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Chapter 4

Penulis: Perfect Timing
Sean shoved me to the ground, and a hot river of blood spilled beneath me.

Julie's face went white with worry; she hauled me upright. But a jag of pain ripped through my belly.

"Ah—! It hurts!"

At my cry, both Sean and Ashley turned toward us. They fumbled, panic-struck, and bundled me into the operating room.

I stared at Ashley, hatred burning in my eyes. "If I die, you'll be the murderer. Even as a ghost, I'll continue haunting you."

Sean, defending her as if she were the injured party, spat, "You stole everything from Ashley and show no remorse. I don't care whose baby this is anymore. When you come out of surgery, we're getting a divorce."

His words hollowed me out; I closed my eyes and felt the color drain from my world.

The operation lasted an hour. For that entire hour, the baby's voice filled my head.

This time, he spoke to me alone.

"Tee-hee-hee, this is all the love your husband has for you!

"You wicked woman! This is what you get for trying to abort me. You'll never get rid of me!

"When you leave the hospital, I'll make your parents walk away from you too. I'll make sure you become a woman no one wants."

What a venomous child. He was my son by blood, yet he schemed to ruin me, as if I had committed some unforgivable crime.

Before I slipped into unconsciousness, I had to ask him why he was being so cruel. He did not answer.

When the anesthesia finally faded, a doctor handed me a glass of water and said, "The baby is very strong. He's out of immediate danger, but you'll need to stay under observation for a while."

Staring at that clear cup of water, a sudden clarity washed over me.

At last, I understood what the child's voice had been about.

The days that followed were surprisingly calm. The baby would taunt me now and then, as if daring me to abort him; he wanted me to act on my anger.

But I refused to play his game. I let him grow, healthy and vigorous, in my womb.

When Sean slid a divorce agreement across the table, I didn't beg or plead. I signed my name.

A few days after the divorce, Sean proposed to Ashley.

On the day they set the wedding date, Ashley called me.

"Natalie, I told Sean everything. Your baby isn't his. Out of pity for you, I faked the report.

"For Sean's reputation, I advise you to terminate the pregnancy. If you don't, we'll expose your infidelity in marriage and turn you into a laughingstock."

She threatened me in a syrupy voice. I smiled and pretended to accept. Behind her back, I ate every tonic, every nourishing supplement I could find, fattening the child in my belly until he was plump and strong.

When the due date neared and Ashley was mid-wedding preparations, my video call came in.

"Hi, congratulations on your marriage. Wishing you all the happiness in the world!"

She saw my swollen belly on the screen and her face drained of color. In less than fifteen minutes, she abandoned the groom holding the wedding ring and stormed into my hospital room. She sank to her knees in front of me.

"Natalie! Why haven't you aborted your baby? We're running out of time. Please—please, you must abort him! If you agree to have him terminated, I'll give Sean back to you!"
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  • Devil in the Womb   Chapter 9

    When Sean finally spotted the clue, I spilled the truth."Ashley ended up like this because she's missing a soul fragment—one of the parts of a person's spirit," I said. "And that missing soul fragment was inside our son before he was born."She schemed to stop me from giving birth because if I delivered him safely, whatever piece of her was lodged in my baby would be absorbed completely. Once she'd lost that soul fragment, she'd be nothing but an empty shell—an idiot.""You're making this up," Sean said, disbelief written on his face."You think this whole thing isn't supernatural?" I smiled, bitter. "Why didn't it seem supernatural to you back then, when you heard that so-called 'voice'?""Ashley put a piece of her into my unborn child to manufacture those voices and drive a wedge between us. Every whisper you heard—the accusations, the lies—were spoken by her."If it weren't for that cup of water, I might never have realized she used occult means. The first time I heard the

  • Devil in the Womb   Chapter 8

    I took my son into my arms.He was fast asleep, his tiny chest rising and falling with the rhythm of dreams. Even so, I could see traces of both Sean and me in his face.And just like that, the hateful inner voice vanished.As I'd suspected, once the baby was born safely, those strange voices disappeared entirely.Outside the ward, Julie stood frozen, watching us through the glass. She looked pale and exhausted — as if she hadn't slept in days.I turned to the nurse. "How long was I unconscious?""Two days," she replied.I looked back at Julie's dark, shadowed eyes and sighed. She must have been on edge this whole time.In the end, I couldn't bring myself to be cruel. I beckoned her over. "Julie, come here."She bit her lip and whispered, "Mom, I'm embarrassed to see you."Cradling my newborn, I let out a weary sigh."You're my daughter. You made a mistake, yes — but it's not yours alone to bear. As your mother, I'm responsible too. Still, the bond between us can never be se

  • Devil in the Womb   Chapter 7

    So that was it.I felt every drop of blood in my body freeze solid in that instant.Since the divorce, Julie had stayed by my side day and night in the hospital. Even under my sternest warnings, the baby never dared speak recklessly in front of her. But I had overlooked one fatal truth: when I was asleep, he could still whisper through that mysterious voice in her mind, twisting her thoughts, poisoning our bond.I had been careless.Now, faced with the fruit knife in my daughter's trembling hands and the spreading pool of blood beneath me, all I could do was laugh bitterly."Why are you all the same?" I rasped. "Your father heard that voice and decided I'd cheated on him. He refused to believe even a DNA test! And now you—you hear a few baseless words and think you can kill your own mother?"My desperate tone seemed to shake her. Her eyes flickered with doubt."But… he's your baby. Why would he slander you?"Exactly. That was the cruel brilliance of it. Because he was my chil

  • Devil in the Womb   Chapter 6

    Unfortunately for Ashley, she'd overestimated Sean's place in my heart.After he abandoned the sixteen years we'd built because of that so-called voice, he meant nothing to me. Watching the tenderness return to his eyes made me sick."Ugh…The baby voice wasn't wrong about one thing. You really are stupid." I spat. "You believed the baby's whispers, accused me of cheating, then drove me out with nothing. Why on earth would you think I still love you?"When he realized I, too, could hear the voice, his pupils widened in shock. "You heard it too?"I didn't answer. I only sneered. "If you refuse to accept the baby in my belly, then he has nothing to do with you."I had no desire to look at them any longer. I told our daughter to throw them out. But Ashley lunged forward instead, and somehow a fruit knife appeared in her hand."If you won't agree, I'll kill you and the baby!" she screamed.I'd expected a desperate move like this; I slipped aside in a single, practiced motion. Sean an

  • Devil in the Womb   Chapter 5

    I pressed my hand against my rounded belly and smiled."Are you joking? I'm about to give birth. How could I possibly abort him now? How would people think of me?" I said.Her mouth trembled as she bit her lip, scrambling for excuses on my behalf."It's fine. I'll perform the operation myself. I won't tell anyone. You're always annoyed by the weird things he says, aren't you? If you get rid of him, I promise you'll never hear those words again."So she knew everything—knew exactly how my baby's 'voice' worked.Watching her frantic face, I felt a dark satisfaction rise in me."Maybe I was annoyed before," I admitted. "But now I don't have anyone left. I find it…comforting, actually, to have someone around to talk to."No sooner had the words left me than hurried footsteps sounded in the corridor.My ex-husband had arrived.The moment Sean saw Ashley kneeling before me, he assumed I'd bullied her. He snatched her up and launched into a tirade."Natalie! I can't believe how vici

  • Devil in the Womb   Chapter 4

    Sean shoved me to the ground, and a hot river of blood spilled beneath me.Julie's face went white with worry; she hauled me upright. But a jag of pain ripped through my belly."Ah—! It hurts!"At my cry, both Sean and Ashley turned toward us. They fumbled, panic-struck, and bundled me into the operating room.I stared at Ashley, hatred burning in my eyes. "If I die, you'll be the murderer. Even as a ghost, I'll continue haunting you."Sean, defending her as if she were the injured party, spat, "You stole everything from Ashley and show no remorse. I don't care whose baby this is anymore. When you come out of surgery, we're getting a divorce."His words hollowed me out; I closed my eyes and felt the color drain from my world.The operation lasted an hour. For that entire hour, the baby's voice filled my head.This time, he spoke to me alone."Tee-hee-hee, this is all the love your husband has for you!"You wicked woman! This is what you get for trying to abort me. You'll neve

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