The events that had brought me to this breaking point replayed in my mind like a cruel highlight reel.
...
I remembered falling onto the stairs, the sharp sting as my hand scraped against the wood.
My mind had raced with panic, but somehow, I’d managed to shield my stomach. Behind me, the sound of triumphant, gleeful laughter echoed.
Clutching my belly, I struggled to stand. David rushed over—but not to help me. His attention was on Ryan.
“What the hell are you doing?” David barked. “Don’t you know your aunt is pregnant?”
Ryan’s chubby face twisted into a smug grin, his squinty eyes narrowing.
“I know,” he said with a casual shrug. “I did it on purpose.”
David froze, his anger replaced by disbelief.
When he finally spoke, his words were hesitant. “What you did is dangerous, Ryan. What if you hurt her? You can’t do that again, okay?”
Ryan smirked, the audacity of a spoiled child radiating off him. “I read in a book that if a pregnant woman falls, she’ll have a miscarriage. I wanted to see if Elaine would have one.”
Rage boiled over in me, hot and uncontrollable. Without thinking, I slapped him, the sharp sound cutting through the room.