All Chapters of Pregnant With Baby No. 2, and All Our Pets Want Me Dead: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

"Harper, get out here! Mommy's pregnant! You're getting a little brother in a few months!"The moment we got home, my husband, Adam Steele, called out toward our daughter's bedroom. Seconds later, our five-year-old came barreling out, squealing as she threw her arms around me."Mommy, there's really a baby in your belly? When he comes out, I'll finally have someone to play with?"I was about to respond when I felt two hostile pairs of eyes fixed on me. The cat and dog, curled up in their beds, stared intently at my belly.The memory of being torn apart in my previous life hit me all at once, the pain so vivid that I could barely breathe. Driven by sheer survival instinct, I grabbed Adam's hand, my voice trembling."Honey, we need to get rid of all the pets in this house."The tabby cat, Whiskers, and the terrier, Sunny, had been with me for ten whole years. I'd long since considered them family. Even when I first got pregnant and my mother-in-law made a huge fuss demanding we get

I screamed.Adam rushed over immediately. He pulled me up from the floor where I'd collapsed and wrapped his arms around me."Honey, it's okay. You're okay."Once I'd calmed down, he asked me what happened. I pointed toward the doorway. "The cat and dog were standing right there, staring at me."Adam frowned. "You mean Whiskers and Sunny? They've been in their crate the whole time."When I didn't believe him, he led me back to the crate. Sure enough, Whiskers and Sunny were lying inside, exactly where they should be. The moment they saw us, they jumped up and pawed excitedly at the bars.The strangest part was that the lock was still secure. There was no sign that it had been tampered with.Had I imagined it?Adam rubbed my shoulder. "You've been under too much stress lately. Once your mom gets here tomorrow, everything will be fine."Right. Once Mom arrived, everything would be better.The next morning, I woke to the sound of her voice. She'd come early and had already made

I bolted back to the bedroom and nearly crashed into Adam.When he saw how pale I was, his expression shifted to one of concern. "Honey, what's wrong? You look terrible!"I pointed toward the kitchen, barely able to get the words out. "The kitchen. In the kitchen…"He frowned and rushed toward it. When he came back, he looked grim but pulled me into his arms. "Thank goodness you woke up. You just saved our whole family. The gas stove was still on. If it had been left like that until morning, the whole place could've gone up."I blinked. "Is that all you saw? Nothing else?"He looked confused. "Was there something else?"Worried he'd missed another hazard, he pulled me back into the kitchen with him.There was nothing there.My heartbeat gradually slowed. "Maybe I was seeing things. I thought I saw the three pets in here. And a mouse.""You're saying they got out of their crates?"Adam walked over to check. Whiskers, Sunny, and Kiwi were all sitting inside quietly, and the loc

At the sound of my voice, Mom's eyes snapped open."Leanne, you're alive?"She looked from the charred corpse to me, standing there in one piece. Her expression held no joy, only confusion and shock."Mom, what's with that look? Were you hoping I'd die?""N-no, that's not it..." She stammered, her brain clearly struggling to catch up.Finally, Adam steadied himself enough to ask, "Where were you? And who is this pregnant woman in our house?"I gestured to my stomach. "Didn't you notice? My belly's gone."They looked even more stunned."You gave birth?"I nodded. "My water broke, so I went to the hospital. Good thing I did, or I'd be the one burned to death right now. Just goes to show that the priest was wrong. The baby in my belly wasn't some demon. He saved my life. If that doesn't prove the priest was full of it, what does?"They forced strained smiles."We're glad you're both safe."They didn't even ask where the baby was. Their attention was already back on the charred

"You're not even my daughter. You're your father's bastard child. He swapped you with my baby the day I gave birth just so you could have a complete family."And my real daughter, Karen, suffered every single day because of you. She was tortured by your birth mother!"If that witch hadn't confessed the truth on her deathbed, Karen and I would've never found each other. And you know what's even worse? You stole the man she loved. You had a daughter with him!"You took everything from her. So why should you get to have a second child? Because of you, my daughter had to live as a bastard and a mistress, and even the baby in her belly would've been illegitimate."Why? Why do you get everything?"So that was the truth. I looked at the woman I'd called Mom my entire life and let out a long breath."I may not be your biological daughter, but I've always treated you like my real mother. I thought love mattered more than blood."I'm sorry for what Karen went through. But that doesn't jus