I stared at her, utterly stunned. I had expected her to be upset, but I never imagined she would so casually demand I sacrifice a part of my body. Ever since I started dating Ryan, her loyalty had shifted completely. His family had money, and because of that, she treated him like he was her own son, always urging me to put
him first.
I decided then and there to ignore her.
The air turned to ice.
Ryan, ever the performer, rushed to my mother’s side and gently took her arm. “Auntie, please don’t be angry. Ruby is probably just overwhelmed. Don’t pressure her.”
His words were meant to sound supportive, but they were gasóline on a fire.
My mother’s rage intensified. “How did I raise such a heartless monster? You are donating that kidney today. I don’t care if you want to or not. You’re doing it.”
The relatives chimed in, and someone even pulled out their phone, announcing they had already scheduled
the surgery at the city’s main hospital for next Wednesday.
I looked at the scene before me, a perfect tableau of betrayal, and felt a bitter laugh rise in my throat.
I took a deep breath. “Fine,” I said slowly. “I’ll cooperate with the pre-op preparations. But I want a full health
screening first. For everyone’s safety.”
Ryan and Colby exchanged a triumphant look. “Of course,” Ryan nodded. “Whatever you say.”
“That’s a good idea,” Colby added quickly. “For Ryan’s safety, we should definitely be thorough.”
I heard the unspoken meaning in her words and could only find it laughable.
A short while later, I was back at the hospital with Ryan for the pre-op screening. When it was over, he said
he needed to use the restroom. I followed him discreetly.
Sure enough, Colby was waiting for him.
I hid around the corner and watched as she draped herself over his arm. “Oh, Ryan, you’ve been working so hard,” she cooed. “If my own kidney problems hadn’t flared up, we wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble of you pretending to be sick just to trick her.”
Ryan’s voice was full of adoration. “Anything for you is worth it, Colby. As soon as the surgery is over, I’m breaking up with her. God, faking being sick is exhausting. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have wasted another
second on her.”
I stood frozen in the hallway, ice coursing through my veins.
So that was it. He was never sick. It was all for Colby. Her kidneys were failing, so they conspired to steal one of mine, using our three years together as a cover and emotional blackmail as their weapon. I was just
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Chapter 1
their personal organ bank.
