Mary couldn’t forget the way Collins reacted the night she switched the egg.
The moment he picked it up, he paused, sniffed it, and slowly lifted his eyes to her with a cold, sharp stare.

“Did you change the egg?” he asked, his voice dark and threatening.

Mary felt her heart jump. How did he know? She hadn’t even touched the bowl roughly.
But Collins looked at her as if he could smell the truth on her skin.
She tried to deny it, but the words refused to form.
She only watched him in fear.

Instead of pressing the matter, Collins simply returned to his strange ritual.
As usual, he hit the egg lightly on her forehead, then ate it slowly, like someone following a spiritual routine.
Mary lay beside him, her body still, her mind racing.

Something was wrong.

By the next morning, her curiosity had turned into a heavy knot inside her.
She needed answers.
Why did he eat eggs only at night?
Why did he hit it on her forehead?
Why was she not allowed to touch them?
Why did he get angry when she changed just one?

The questions tormented her all day.

So Mary decided she had to know the truth—even if it scared her.
She would eat the egg herself.

Night came again, and Collins followed his usual pattern.
One hour before sleep, he went into the inner room, brought out the egg, and placed it in the wooden bowl.
Then he stepped out to switch off the lights from the main control outside.

Mary’s heartbeat quickened.
This was her only chance.

The moment Collins walked out, Mary rushed to the wooden bowl.
Her hands were trembling, but she grabbed the egg anyway.
She hesitated for only one second before raising it to her lips.

Then she ate it.

It tasted strange—nothing like a normal egg.
It was cold… too cold… almost like it had been taken from a place where sunlight had never touched.

Mary wiped her mouth quickly and hurried back to the bed, pretending nothing had happened, her heart pounding like a drum.

She didn’t know what she had just swallowed.
She didn’t know she had just crossed a line Collins never wanted her to cross.
She didn’t know the secret she had just invited into her body.

After Mary swallowed the strange egg, she rushed back to the bed and pretended nothing had happened.
Her heart beat fast, but she forced herself to look calm.

A few minutes later, Collins walked back into the room.
As usual, he went straight to the wooden bowl to take the egg.

But the bowl was empty.

He froze for a moment, then his face changed completely.
Without warning, he stormed out of the inner room, anger written all over him.

“Where is the egg?” he shouted.

Mary jumped up. “I ATE IT!” she shouted back. “I had to know what my own husband is hiding from me!”

Collins stared at her as if she had said the most dangerous words in the world.

“Why do you eat egg one hour before we sleep?” she continued, her voice shaking with anger.
“Why do you off the light? Why must you hit the egg on my forehead before eating it? What are you doing, Collins?”

Mary felt tears rising. “That’s why I ate it. I needed to know the truth!”

Collins stood there shocked, his chest rising and falling quickly.
His eyes were wide with fear.

“No… Mary… you have done a very costly mistake,” he whispered with a trembling voice.
Then, without another word, he quietly went to bed and lay down like a man waiting for a disaster.

Mary remained standing, confused and terrified.
She held her stomach tightly, afraid of what the egg would do to her.
She couldn’t sleep.
Her mind was full of questions… and fear.

The next morning, Mary felt weak.
Nausea hit her again and again.
She rushed to the bathroom, holding her stomach.
Something felt different—strange.

She later took a test.

She was pregnant.

Mary fell to her knees crying tears of joy.
She had been barren for ten years.
Ten long, painful years.
Now, finally, she was carrying a child.
She rushed to Collins with the biggest smile.

But instead of celebrating, Collins looked terrified.
His hands shook.
His lips trembled.

“No, Mary,” he whispered. “You shouldn’t have eaten that egg…”

Mary froze.
Instead of happiness, he was scared—almost crying.

“I can’t let this happen,” Collins said, stepping back slowly.
“I can’t d!e… I can’t d!e…”

Before Mary could speak, he grabbed a pen kn!fe from the table.
His eyes were wild, desperate.

He moved toward her.

Mary tried to run, but he caught her quickly, his grip tight on her arm.
He pulled her close and whispered in a cold voice:

“I have to k!ll you before you give birth.”

Mary screamed, crying, struggling to escape, but his hands were stronger—much stronger.

“Why did you eat my egg!” Collins shouted, pushing Mary against the wall as he brought the pen kn!fe closer to her stomach.
His hands shook with anger, but his eyes were cold—too cold for a man she once trusted.

Mary cried loudly, shaking her head.
“Collins, please! I only wanted to know what you were hiding. I didn’t know it was something this serious. Please spare my baby… please!”

But Collins didn’t listen.
His face tightened even more, and Mary could see fear mixed with madness in his eyes.

“No, Mary,” he whispered bitterly. “If this child is born… I will d!e.”

Mary’s tears stopped for a moment.
She stared at him in shock. “What… what are you saying?”

Collins swallowed hard.
His voice cracked as he continued.

“I didn’t eat that egg for fun. I didn’t hit it on your forehead for nothing. It was a r!tual… a dangerous one. I was given those eggs by a spiritualist ten years ago. He told me that as long as I eat the egg every night, I will have wealth, long life, and protection.”

He stepped back, breathing heavily.

“But there was a rule… a rule I broke. The egg must never enter another person’s body, especially not yours. If you eat it and get pregnant, the child will carry my life. When the baby is born… I will d!e instantly.”

Mary covered her mouth, crying harder.
“Collins… why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me something this big?”

He shook his head slowly.
“No one must know. No one. I was warned. And now… now it’s too late. You’ve eaten the egg. You’re carrying the child. If that baby is born, my life ends.”

“No… Collins please… we can find help, we can—”

“There is no help!” he shouted, raising the pen kn!fe high.
“I have to k!ll you before you give birth. I have to save myself!”

Mary fell to her knees, screaming.
“Collins, please! I’m your wife! I love you! Don’t do this!”

But Collins stepped closer, kn!fe shaking in his hand, eyes filled with fear and desperation.
“Forgive me, Mary. I have no choice.”

He lifted the kn!fe—

And just then, the door burst open.