Listening to the roar from the delivery room, I turned to Shirley, whose eyes were bloodshot with rage.
“Well, that talisman you begged for wasn’t wasted after all. Seems like the priest didn’t lie, and it did work.”
Her face contorted as she snarled, “You’ll die a miserable death, bitch.”
I responded by slapping her hard across the face. “As someone who’s died once, death doesn’t frighten me. It’s vile and poisonous people like you who deserve no mercy.”
Dad’s voice thundered from behind me. “Get out! My sons will never be monsters, and seeing how you bore such abominations, you’re no wife of mine. We’re getting a divorce, so leave the Aldridge family at once!”
I shoved Shirley aside and stepped into the delivery room, feigning shock at the scene. “Helen, everyone from the military family compound joked about you having a late–life big surprise, but I never thought you’d literally deliver a late–life piglet surprise! This is… unheard of.”
Dad’s expression darkened further. “From today onward, she’s no longer part of the Aldridge family.” With that, he turned and stormed out.
Once he was gone, I turned to Helen, who’d collapsed on the delivery bed. Feigning panic, I said, “Helen, you must’ve done something truly wicked to have given birth to a litter of piglets.
“Imagine the shame this brings on the Aldridge family. Still, if you look closely, these piglets do bear a resemblance to you and Shirley.”
Looking up at the red–eyed Helen and Shirley, who’d just rushed in, I met their gazes. A cruel grin spread across my face as I continued, “Animals, the both of you.”
Reaching into Helen’s clothes, I fished out the talisman underneath and smiled smugly. “I have to admit that this talisman Shirley got worked perfectly. The piglets are male, and without it, you might’ve actually had a son. Perhaps the Aldridge family fortune would’ve been yours.”
I sighed. “But what a shame… Both the Aldridge family inheritance and Dean will have nothing to do with you or your venomous daughter.”
Before Shirley could react, Helen, still weak from childbirth, somehow found the strength to lunge at her.
“Why did you do this to me? Having a brother would’ve helped you too! You gave her a talisman for sons, but you gave me one for piglets! How could I have raised a daughter like you? I should’ve strangled you to death the day you were born.”
Looking at Helen, who still hadn’t grasped the full picture, Shirley took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
She opened them again and said venomously, “I tried so hard to protect us, yet you threw it all away, you idiot. To give us a better life, I schemed and pushed you into General Aldridge’s bed, and yet you could never win his heart.
“When you finally conceived, you ruined it so badly that the child came out as a monster. God knows what I’ve done to deserve a mother like you.
“Everything the Aldridges own should’ve been ours, and Dean would’ve been mine. But thanks to you, it’s all gone.
“Now that General Aldridge is about to throw us out, we’ll be back on the streets, barely scraping by. Are you happy now?”
With each word, Shirley’s face flushed red with rage and helpless tears.
But Helen seemed lost in her own world as she muttered over and over, “It’s all your fault, you bitch… You should be dead…”
I couldn’t help shaking my head. “What a shame. After all that, you ended up with nothing but a mother who’s lost her mind. While you were coming up with schemes, did it ever occur to you that this might be how you’d end up?”
1/2
Chapter B
.15 Bonus
Shirley let out a bleak laugh. “You have everything from good looks to a powerful family, and yet you just had to steal Dean from me. You’re the one who should die. All I ever wanted was a better life. What’s so wrong with that? What did I do to deserve this?
“If this idiot hadn’t fallen into your trap, you would’ve never stood a chance against me.”
Watching Shirley spiral deeper into madness and Helen lost in her broken world, I raised my voice. “So, nothing is ever your fault, is it? But how could you have had your mother give birth to piglets just so you could claw your way into a better life? Do you have any idea what this would do to her?”
Shirley had a wild look in her eyes as she snapped, “If she can’t handle it, she should just die! Together with her monster offspring!”
No sooner had she spoken than Helen, who’d been muttering to herself, suddenly lunged forward with a scalpel she’d somehow gotten hold of. Charging at Shirley, she stabbed her with all her might.
“Die, you monster! You’d rather hurt your mother and brother, so you’re the one who deserves to die! If you hadn’t pushed me, I wouldn’t have climbed into General Aldridge’s bed! I would’ve continued to live a quiet life as a housekeeper! But you said we could be someone and live well, and now I have nothing!”
Screaming, she plunged the scalpel into Shirley over and over again, not even flinching as blood splattered across her face. She was way too consumed by her fury and poured all her hatred into each blow.
Shirley’s struggles weakened until she fell still and gave out her last breath. But Helen kept going in a fit of rage.
“If there’s a next life, I’ll make sure Diane Stirling dies in misery. Everything the Aldridge family owns will be mine.” Listening to Shirley’s bitter final thoughts, I closed my eyes.
In my past life, I’d begged the heavens the same way, and the heavens had taken pity on me and given me a second chance at life. But this time, Shirley wouldn’t get a second chance. I would see to it that her bones were ground to dust, leaving her no chance of tomorrow.
Since she loved hiring sorcerers for their spells and cursed charms, I decided to repay her in kind.
Looking at her lifeless body with her eyes still wide open, I sneered. From my coat, I pulled out a talisman I’d long prepared, lit it with a match, and tossed it onto her.
The talisman quickly burned to ash as her desperate wish for another life vanished into smoke.
This time, everything the Aldridge family owned would belong to me and my children, and Dean was still mine.
Shirley could have the miserable ending all to herself.
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