Bride to Blood Bank - Chapter 1: Chapter 1

The day that was supposed to be the happiest of my life became my personal hell. There I was, newly pregnant, walking in on my fiancé Jaime tangled in the sheets with my best friend Trish - in the very bed we'd chosen for our wedding night.
Neither had the decency to look ashamed. Instead, Jaime made it worse by publicly dumping me at our engagement party, turning me into the town's favorite punchline.
Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, my childhood friend Ian Seymour knelt before me in front of everyone. "I've loved you for years," he swore. "Let me be your husband - the father your child deserves. I'll spend my life protecting you both."
Desperate for any lifeline, I said yes. Ian rushed me to the courthouse that same day, then threw me the extravagant wedding Jaime had denied me. For eight months, I actually believed I'd been saved.
Then I overheard the truth.
"You actually married Zara just to harvest her baby's cord blood for Trish?" Jaime's voice carried from the study. "What happens when she finds out?"
Ian's response turned my blood to ice. "I'll do whatever it takes to save Trish."
My shaking hands barely managed to dial the hospital. "I need to schedule an abortion," I whispered.
"You're more ruthless than I realized," Jaime remarked, swirling his scotch.
Ian's grip tightened on his glass. "If you hadn't gotten caught fucking Trish, I wouldn't be stuck staring at Zara's whale-sized belly every day." The disgust in his voice made me physically ill.
Jaime hesitated. "What if she refuses the donation?"
"Trish doesn't have time for that," Ian snapped. "As her husband, I can authorize it whenever needed."
The pieces clicked into place with horrifying clarity. I wasn't his wife - just a walking blood bank for Trish Barton.
I turned to flee, only to find Trish blocking my path, her lips curled in victory. "I thought I smelled something foul," she purred. "But no, it's just the pregnant cow who can't keep a man."
"What more do you want from me?" I demanded, nails biting my palms. "You took everything!"
Her smirk widened. "Just proving a point - every man you've ever loved prefers me." She leaned in, her whisper like poison: "Did you really think Ian wanted you? Look at yourself. Who could love some knocked-up whale carrying another man's baby?"
Then - with theatrical precision - she screamed and collapsed backward just as Ian burst through the door.
"I only wanted to apologize!" Trish sobbed into Ian's chest. "But she told me I should die!"
Ian's face twisted with rage as he turned on me. "You psychotic bitch! Trish and Jaime are in love - you're just bitter because you couldn't satisfy your man. How dare you hurt her!"