andrea Elledge, nestled in his arms. He lit a cigarette and gave a cold laugh as servants rolled out a tray filled with one hundred eggs.

“If you treasure those three little eggs so much,” he said, his voice casual, “why don’t we play a game? Guess which ones are yours. Every time you get it wrong, the kitchen will take one and cook it up for Andrea for extra nourishment.”

——

The event hall was filled with his family members and high-society elites, all eager to watch the show.

“David’s really out for blood tonight,” someone whispered. “How’s she supposed to pick out three eggs by sight? They all look the same!”

“Well, she did make his precious little girl cry over a stupid egg. You see the girl in his arms? That’s the real Mrs. Elledge,” said the other.

“I heard she used to be his adopted sister. But she went off to a monastery to pray for his recovery and returned to secular life. However, because of that egg drama, she got kicked out of the family registry. But look at her now. She can marry David fair and square. What a twist!” scoffed the other.

“If Whitney finds out, she’s going to lose her mind!” the other laughed hard.

Disdainful eyes bore into me from every direction, like thousands of knives slicing across the exposed skin above my gown.

I looked toward the head of the table.

David was gently brushing dust off Andrea’s rosary, holding her like she was made of glass.

“David,” I asked, my voice trembling, “why are you doing this?”

“Oh right,” he said, smirking, “if these eggs really are serpent eggs like you claim, then everyone here should have a taste, don’t you think?”

“And as for who gets to try them first," he trailed off, "that’s up to my little sister. She’ll pick based on whoever she likes best.”

A cold, bitter dread seeped into my bones. I couldn’t stop shaking.

Only then did David finally look at me and give a satisfied smile.

“Whitney, you said you’re a descendant of Eirian, that you gave birth to these three precious eggs to save me. That means you should know them better than anyone.”

Seeing my expression, he mocked, “Don’t tell me… you can’t even recognize your own children? We wouldn’t want our esteemed guests laughing at our family, would we?”

The moment he said that, voices rang out from all corners of the room.

“She claims she can shift into a serpent and lay eggs—no way she can’t tell which are hers!”

“Honestly, even if she’s from the Eirian clan, who the hell lays eggs? She probably made the whole thing up to secure her spot in the family. Well, there's always karma.”

“Anyway, if they crack one open and it’s just a regular chicken egg, what then? Hahaha…”

“Either way, I want to have a taste. But for that to happen, I need to get close to Mrs. Elledge.”

As such, the guests swarmed around Andrea, each one fawning over her, calling her “Mrs. Elledge” like she already had the title.

Meanwhile, I stood at the edge of the crowd, shaking, as I said, “David, I swear I didn’t lie to you! These are our children! Just two weeks more… no, maybe even less—and they’ll hatch…”

Whitney's POV

But David cut me off coldly.

“Oh,” he said with a chilling smile. “Then you’d better choose the right eggs. I’d hate to crack one open and find some weird organs or lumps of flesh inside.”

He glanced down at the girl in his arms and continued, “Besides, Andrea just returned to secular life. She’s not used to eating raw embryos.”

Suddenly, I doubled over and violently threw up, the pain in my stomach twisting like a knife. I could barely breathe.

He had no idea what I’d done for him.

Night after night, I’d put him into a deep sleep, dragging my sore, exhausted body through the motions just to help him heal. I endured it all, forcing myself to accept him completely, hoping it would strengthen the effect of my gift.

I even forgot to take precautions, so I ended up pregnant with three children.

To hatch them properly, I gave up my ability to shift into my serpent form. Now, I couldn’t even prove who I really was.

“Hey! Whitney! The game’s starting! Where do you think you’re going?!”

I snapped. I tore away from the crowd like a madwoman and ran to the open courtyard. Kneeling on the cold ground, I tried to form a spiritual link with the Eirian clan.

I begged for someone from my bloodline to sense where I was. To come and save my children. They were innocent. They didn’t deserve this.

“There she is! Get her!”

“Don’t let that fraud escape!”

Before I could even whisper a spell, they tackled me to the ground.

Without my scales to protect me, my head, my most vulnerable spot, was slammed against the rough pavement over and over, leaving streaks of blood. I writhed in pain.

“Enough. Don’t kill her for real,” someone muttered.

David tossed a bag of painkillers at me like it meant something.

Then the guests around him howled with laughter.

“Wow, look at her panic. What, was she about to run because her lies are catching up to her?”

“Her precious little eggs are still on the table! Guess they weren’t so precious after all!”

“She always acted like no one could even touch those eggs, and now she just leaves them? What a joke!”

I struggled to lift my head.

A massive screen now showed a live stream of the party. Over 200,000 people were watching online, waiting for the drama to unfold.

Then David spoke, his voice low and demonic, like something straight out of hell.

“Whitney, finish this game with my sister, and I’ll let you leave with whatever eggs remain. Deal?”

I had no way out. Nowhere to run.

I swallowed the blood in my mouth. “Fine. Let’s start.”

All one hundred eggs were lined up neatly along a wall of foam.

The Elledges' butler stepped forward and laid out the rules. “Miss Miller, please choose a number. If you identify an egg correctly, it will be safely returned to you. But if you guess wrong, today’s first dish will be steamed.”

A ripple of conversation spread through the guests.

“Look at her face—pale as a ghost. What if those eggs really have babies inside?”

“What? Steamed human babies? Damn, David isn’t holding back.”

“You don’t get it. Andrea’s a vegetarian since she came back from the monastery. David remembered every detail of her diet. Now that’s love.”

Across the room, Andrea was resting against David’s chest, gently stroking the rosary in her hand.

Just then, the butler reminded me, “Miss Miller, you have thirty seconds to make your selection.”

I locked eyes on the wall of eggs, desperately trying to find the ones that belonged to me.

Eirian clan children are born with a red tint in their hair, and sometimes, that same coloring appears on the shell.

But…

The lights in the room kept changing color, almost like someone had done it on purpose. I couldn’t distinguish anything with just my eyes.

“Miss Miller, ten seconds left.”

“Wait… wait just a moment…”

“Five seconds. If no number is selected, it counts as a failed round.”

“Stop! I choose number 66!”

It was a gamble. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Whitney's POV

I remembered David’s birthday—June 6th. So, he’d always had a thing for the number 66.

As soon as I called out the number, murmurs rippled through the crowd.

“She picked so fast. Did she actually figure it out?”

“Hard to say. Could just be bluffing.”

“Look at David and his wife’s faces. She obviously guessed wrong. Get ready for steamed snake egg, this is too funny!”

Sure enough, David chuckled lazily. He brushed Andrea’s hair back from her ear and whispered something that made her giggle and squirm away, begging him to stop.

Then he glanced sideways at the butler. “Well? What are you standing there for? Smash it.”

Paralyzed, I watched as the butler stepped forward and took an egg off the foam wall. He held it up for everyone to see and announced, “Since Miss Miller guessed incorrectly, we’ll now crack open her first egg. Everyone, watch closely!”

“No! Don’t touch her!” I screamed, my voice shrill and broken like a skinned serpent. “Please… I’m begging you…”

That egg had faint reddish speckles on the back. It was the last one I’d laid. She hadn’t even developed a human shape yet. Barely two weeks old… how could she survive this?

And then, before I could react, the egg shattered in the air, smashed by the butler's throw. Red fluid exploded everywhere.

Gasps and groans filled the room. Some people turned away, covering their noses.

Even David looked stunned for a second, then he laughed.

“Whitney, didn’t you say these were your children?” he said mockingly.

“Then where’s the child? All I see is some sticky, stinking mess.”

My lips turned ghostly pale, my body shaking with pain that mirrored the shattered remains of my baby.

Servants quickly stepped in to clean up what was left, taking the remaining liquid to the kitchen to be steamed, just as they’d said.

Then the butler turned to me again and said, “Time for the second round, Miss Miller. Please choose from the remaining ninety-eight eggs.”

Then he faced the crowd and added, “Oh, and this time, all guests are invited to join in. If anyone guesses correctly, the egg will be handed over to them, along with the right to decide how to cook it.”

The moment he finished speaking, hands shot up all around the room.

“I bet it’s number 97!”

“No way, number 2’s bigger than the rest. Definitely that one.”

“I think it’s 30—just look at the way it’s shaped…”

Then a soft, gentle voice rang out above the noise.

“Can I join too? I’d love to play along.”

It was Andrea. She raised her hand with a sweet smile. “I touched Whitney’s egg before, just out of curiosity, which made her really upset. That was my fault. So, I want to win this round and give the egg back to her myself.”

“Consider it an apology,” she added, looking earnestly at me.

The room erupted in applause.

“Miss Elledge really has such a kind heart. I mean, they’re just a few eggs for a game, but she’s taking it so seriously.”

“Of course she is. If she weren’t so compassionate, would she have shaved her head and gone to live in a shrine for a year just to pray for David’s recovery?”

“Doctors couldn’t help him, but she did. It’s incredible. She deserves all our respect.”

Under all their admiring stares, Andrea took my hand and said, “Whitney, I know you made up the whole ‘laying eggs’ thing just to stay close to my brother. This game… it’s really our way of helping you let go of your bitterness. You can stop now. Let yourself go—”

I slapped the rosary right out of her hand.

That single motion broke whatever calm still lingered in the room.

David stood up immediately and stormed over, pulling Andrea protectively into his arms.

“She was trying to help you out of kindness,” he growled. “Don’t mistake our patience for permission to act like a monster.”