King of Darkness

"She's lost it! This woman's completely lost it!"

Everyone stared at me like I had lost my mind.

"What did she just say? She gave the wedding money to the driver who hit her fiance? Did the shock scramble her brain?"

"Who does something like that? Henry must have the worst luck alive. He lost his leg saving someone, and his fiancee handed the money to the person who caused the accident!"

Dad rushed onto the stage and slapped me across the face. The sharp crack echoed through the entire room.

My head snapped to the side, my cheek burning as the taste of blood spread across my tongue.

"You ungrateful wench! Have you lost your mind? What nonsense are you talking about?"

He pointed straight at me, his body shaking with anger.

Mom ran up and grabbed my arm, shaking me hard. "Winona, what's wrong with you? Did you hit your head or something? Apologize right now! Apologize to everyone, and to Henry's parents!"

As she spoke, she kept throwing frantic glances toward the Zanders in the audience, forcing an obsequious smile onto her face.

"Winona, don't forget. The baby you're carrying is a member of the Zander family! What are you going to do about the baby if you keep this up?"

To smooth things over, Mom blurted out my pregnancy in front of everyone without hesitation.

The crowd erupted once more.

"What? She's pregnant?"

"She's pregnant, so how could she treat her husband like this? Does she not have a conscience?"

"My God, what did the Zanders ever do to deserve this?"

My mother-in-law, Helen Basette, stopped crying and shouted at me, "Winona, I'm begging you! Even if you don't care about yourself, think about my grandson! You can't be this selfish!"

As soon as she finished, Henry's aunt, uncle, and the rest of his family all stood up, pointing fingers at me.

"Winona, you've completely let us down!"

"Henry's in the hospital, and instead of comforting him, you're making a scene!"

"Exactly! Take it back and go to the hospital to take care of him. Otherwise, we won't let this go!"

I ignored them. Instead, I raised the microphone and delivered my final words.

"Don't worry. I already scheduled an appointment with the OB-GYN first thing tomorrow morning. This baby isn't coming into this world. I'll make sure of that myself."