Charlie’s ex knew my morning sickness was crippling, yet insisted we watch lions hunt at night. When I refused, she burst into tears. "You’re so selfish," Charlie snapped at me—then caught himself. "Get some rest," he muttered, handing me warm milk. I woke up dangling over a lion pride. Charlie stood safely away, arm around Lila. "She cried because you ruined her fun," he called. "So you’ll be the bait. Your blood should give her a good show." The others watched from an armored jeep as lions circled below. Then my earpiece crackled. "Dad," I whispered, "someone’s trying to kill me. Bring the unit. Let’s make them regret it." 1 My words were met with a fresh wave of laughter from the vehicle. Lila called out, her voice laced with mock concern. "Aurora, darling, I think the fear's gone to your head. Your father isn't here!" Charlie pulled her closer, a dismissive sneer on his face. "Her father's dead." His words hit me like a physical blow. I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. My father’s identity was a closely guarded secret. For years, only my mother and I knew the truth of his work. I had told Charlie countless times that my father wasn't dead, just on a deep-cover assignment, unable to make contact. "My father is not dead, Charlie! Stop talking nonsense!" My defiance only seemed to irritate him. He frowned, his voice dripping with disgust. "Look at the state of you." And what a state it was. I was dangling from the branch of a dead, withered tree, bloodstains still fresh on the inside of my thighs. Below, the pride, drawn by the scent, paced restlessly. My only saving grace was that they couldn't climb. The African savanna at night was a world away from the blistering heat of the day. A cold wind whipped around me, and I shivered in my thin dress. The dead tree creaked and swayed with every gust. The lions below looked up, their eyes glowing with a feral excitement, as if their meal was about to be served. I tried to pull myself up, to shift my weight onto the branch, but it was no use. Seeing the lions circle beneath me, a triumphant smile spread across Lila's face. Charlie took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, his voice impossibly gentle, as if he were cradling a priceless treasure. "It's getting cold, Lila. Don't catch a chill." Watching him, so tender and protective, I saw a ghost of the man he used to be—the man who got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. I met Charlie at work. It was my support, my strategies, and my connections that had propelled him to the success he had now. The day he launched his company, he bought out every rose from every florist in the city to create the most spectacular proposal. "Aurora," he'd said, his eyes shining with sincerity. "I owe everything to you. I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you." "Will you marry me? I swear I'll cherish you, love you, and take care of you forever..." Until Lila reappeared, I believed every word. But after she returned, everything changed. He started coming home late, or not at all. A single phone call from her was enough to pull him away at any hour. "Lila just got back to the country, she doesn't know anyone else," he'd say. "I'm just helping out a friend." He tested my boundaries, bit by bit, until he was blatantly favoring her right in front of my face. Looking back now, I realized what a fool I'd been. 2 A tidal wave of rage and sorrow crashed over me. The thought of the baby in my womb was the only thing that kept me from screaming. I looked at Charlie and softened my voice, forcing a plea. "The lions are here, just like you wanted. Can you let me down now?" A flicker of something—maybe hesitation—crossed his face. But in the next second, Lila gasped. "Charlie, my hand! It hurts. I think I scraped it." And just like that, I was forgotten. The others in the vehicle took their cue from their boss. It was clear to everyone that Lila was now the priority. "I never liked Aurora anyway," one of them muttered. "Always acting high and mighty just because she's the boss's wife. She's nothing compared to Lila!" "Exactly! She's such a hard-ass at work. A total corporate slave driver." A chorus of complaints rose up, a litany of their grievances against me. They weren't entirely wrong. I was demanding at work, but I demanded the most from myself. We were there to work and make money, not to slack off. After I got pregnant, Charlie had brought Lila into the company. She championed a "work-life balance" that was really just an excuse for laziness, and she led the charge in slacking off. I had asked Charlie to handle it more than once, but he always defended her. "That's just her personality, Lila's so full of life! Don't you think the office feels more vibrant now?" The employees were certainly happier goofing off, but company profits plummeted. I was the one who, while pregnant, had to smooth things over with our partners and clients. If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't have even been able to afford this company retreat. After a moment, Charlie turned back to me, his voice cold and commanding. "Apologize to Lila, and I'll let you down." His words were a dagger to my heart. Forcing me to apologize to her was the same as grinding my pride into the dust. A stubborn, defiant thought flared in my mind. I would rather hang here and die than apologize to that woman. "You were the one who refused her first," Charlie pressed, his voice rising in anger when I didn't respond. "Is it so hard to say you're sorry? Did you leave your manners at home?" I ignored him, looking down at the lions instead. The lead male, bored of waiting, was starting to look restless. Maybe, if I held out long enough, they would lose interest and wander off. A small sliver of hope returned. Just then, one of the employees pulled a bucket of raw meat from the back of the vehicle—props for tourists to toss to the animals, to enhance the "safari experience." "Hey, why don't we throw the meat at her?" someone suggested. "Make the lions jump up and scare her a little. That'll be her punishment for not apologizing!" The speaker was Lila's closest friend at the office, a woman who shared her love for gossip and her distaste for work. Charlie hesitated for a fraction of a second. Lila's eyes reddened again, her voice a pathetic sob. "Charlie... the lions are leaving. Does this mean I won't get to see them hunt...?" That was all it took. Charlie's expression hardened. He looked up at me, his voice a low, chilling whisper. "I gave you a chance. If an apology is too much to ask, then you can accept the consequences." My eyes widened in horror as I saw what he was holding. A gust of wind sent me swinging wildly. Then, the first chunk of meat flew through the air, landing just below me. The scent of blood sent the pride into a frenzy. One piece followed another. Lions began to leap into the air, snapping at the raw flesh. Sharp claws ripped through the hem of my dress, missing my calf by a hair's breadth! I tried to curl into a ball, to make myself smaller, but it was useless. 3 A searing pain shot through my leg. Blood instantly blossomed across the fabric of my dress, a crimson stain that spread with terrifying speed. A deep gash had been torn open in my calf. The sight and smell of fresh blood drove the lions below into an even greater frenzy. The guttural roar of the beasts mixed with the howling wind, a symphony of terror that filled my ears. Seeing this, Lila actually stood up and began to applaud. "Thank you, Aurora, for such a spectacular show!" The others joined in, clapping and cheering as they continued to pelt me with chunks of meat. The viscous, cloying scent of pork and blood filled my nostrils. Blood continued to stream from my leg. As they threw the meat higher and higher, the lions leaped more ferociously. Several times, they reached my waist. If I had been their target, I would have been torn apart already. Many of the lions chewed on the meat while keeping their hungry, golden eyes fixed on me. I knew, with a certainty that chilled me to the bone, that once the meat was gone, they would come for me. A profound, suffocating fear enveloped me. The thought of dying here, in this foreign land, so far from home, filled me with an immense sadness. Tears streamed down my face, hot against my cold skin. And then, a sharp, violent pain stabbed through my abdomen. Panic seized me. We had been married for five years, and for five years, I had desperately wanted a child. Charlie had too. I remembered the longing in his eyes when he saw families walking in the park, the way he'd pull me over to the children's section in department stores. "When we have our baby," he'd say, "I'm going to buy her all the prettiest dresses in the world!" But my health was poor, and getting pregnant had been a long, heartbreaking struggle. Charlie was always there to comfort me. "It will happen," he'd promise. "We'll have our baby." Now, our baby was finally here. And he didn't care. Perhaps some small, foolish part of me still held out hope. I forced myself to speak, my voice a ragged plea. "Charlie... my stomach... it hurts so much..." My voice was thick with pain and unspeakable grief. But it was Lila who stepped forward, her tone dripping with scorn. "Wow, Aurora. To think you'd use your own baby to play the victim, all to avoid saying sorry. You really are determined to ruin everyone's fun, aren't you?" She looked back at the others, who quickly chimed in. "We were just starting to have fun! Can't you just hold on for a little longer?" "They're full now, they won't hurt you." … A look of pure disgust crossed Charlie's face. "Aurora, I've told you before. I hate liars." He turned his back on me, refusing to look at me again. More meat rained down, and several chunks hit my stomach directly. I writhed helplessly, trying to shield my belly with my body. To the onlookers, my desperate movements were just a source of amusement. Another round of harsh, mocking laughter echoed across the savanna. "Look at her, twisting like a maggot. It's hilarious." "She's nothing compared to Lila. No wonder Lila is the one he could never forget." Lila preened under the praise. Then, I saw she was holding something new. A piece of bone. "The lions must be getting tired of just meat," she announced with a cruel smile. "Let's give them some bones to chew on!" My eyes widened in terror. A chunk of meat was one thing, but a bone? It would hit me like a rock. The pain in my abdomen flared again, sharp and terrifying. I started screaming, begging. All my pride, all my dignity, was gone. I just wanted to live. I wanted my baby to live. "No... please, no!" "I'm begging you, please don't do this to me!" 4 No one listened. They began to hurl the bones. Through the crowd, I saw Lila's eyes lock onto mine. Her gaze was filled with a chilling, malicious glee. It dropped from my face to my swollen belly, her expression twisting into a mask of pure hatred. "Die!" she mouthed. The word had barely formed on her lips when a heavy, blunt object slammed into my stomach. A scream of agony was ripped from my throat. I felt a warm gush between my legs. Blood. So much blood. I could feel the life draining out of me, out of my baby. My screams turned into desperate, helpless sobs. "My baby! Please, save my baby!" The raw, animalistic grief in my voice was so powerful that it stunned them all into silence. I was a horrifying sight, my hair wild, my body covered in blood. Charlie finally turned around. His pupils constricted in shock at the sight of me. "She'll be fine," Lila murmured, pressing herself against his chest. "We fed the lions. What could possibly happen?" "Charlie... please, save me," I whispered, my voice growing weaker. "This is our baby... the baby you always wanted..." My voice faded, my breath catching in my throat. Charlie scoffed. "You're a good actress, Aurora. I'll give you that." Lila shot me a triumphant look. She then placed a hand on her own flat stomach. "The baby Charlie is excited about," she said, her voice clear and cutting, "is the one I'm carrying. Not yours." The world stopped. Suddenly, everything made sense. Rage, pure and absolute, consumed me. It was a physical thing, a pressure building in my chest, choking me. I coughed, and a spray of blood erupted from my lips. I stared at them, my voice a trembling, disbelieving whisper. "What... what do you mean? You two?" Lila's smile widened. "It means I'm pregnant with Charlie's child too. Do you understand now?" A laugh bubbled up from my throat, a hysterical, broken sound. The confusion of the past few months evaporated in an instant. This was why he didn't care. The baby he was waiting for was never mine. It was always hers. I looked at Charlie, and the last embers of love in my heart turned to ice. Our eyes met, and he flinched, a flicker of discomfort on his face. My laughter grew louder, wilder, until it became a raw, keening wail. Because I could feel it. The tiny, fluttering life inside me was gone. I had lost it... I had lost my baby. I would never know if it was a boy or a girl. I would never get to hold it, to see its face, to show it the world. My hysterical grief seemed to make them uncomfortable. Charlie, in particular, was frowning, his eyes fixed on me. Below, the lions had finished the meat and bones. Now, their attention was solely on me. They began to leap again, this time with deadly intent. I had lost too much blood. I had no strength left. A paw swiped at me, and I felt a searing pain as claws tore a chunk of flesh from my side. The agony was absolute. I felt like I'd been submerged in a freezing fire. Lila yawned theatrically and announced she was bored. Charlie looked at her with that same gentle expression. "Alright, let's go back." My fate became an afterthought. Someone quietly asked if they should get me down. Charlie refused, his voice harsh. He was clearly still annoyed by the look I'd given him. "Leave her. Let her hang there all night. Maybe it'll teach her to fix that rotten attitude." They were turning to leave. And then, the night erupted. Dozens of off-road vehicles, their headlights cutting through the darkness, roared onto the scene, surrounding them completely. The man in the lead vehicle stepped out, an AK-47 in his hands. He walked straight up to Charlie and pressed the barrel to his forehead. "And just where do you think you're going?"
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