The Borrowed Womb

The next day at work, Jayde Shepard hurried straight over to me the moment I walked in, her eyes flicking repeatedly toward my neck."Colette, why aren’t you wearing the charm I gave you?"I answered casually, "I took it off to shower and forgot to put it back on."To my surprise, Jayde instantly grew alert. "How could you forget something like that? I had that charm specially blessed for you. It helps the baby develop. Look at you, you’ve been looking better and better lately, and your belly’s already so big. That just proves the charm is working. Why wouldn’t you wear it?"Seeing how strongly she reacted, I let out a quiet, inward sneer. 'You’re worried you can’t keep using me to carry it anymore, aren’t you?'Keeping my face calm, I said, "If the charm’s really that good, then why hasn’t your belly changed at all? It’s still completely flat."As I spoke, I reached out toward her stomach.Jayde jerked back like she’d been shocked, immediately retreating a step. She pulled out

As soon as I got home, I quickly messaged @HollowBranch. They replied almost immediately. "Did your friend give you anything else today?" "No," I typed back. "She didn’t give me anything." "Did she touch you at all?" I thought about it carefully. The only thing she’d touched was the fake charm. I explained everything, and @HollowBranch responded right away. "Check the charm. See if there’s anything stuck to it." I picked it up and examined it closely. After a while, I finally noticed a faint red mark. "That’s it," @HollowBranch said. "She smeared blood infused with a spell onto it. She must’ve realized it was fake, so she came up with another way." My fists clenched. I hadn’t expected her to be this vicious. She wouldn’t even give me a single day of peace. She’d already taken too much from me. If this kept going, I’d have nothing left. I asked @HollowBranch for help again. After a long pause, they finally replied, "I do have a way, but I don’t know if you can handle i

Seeing the scene, both Oscar and Sam were visibly shaken.Oscar stepped forward and said gently, "Jayde, are you okay?"Upon seeing us, her husband, Liam Baker, who had been at her side, spun around. He strode over and grabbed Oscar by the collar."You’re her boss? You knew she was pregnant, so why did you force her to drink that much?"Startled, Oscar struggled free, frowning. "I had no idea she was pregnant. If I did, why would I have sent her to meet Mr. Whitney?"Liam pointed angrily at Jayde’s stomach. "Her belly’s this obvious, and you’re saying you didn’t know? Even a blind person could see it!"Oscar frowned, confused. "Her stomach wasn’t this big yesterday. You’re her husband. You’re with her every day. How could you not know?"That seemed to take the wind out of Liam. His tone weakened. "I… But no matter what, this happened at your company. You’re responsible."Sam spoke calmly, her expression stern. "I understand you’re upset, but this actually has nothing to do with

Jayde practically ground out her last few words through clenched teeth.She glared at me viciously. "That charm I gave you was made using your birth data. Now you’ve put it on something else. It’s the same as putting your own child into someone else’s body. How could you be this stupid?"I frowned slightly. "Then why was my stomach so big before? What caused that?"Jayde shook her head. "That’s because you have strong vitality. The charm’s effect was especially powerful on you. The baby had soaked up every bit of that power, so of course, your belly grew faster. I wasn’t as fortunate, so mine barely showed."She stared at me, her expression filled with resentment. "I never imagined you'd misinterpret my intentions so severely or truly believe I was out to harm you," she said. And now look at what you’ve done. You ruined me, and you lost your own child, too. Are you satisfied now?"I stared at her in disbelief. After a long pause, I finally asked, "Is what you’re saying true?""Of

Both of them were insisting they were right, and for a moment, I had no idea who to believe.However, the pain wracking my body was unbearable. Gritting my teeth, I pressed the talisman Jayde had given me against my stomach.To my shock, the moment it touched my skin, it burst into flames on its own and burned away within seconds.Strangely enough, the pain vanished just as quickly. My body returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.I looked out toward the yard. The sow that had been bowing so eerily before was now calm again, quietly settling back into its pen.That pig couldn’t stay. I’d have to sell it in a few days.I muttered a few curses under my breath, just about to lie down, when I heard a knock at the door.When I opened it, I froze.It was Jayde. She was pounding on the door, calling my name urgently.I yanked it open. "Alright, alright. It’s the middle of the night. Do you want to wake the whole neighborhood?"Her eyes swept over me anxiously. "Colette, how a