Chapter 11

Hank didn't just say it—he meant it. In the days that followed, Chloe felt like a bird stuck in a cage. She could only peek out at the world through the thick security bars bolted across the windows. She wasn't allowed to step outside, and even minimal movement was confined to inside the mansion. Pregnant or not, she could only pace around her room. As her belly grew, so did the toll on her body. Her pregnancy symptoms were getting worse, and she was visibly wasting away. Just like the doctors warned, her heart was struggling to keep up. Lately, her head constantly ached, her chest felt tight, and sometimes she'd black out for a few minutes at a time. For a while, she even thought maybe she'd stop loving Hank as her life slowly faded away. She got used to locking herself in the room, trying to stay invisible and bother no one. But apparently she was too quiet for Irene's liking. The woman now made a habit of dropping by whenever Hank wasn't around, just to stir up trouble. Like tonight. Chloe had been eating dinner quietly by herself when Irene barged in out of nowhere, pissed off and out of control, knocking over her food without a second thought. "Chloe, seriously? Even with that belly, you're still throwing yourself at Hank? Have some shame." Since moving back to the Collins house, Chloe hadn't even seen Hank, let alone had a chance to "throw herself" at him. But somehow, Irene being so riled up at the mere thought made her a little smug. So smug that a tiny grin crept up on her face before she could stop it. "What the hell are you smiling at?" Irene snapped, yanking her up by the wrist. Chloe smiled wide, like it didn't hurt at all. "Smiling, huh? Guess karma's finally catching up to you. If I can still turn his head while pregnant, you must've really lost your touch.." "Irene, the more you yell, the more obvious it is you're jealous. You want everything I have—the marriage, this baby... You can't stand that I have it and you don't." Irene laughed coldly and shook her head, eyes filled with both mockery and something darker. "Karma? Jealousy? You poor thing. You really don't get it, do you? Hank is my karma. He's so obsessed with me, I can't even get rid of him if I wanted to. You think that certificate or your baby means anything? He's never stopped loving me, Chloe. Only me." Chloe clenched her fists tight. Every word stabbed like needles. The woman had stolen everything—and she still dared to mock her, like Chloe was the joke here. "Oh right," Irene added with a crooked smile, "those photo scraps from last time? Hank picked up every piece for me. Took the time to glue them back together himself. Wanna see?" Photos? Chloe's head snapped up. "Give me back my mom's photos!" Irene stepped back, smirking like she was enjoying the show. "Relax. It's not like they mean anything to me. If you want them so bad, maybe I'll consider giving them to you." She dug into her purse and pulled out one of the old photos, now patched together with visible tape marks, and casually waved it in front of Chloe. "But hey, these are mine now. You want something that belongs to someone else? Gotta pay, sweetheart." Chloe knew it wouldn't be that simple. Still, she lowered her gaze and said coldly, "What do you want?" Irene chuckled, her tone light but full of condescension. "Always knew you were the smart one." "If you want it... then get on your knees and beg me."