- 1 day ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00I married into the Ashford dynasty on a Friday. By Sunday, my husband had dragged me into his bedroom and
00:05kept me there for seven straight days.
00:08The second the pregnancy test showed two pink lines. He let go, packed a bag, and flew to London.
00:13He never came back. Not once. Not for ten months. Everyone in our circle envied me.
00:19A million dollar monthly allowance tends to shut people up.
00:22When the ultrasound confirmed twin boys, the envy got louder. I let myself leave the fantasy.
00:27Then I gave birth. And now I'm barricading the door, refusing to let Reed Ashford see what's inside this room.
00:33He's standing in the hallway.
00:35What? You pushed out someone else's bastards?
00:40Bastards would have been a blessing.
00:41I gave birth to two snakes. The ink on the marriage certificate wasn't dry before Reed booked his flight back
00:47to London.
00:48Ten months abroad. Zero visits. He finally agreed to come back for the delivery. Then the due date moved up
00:54without warning.
00:54The morning I went into labor, my entire private medical team went stone silent. Nobody reached for the babies.
01:01My brain cycled through worse cases. Stillborn. Deformed. Something worse.
01:06I couldn't make myself look down. The attending physician had gone completely white.
01:10He shook his head slowly. Then something cold and slick pressed against my inner thigh.
01:15I looked. One black. One white. Two small snakes coiled between my legs. I screamed and hit the floor.
01:23I grabbed the doctor by his coat sleeve.
01:27Where are my babies?
01:28Mrs. Ashford. We watched it happen. It's all on the monitors.
01:33The footage was crystal clear. I passed out. Thank God the due date moved up.
01:39If Reed had arrived on schedule and seen what came out of me, he would have wrapped his hands around
01:42my throat.
01:43I would have taken bastards. Two different fathers. Two different bloodlines. Anything.
01:49Just not two snakes. Two human babies. And at worst, he throws me out. Too proud to chase down the
01:55money.
01:55Two snakes? That's not a scandal. That's a declaration of war against the entire Ashford name.
02:01I wrote six-figure checks until every member of that medical team forgot what they'd seen.
02:06Every recording. Wiped.
02:08I stood over the glass tank and stared at them sleeping. Coiled together like a braid.
02:13They had to go. I still don't understand how a human woman delivers two reptiles.
02:17But what I understood perfectly was this. Reed's reputation was my financial lifeline.
02:22Official story. Complicated labor. Neither baby survived. I said it. I signed it. Done.
02:28That night I drove out past the city limits. Found a quiet stretch of woods. And set them free in
02:34the dark.
02:37I came home. Fell into bed. And didn't move. Something cold grazed my fingertips. Thermostat.
02:43I reached for the nightstand remote. And touched something long. And scaled. And...
02:52One black. One white. One coiled on the nightstand. One coiled on the bed.
02:57Who told you to come back? I released you. How did you even find this place?
03:02The white snake turned and headbutted the thermostat button. Twice. Hard.
03:06Room temperature climbed two degrees. Then the white one coiled back. And launched itself into the air.
03:11I slapped both hands over my face. Nothing landed. I opened one eye. I couldn't move.
03:15Both of them sat in front of me. Side by side. And between them, a pair of thick wool socks.
03:19The brothers pressed their heads together with a soft, deliberate thwop. Like a fist bump.
03:23I reached toward the socks. Both tails exploded into motion. I snatched my hand back.
03:27Tail vibration means they're locking onto prey. That's a hunting signal.
03:30The second I pulled away, both went perfectly still. I reached again, slower. They just stared at me.
03:36Unblinking. Waiting. The moment I pulled those socks onto my own feet, both tails went completely berserk.
03:41I was watching two snakes experience joy. That is, textbook golden retriever behavior.
03:45I extended one hand, slow, shaking. The white one pressed its head against my wrist and held it there.
03:50I didn't pull away. It wound itself up my arm like a white jade bracelet. The black one's tail went
03:54nuclear.
03:55I offered my other hand. He wrapped himself around it without hesitation.
03:58Two living bracelets. I watched them sway back and forth. And I swallowed hard.
04:02Then I knocked lightly on each of their tiny little dog, snake heads.
04:06Both of them squinted. Slow and satisfied. I exhaled. Long. Defeated. Fine.
04:11I made them. I'll keep them. It's not like I can abandon them twice.
04:14I downloaded a reptile care guide. Turns out they'd eat anything.
04:19Wagyu. Gas station pizza. Cold leftovers. Didn't matter.
04:23Tougher than they looked. Easier than I expected.
04:25Somewhere along the way, I stopped thinking of them as snakes.
04:28And then I forgot the one thing I shouldn't have forgotten.
04:30Reed was coming home.
04:36Ma'am. Mr. Ashfield's flight lands at home this afternoon.
04:40I found her outside the maternity ward. A woman who'd just delivered twin boys.
04:45Blank check. Any number you want. Let me adopt your sins.
04:51The afternoon Reed came home. I stashed the snakes in the basement.
04:58Sat on the bed, holding two borrowed babies. He walked in exactly as I'd imagined. Cold, immaculate, untouchable.
05:05But when he saw my face. Powder white. Hollowed. Genuinely wrecked. He set a black card on the nightstand.
05:12You went through a lot.
05:13The babies had just enough of both our features to pass.
05:16The Ashfield line continues.
05:18The Ashfield line continues.
05:20You've given this family everything.
05:23It was nothing.
05:24Do not go to the basement.
05:26Vivian. Reed's voice dropped an octave.
05:28Are you certain these are mine?
05:30Every nerve in my body went cold.
05:33His mother froze mid-sob.
05:38Viv? Are these Reed's children?
05:44I want to be clear about something.
05:46I had contacts stationed at every major hospital maternity ward within a 20 mile radius.
05:51Every candidate was personally vetted.
05:53The twins I chose were the best match out of everyone delivered that week.
05:57My eyes. His jaw. His forehead.
05:59Of course they're yours.
06:02You're certain.
06:03Reed's tone dropped half a degree. I swallowed.
06:06Before the wedding, I'd heard the stories.
06:08Cold. Ruthless. No exceptions.
06:10But in nine months of marriage, my actual contact with Reed consisted of exactly two things.
06:16Seven days in his bedroom and a monthly wire transfer.
06:19I had never been on the receiving end of his full attention before.
06:22Absolutely certain.
06:23Good. I'll have my assistant schedule a paternity test.
06:28What?
06:32I couldn't work it out.
06:33Those babies were a near perfect match.
06:35Brow line. Bone structure. Coloring.
06:37I had done everything right.
06:38So why had he looked at me and suspected infidelity within 30 seconds of walking through the door?
06:43I glanced sideways at him.
06:44He was leaning back in his chair.
06:46Bored.
06:46To any outside observer.
06:48Suffocating.
06:48My phone buzzed against my palm.
06:50Unknown number.
06:51Medical team.
06:52I exhaled through my notes.
06:54I deleted the message.
06:55The results came back 20 minutes later.
06:58Eternity confirmed.
06:59I let go of the breath I'd been holding for three hours.
07:01Reed studied the document.
07:02I told you.
07:03He looked at me.
07:05Tore it cleanly down the middle.
07:07And dropped both pieces into the trash.
07:08He was already walking toward the exit.
07:10Not even a sorry.
07:11I grabbed my bag and followed him out.
07:12His car was idling at the curb.
07:14He stepped forward and pulled open the passenger door.
07:17I moved to follow.
07:18And a woman slipped past me first.
07:20Silk blouse.
07:21Dark hair.
07:22The kind of effortless that costs a lot of money.
07:25Reed leaned down to say something to her through the window.
07:27The same face that had looked at me like I was a liability.
07:30Softer now.
07:31Different.
07:31I stopped walking.
07:32It clicked.
07:33All at once.
07:34Though a rumor I'd heard before the wedding.
07:36Reed Ashford had someone.
07:38A woman whose mother refused to accept.
07:40Not the right type, they said.
07:42Not built for carrying on the family line.
07:44There had been fights.
07:45Loud ones.
07:46Over a long time.
07:48Eventually Reed had backed down.
07:49And I was what backing down looked like.
07:51At the time, I hadn't cared.
07:53I was in it for the money.
07:55But standing on that curb.
07:57I finally understood what the paternity test had actually been about.
08:01Reed didn't care whose children they were.
08:03He just wanted a reason to prove to his mother that I was exactly what she'd always assumed.
08:07A woman who couldn't be trusted.
08:10One clean public discrediting.
08:12Seven days and seven nights.
08:13I thought.
08:14And this is what it was for.
08:16The humiliation of it settled somewhere cold and quiet in my chest.
08:20Not enough to break me.
08:21But enough to feel.
08:22I flagged a cab and went home.
08:25Four children met me at the door.
08:27Two of them I didn't recognize.
08:32I pointed.
08:33Who are you?
08:34One had jet black hair.
08:36One had white.
08:37I ran straight to the basement.
08:40Empty tank.
08:41Both snakes.
08:42Gone.
08:43The black haired and white haired children crashed into me at full speed.
08:48Mom!
08:49We shifted!
08:50We can...
08:50We can hold you in form now!
08:53Serpent Bloodline apparently doesn't waste time.
08:55The borrowed babies were still in their cribs.
08:58Barely weeks old.
08:59My sons looked like healthy energetic three year olds.
09:03Thank god Reed wasn't home yet.
09:05I brought them upstairs.
09:07Listen to me.
09:08I held both their hands.
09:10Now that you can shift you can't stay here.
09:12If Reed finds you none of us walk away from this.
09:16I'm putting you in a house.
09:18Tonight.
09:20You're leaving before he gets back.
09:22The bedroom door swung open.
09:24A woman in a silk blouse stood in the frame.
09:26Twisting a key between her fingers.
09:29How worked it in my house?
09:31Reed gave this to me before you two were ever married.
09:34If you think about it, you're the newcomer here.
09:37I stepped in front of the boys.
09:38Oh, there they are.
09:41Bastards.
09:41Just like I thought.
09:44Old enough to walk around.
09:46No wonder Reed ran a paternity test.
09:49You really did bring another man's children into this house.
09:54Mrs. Ashford!
09:56Wait.
09:57Don't.
09:59Mrs. Ashford!
10:01She was already on the stairs.
10:03I spun, desperate to hide the boys.
10:06But the hallway was already filling with footsteps from both directions.
10:09His mother coming down.
10:11Reed walking up.
10:12Every exit closed.
10:18I planted myself in the doorway and did not move.
10:21Nothing Cecilia said made a difference.
10:26Get out of the way.
10:27She grabbed a fist at my hair.
10:29I caught her wrist and shoved.
10:30Just enough force to break her grip.
10:32Not enough to do real damage.
10:33But she went down like I'd hit her with a chair.
10:35Reed, it hurt!
10:36His hand closed around my arm and yanked.
10:38I stumbled and Cecilia's foot shot out from the floor.
10:41My forehead caught the corner of the banister railing on the way.
10:44The world went white, then red.
10:46Blood ran into my eye before I could lift my hair.
10:51Reed had his back to me, pushing the bedroom door open.
10:54The door swung wide.
10:55The room was empty.
10:56No children.
10:57No snakes.
10:58Nothing.
10:58That's...
10:59That's impossible.
11:01I saw them.
11:02One with black hair, one with white.
11:04About three years old, she was telling them that if you found them, none of them would survive.
11:08I saw the empty room and felt something in my chest finally let go.
11:15When I came to, Reed was sitting at the edge of the bed.
11:20Doctor says mild concussion.
11:21You'll recover with rest.
11:22I touched the bandage at my temple.
11:24Thank you, Mr. Ashford.
11:26He was quiet for a moment.
11:29I didn't mean for that to happen.
11:32You can have her.
11:34Your first love, whoever she is, I'll step aside.
11:37But what you did today?
11:38That's not her fault.
11:39That's not my fault.
11:40They didn't work out.
11:41That has nothing to do with me.
11:43Vivian, I...
11:44Please leave.
11:45I closed my eyes.
11:47A long silence.
11:48Then the door clicked shut.
11:50The moment his footsteps faded down the hall, two small bodies launched themselves onto the bed.
11:56We should have stayed.
11:58We wouldn't have run if we knew you'd get hurt.
12:00I have fangs now.
12:02Let me go back and bite her!
12:05I looked at both of them.
12:07Tear streaked.
12:08Furious.
12:08Guilty.
12:09I exhaled.
12:12We're leaving.
12:16I married Reed Ashford for money.
12:18He needed an heir.
12:19I needed financial security.
12:20Clean transaction.
12:21No illusions.
12:22But absorbing collateral damage for a deal I never agreed to.
12:25That's not in the contract.
12:26I was done.
12:27The two borrowed babies were easy enough to arrange.
12:29I hired a nanny and had them moved out first.
12:32Then I told the boys to shift back.
12:34They coiled into the suitcase without argument.
12:36I zipped it shut.
12:37Called a car.
12:38And walked out of the Ashford estate with everything I'd earned.
12:40And zero regret.
12:41The car pulled away from the gate.
12:43Then took a wrong turn.
12:44Every nerve in my body snapped to attention.
12:47Excuse me.
12:49Where are you taking me?
12:54That's my question.
12:56Where exactly are you planning to take them?
12:58I grabbed the suitcase and went for the door handle.
13:00One hand shot back over the seat and caught me by the collar.
13:02Reed Ashford is stronger than he looks.
13:04I was pinned against his thigh before I could process the movement.
13:07Who told you Cecilia was my first love?
13:10Something pressed against my leg.
13:11Warm.
13:11Specific.
13:12Impossible to misidentify.
13:13My brain, mid-excuse, went completely offline.
13:16Wait.
13:17Is that...
13:17Are there...
13:18Two?
13:21I must be losing my mind.
13:23Seven days and seven nights with this man.
13:25And now there are two?
13:26I checked again.
13:27My entire body broke out in goosebumps.
13:29Kai!
13:30Cole!
13:31Run!
13:32Easy.
13:33Reed pressed me back down, unhurried.
13:35Your boys were swapped before you got in the car.
13:38They're at the estate right now, being fed extremely well.
13:42My throat tightened.
13:43Don't touch them.
13:44I don't know why they came out the way they did, but I didn't cheat on you.
13:48Even if I had, the children are innocent.
13:53Please, don't punish them for what I can't explain.
13:57He stared at me.
13:58You've been raising two serpent children for months, and you never once looked into serpent biology?
14:03What?
14:04I had opened the reptile guide exactly once, read the table of contents, and fallen asleep.
14:09The boys practically raised themselves.
14:11I had no reason to investigate further.
14:15Foolish girl.
14:17Serpents are born with two.
14:20Does that answer your question?
14:22He kissed me before I could finish the...
14:27Sentence.
14:27Same as the first seven days, except this time, accounting for the new information.
14:31Call it 14 days, 14 nights.
14:34I lost track of how many times the sun went down, when I finally surfaced.
14:37I was in a bed I didn't recognize.
14:39Cecilia is my cousin.
14:41Not my first love.
14:42Never was.
14:43The rumors about me are garbage.
14:45Half of them are planted.
14:46You could have just asked me.
14:49I didn't push you that night.
14:50I grabbed your arm and you lost your balance.
14:52I didn't see Cecia's foot in time.
14:54I didn't see you fall until it was too late.
14:59I'll handle Cecilia.
15:00You don't need to worry about her anymore.
15:01Something pressed against my forehead.
15:03A kiss.
15:04Soft.
15:05Deliberate.
15:05I remembered, distantly, that he'd done this during the first seven days.
15:09Not like this, though.
15:10Never this careful.
15:12I'm dreaming.
15:16Reed's product launch was that afternoon.
15:18I slipped into the back of the venue to get a look.
15:21Tall.
15:21Broad.
15:22Eight visible abs through the fitted shirt.
15:25I looked lower.
15:26Nothing about him suggested a man with extra anatomy.
15:29I exhaled.
15:30Then every hair on the back of my neck stood up at once.
15:33I looked up.
15:35Reed's gaze had cut through a crowd of 200 people
15:37and landed on me with surgical precision.
15:39I checked my mask.
15:41Still on.
15:42Still covering everything.
15:43I didn't know why his eyes always did that to me.
15:45Then it came to me.
15:46Later.
15:46That look.
15:47The exact patient focus of a snake.
15:49I turned and walked out of the venue.
15:51My phone buzzed.
15:52Reed, wait for me.
15:53We'll go back together.
15:55I found a seat in the lobby and sat down to wait.
15:58Two hours passed.
15:59I fell asleep in the chair.
16:01When I woke up, I grabbed my phone.
16:04Nothing.
16:05Not a single follow-up message.
16:07Didn't he say to wait?
16:08I made my way up to his office.
16:10Reed!
16:11Hmm?
16:12Mr. Ashford left with Miss Cecilia about an hour and a half ago.
16:15You didn't know?
16:20Men are, without exception, the worst.
16:22Three missed calls from unknown numbers.
16:24I rejected all of them and drove me in full rage.
16:27Ma'am, please.
16:28Mr. Ashford said the house isn't safe right now.
16:30I've lived here for a year.
16:31How is it not safe?
16:32His instructions were very specific.
16:36Talk with me!
16:37Just go have another child with your cousin.
16:39What's the problem?
16:42We're human passing now, which means we follow human social norms.
16:46Cecilia and I share a bloodline.
16:48That's not something I'm willing to cross.
16:50You're willing to let our entire line die out over human squoobishness?
16:54Mom.
16:56I already have Vivian.
16:57You've forgotten what you actually are!
17:01What is wrong with you people?
17:04Vivian.
17:09How did you get back?
17:11I had people calling you.
17:13Those were your people.
17:14Then I remembered the unknown numbers.
17:16The ones I'd rejected on pure spite.
17:22Vivian.
17:23I assume you heard all of that.
17:25Our bloodline ends with Reed.
17:27Two children is not enough.
17:29You don't get to apply human rules to what we are.
17:33And if you choose not to understand that...
17:37The next instant, Reed stepped in front of me.
17:39Move.
17:40Kill her.
17:41And you go through me first.
17:42Reed, we're your kind.
17:45She and I are compatible.
17:47I opened my mouth.
17:48Closed it.
17:49Compatible.
17:50You're willing to throw away pure bloodline for compatibilities?
17:55Our sons shifted before they were four weeks old.
17:58My own record was 14 months.
18:01Look at what she gave us and tell me again what she's worth.
18:03His mother said nothing.
18:04Then slowly, the scales began to rise along her cheekbones.
18:07If you won't listen to reason...
18:09Then I'll make it simple.
18:11Reed!
18:12Stop!
18:13His mother lunged.
18:14Too late.
18:15A life bond?
18:16You bound yourself to a human?
18:19If she dies...
18:20Then I go with her.
18:23Still wanna try?
18:27We were asked to leave the estate that same evening.
18:30She's not gonna quietly let this go.
18:33She'll find a way.
18:34She won't touch you.
18:36If you die, I die.
18:38She's angry.
18:39She's not stupid.
18:41After that, Reed stopped disappearing.
18:43It caught me off guard.
18:44The man who'd left the country the moment I confirmed the pregnancy was now apparently
18:48attached to my side.
18:49He explained it eventually.
18:51The original plan had been simple.
18:52Find someone easy going enough not to panic if something fell off.
18:56Have children.
18:57Preserve what was left of the bloodline.
18:59Then I started sending messages.
19:01Every day.
19:02Even when he never replied.
19:06Sending you 30 million reasons to smile.
19:0810 million stay happy.
19:1010 million stay healthy.
19:1110 million stay mine.
19:12I covered my face.
19:13I had run out of ideas after the first week and outsourced the whole thing to an AI.
19:18Had it to generate one per day and forgot about it.
19:21I lowered my hands.
19:25The boys.
19:29I know.
19:32You knew from the beginning?
19:34Newborns can't hold human form.
19:36The moment I saw them I knew they weren't the originals.
19:40But I also knew mine were somewhere in that house.
19:43I was waiting to see how far you'd go to protect them.
19:48A human woman.
19:49No supernatural ability.
19:51No leverage.
19:52No backup plan.
19:53Willing to be called a cheater before she'd hand over her children.
19:57He hadn't expected that.
19:59He hadn't expected a lot of things apparently.
20:01The boys integrated into the estate without much drama.
20:04Reed and I started traveling.
20:06Somewhere over the Atlantic he pulled me close.
20:08We could have another one.
20:10Thought about my labors.
20:11No pain.
20:12Either time.
20:13Suspiciously smooth.
20:14Probably a compatibility thing.
20:16The serpent bloodline lives for a thousand years.
20:19We have time.
20:22My mother and I argued constantly.
20:24Not over a first love.
20:26Over Cecilia.
20:27She was convinced that a pure blood pairing was the only way to preserve what little remained of our line.
20:32After years of pressure, she agreed to let me choose someone else.
20:36Provided she was suitable for children.
20:42I was new enough to human society to still be learning its patterns.
20:46A woman who was too perceptive would notice things.
20:48Ask questions.
20:49Potentially panic.
20:50I needed someone adaptable.
20:51Out of everyone presented, I chose the one who seemed the most unguarded.
20:54Straightforward people are underestimated.
20:56They notice things too.
20:57They just don't catastrophize.
20:58I was still concerned about frightening her during the pregnancy.
21:01So I stayed in London.
21:03She texted me every single day.
21:04I assumed at first it was a performance.
21:07Maintaining the optics of a devoted wife.
21:09Then I actually read the messages.
21:12Wishing you 10,000 blessings.
21:14May your spreadsheets be ever in your favor.
21:16May your enemies trip on flat surfaces.
21:21I later found out this was AI generated.
21:23She had been too lazy to write them herself.
21:24Fed the wrong demographic information into them.
21:26And sent the results anyway without proofreading a single one.
21:29For reasons I cannot fully articulate.
21:30I found this extremely funny.
21:31I started paying attention.
21:32When she delivered and the children weren't mine.
21:34I wasn't angry.
21:35I was impressed.
21:35No pure blood infant holds human form at birth.
21:37I spotted it within seconds.
21:39Dripping blood onto the floorboards.
21:40Before she would give up an inch of ground.
21:42The night I intercepted her car.
21:44I was not being strategic.
21:45I did not want her to leave.
21:46I did not have better reasoning than that.
21:48I have since learned that humans call this falling in love.
21:50I am still not entirely sure how the mechanism works.
21:53But somewhere between the AI generated blessings.
21:55She has since given me many categories.
21:57I care very little about what happens to the bloodline in the long run.
22:00What I care about is this.
22:01Vivian.
22:01And the years still ahead of us.
22:03That is more than enough.
22:03She has over 1095 that they were loud.
22:06She's been out and every지를
Comments