Part 1My Fiancée Got Pregnant From “Swimming”

My girlfriend loved her bikinis. She loved them even more during her private synchronized swimming sessions with her coach, Jared.

Seeing them tangled up in the water, I can’t help but ask.

"Does he need to touch you like that?"

Chloe's response was a sharp slap across my face.

"How else is he supposed to correct my form? It's called coaching."

Days before our wedding, Chloe threw a positive pregnancy test at me.

"We'll get married after the baby comes."

An explanation from her was rare. "I didn't plan this. It was just...the swimming. But Jared and I are innocent. Trust me."

I scoffed. "Chloe. Do I look that stupid to you?"

She only raised an eyebrow.

"Believe it or not. The baby is a fact. I'm keeping it. If you can't handle that, the wedding's off."

Fine.

Have it your way!

She was sure I'd cave.

I always had. For years, I'd bent my own rules for her.

She'd go clubbing, letting male models grind against her. She called that modern dancing and me old-fashioned.

She'd stay out all night with her childhood friend, Jared, the car shaking. She claimed they were checking for damage. I believed her.

I knew she loved to play.

But I had loved that wild, free spirit in her.

I just never thought she'd use such a ridiculous excuse for a pregnancy.

She thought I'd let it go again.

She was wrong.

I tried to stay calm, but my voice still trembled slightly.

"Alright, then let's break up."

Chloe looked surprised for a second, then scoffed, clearly not buying it.

"Playing hard to get? Alex, even if you threaten to break up, I'm still having this baby!"

I looked at her confident face, a bitter taste filling my mouth.

"Chloe, do you think I'm stupid? Is it fun to play me with such an absurd excuse?"

Jared emerged from her bedroom, a couple of fresh hickeys on his neck.

I was numb to it.

She always said Jared was just a friend-they'd grown up together, she insisted, so close that sharing a bed meant nothing. I used to fight about it.

Then she'd threaten to leave.

Once, she even made me get on my knees, bark like a dog, and apologize to Jared for "disrespecting their bond."

I compromised.

To this day, the video of me on all fours, barking at Jared's feet, still gets passed around their Snapchat group.

Jared shot me an arrogant smile.

"Chloe, he doesn't believe we're just friends...maybe he needs a demonstration?"

Chloe grinned, understanding perfectly.

Seeing their smiles mirror each other, a cold dread tightened in my chest.

"What are you going to do?"

Chloe didn't answer.

She had her bodyguards grab me, strip me, and throw me directly into the backyard pool.

"Go find some street women!" Chloe shouted. "Today, I'll prove you can get pregnant from swimming. No contact required!"

My heart lurched. I stared at Chloe.

"Have you lost your mind? You know I'm terrified of water."

Two years ago, in Sydney, she'd gone freediving. A shark pack circled her. I dove in after her, dragged her back to the boat.

And the sharks? They turned on me. My arms and legs tore open in the churning red water.

Jared and Chloe watched from the deck, their laughter cutting through my screams.

Later, I learned. Jared had smeared a shark-attractant pheromone gel on my wetsuit.

Afterward, I confronted Jared, but Chloe shielded him.

"Jared was just playing a prank to see if you'd save me. Do you really have to be so dramatic?"

A prank? I almost became a crippled mess from infection because of that prank.

Since then, every time I went into the water, I'd remember almost dying in the sharks' jaws. My body would break out in rashes, and I'd have trouble breathing.

Chloe's face darkened, her eyes filled with intense disgust and impatience.

"Such a big man, just going for a swim, what's with the act? How disgusting! Afraid of swimming? You're such an embarrassment!"

Jared shoved my head underwater. Water poured into my mouth and ears.

I struggled like crazy, but Jared kicked me back into the water.

Extreme fear enveloped me. I couldn't control my trembling limbs and slowly began to sink to the bottom of the pool.

Seeing me stop struggling, Chloe frantically stood up.

But Jared stopped her.

"Chloe, he's just playing mind games, it's so pathetic. The pool isn't deep, he won't drown."

Hearing that, Chloe glared fiercely in the direction I'd sunk.

"Such an act. Throw those homeless women in."

A few women were tossed in.

The once clean water instantly turned murky.

I could have floated up, but these women were pulling me down with all their might.

My hands, reaching out instinctively for survival, were pushed down by someone.

My lungs burned as if they were exploding. Blood streamed from my nose, and my vision blurred.

Jared's voice drifted from above.

"Chloe, he needs to soak for 12 hours. Only then will he believe we're innocent."

I passed out, was pulled out, then kicked back into the pool.

This went on, back and forth, for a full twelve hours.

My skin was covered in wrinkles, my body so swollen I was unrecognizable.

Chloe had left long ago.

I was alone in the mansion.

It was terrifyingly silent.

Like a pathetic dead dog, I lay gasping on the poolside.

After a long while, I dialed my brother, Mark.

"Mark, I regret it."

He sighed.

"I told you back then, you couldn't handle her. Come home, you can't be headstrong this time. I've already picked a suitable match for your arranged marriage."

"I have a meeting tomorrow. I'll send someone to pick you up the day after."