A Hurt So Sweet Volume Four - Isabella Starling Page 0,27

life, but the baby's too. "Please, I'm begging you, get me the help I need."

"Shut up," she hisses. "Keep pushing."

She positions herself in front of my spread legs. Her eyes widen when she sees the state of me, but she doesn't address it. Instead, she just waits while I do the pushing.

I don't know how long it all lasts. I'm too disoriented, too exhausted, in too much pain to pay attention to anything but the contractions twisting my body and making me double over. And then I hear it, through the thick fog that has descended in front of my eyes. A baby crying.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god."

I look up. My lashes are heavy, tears are dripping down my face, and I'm feeling lightheaded. I see her then, Lily Anna, holding up a baby boy. He's a boy—definitely a boy—and he's beautiful. Perfect.

Turns out, I don't need that paternity test at all. The moment the baby enters the world, I know who his father is.

"Reign," I whisper. "My baby Reign."

I'd chosen the name weeks ago, but had kept it a secret from Lily Anna until now. I didn't want her prying or trying to make my decisions for me. I didn't want her trying to dissuade me from using the name. And now she turns to face me. Her motherly expression of love shifts instantly into cool rage.

"That's not his name," she hisses. "You don't get to name him."

"He's my son," I rasp, but she pays me no mind. I watch her cut the umbilical cord and wipe the baby gently. He's quiet now. Almost too quiet. He only cried once or twice. "Give him to me, Lily Anna. Give me my son."

"He's not yours." She begins dressing him up and I stare at them, feeling frozen. "But here's the deal, Pandora. I'm going to play a little game with you, a game of chance. You like those?"

I can't even answer. My mouth feels thick, and so does my head. I can barely whimper.

"See, my plan was this..." Lily Anna comes up close to me and smiles, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "I was going to kill you. Then go back with the baby and tell everyone it was mine. Lai was the father, of course. He forced himself on me, so I had to kill him. I escaped then, soon discovering I was pregnant. And then I gave birth early to my son. Little Dexter Junior."

"You're s-sick," I manage to get out through gritted teeth. She shrugs, smiling.

"I had to do what I had to do to get Dex back. He's not yours, Pandora. He never was." She covers me with a blanket and I watch blood bloom on the light pink fabric. "I slipped something in your drink tonight. You didn't even notice, did you?"

I stare at her, feeling more and more frozen.

"You had no idea," she grins triumphantly. "So stupid, P. Anyway. You seem to have reacted badly to the meds. You're bleeding like, a lot. Sad face."

She pouts while I cry out for help. But my voice is broken, gone. No one's going to hear me here.

"So I'm going to bid you adieu now, my darling," she smirks. "I'll take Dex Jr. with me. You try to live, won't you? But I'm pretty sure you won't. I'll tell Dexter you send your regards either way."

She blows me a kiss and picks herself up from the floor. I watch in horror as she loads up the baby into a car seat and disappears from the house. My eyelids grow heavier and heavier and I struggle focusing on anything. My conscience is slowly drifting away. A lone tear slides down my right cheek before the darkness takes me home.

11

Pandora

I know it's a dream, but that isn't helping. It only means there are no limitations this time, no consequences for their actions.

I'm tied down to a chair in the middle of an empty room. A lightbulb swings above me, casting shadows around the room. The boys surround me. Even though they're all wearing masks, I recognize them by their movements, the way they stand. They're all dressed in suits, and they're all wearing the same white mask that covers their eyes. They approach me.

"You've been a bad little toy, haven't you, Pandora?" one of them speaks up. I could try to figure out who's who, but I'm too tired. I close my eyes and lean my head back on the chair. There's