A New Beginning

Riley collapsed onto her silk sofa and kicked off her designer heels. After years of hard work, she had finally made it. Her bank account had more zeros than she could count, and her brand-new villa sparkled like a pink jewel in the California hills.

"No more meetings, no more deadlines," she announced to her empty mansion. The marble floors gleamed under crystal chandeliers, and floor-to-ceiling windows showed off her infinity pool.

She grabbed her phone and started ordering. Pizza from three different places. Ice cream by the gallon. Chocolate chip cookies, candy bars, chips, and soda. Her credit card practically glowed from all the swiping.

"I deserve this," she said, patting her flat stomach through her pink silk blouse. "I've earned every single bite."

The first delivery truck arrived within an hour. Then another. And another. Riley's dining room table disappeared under mountains of junk food. She opened the first box of donuts and took a huge, satisfying bite.

This was going to be the best retirement ever.

Purple Pills and Painful Surprises

Three weeks later, Riley woke up on her silk sofa surrounded by empty pizza boxes and candy wrappers. She stretched and yawned, then looked down at herself.

Her jaw dropped.

Her once-flat stomach had ballooned out like she was carrying a beach ball under her pink pajama top. The fabric stretched tight across her rounded belly, and she could barely see her feet.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no," she whispered, struggling to sit up. Her belly jiggled as she moved, and her designer clothes felt impossibly tight.

Riley grabbed her phone and frantically searched online. "Quick weight loss," she typed with shaking fingers. A bright advertisement popped up: "MIRACLE MELT PILLS - Lose 20 pounds overnight!"

The company's website showed before-and-after photos of smiling people. Without reading the fine print, Riley ordered five bottles with express shipping.

The next morning, a delivery truck arrived. Riley swallowed three purple pills immediately, ignoring the tiny warning label.

Within hours, her stomach cramped painfully. She looked in the mirror and gasped. Her belly had grown even rounder, stretching her bra to its limits. Her shirts wouldn't fit at all anymore.