I No Longer Belong To You

‘’We need to tell Nathan. You have stage 4 cancer, Jennifer, you can’t continue doing this.’’ The doctor looked at me with an expression in his eyes. Worry. ‘’No, no. Don’t tell Nathan that I have cancer. Please don’t.’’ Dr. Pat was the doctor for the Cane family. I met Dr. Pat when I joined the Cane family and started to give my blood to Julie. It was on Nathan’s diabolic request that I found myself giving my blood to Julie multiple times every month. At this point, Dr.Pat feared for my life. The urgency in his voice reminded me that indeed, I was at the verge of giving up if I continued to drain my blood for Julie. I remember when Nathan was asking me to be Julie's blood donor. I asked him to marry me, and he gave the only condition; 'give Julie your blood.' ‘’If you love me like you claim, then you will do it. Julie is suffering. Do you wish to continue to see her suffer? Give her your blood, you are her perfect match.’’ Nathan knew that I loved him, so he took advantage of it, making me do extreme things to prove my love to him. Before we officially got married, Nathan made me swear that I will continue to give Julie my blood under any circumstances. My blood would save Julie’s life, so I was required to be available to give it to her anytime she wanted it. That was the only reason he would consider marrying me. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time. besides, I was desperate to marry Nathan Cane, the most talked about and charming bachelor in the city, so I accepted it. But now, I was on the bed, dying, white and pale, and heavily sick. Nathan was looking after me, I lay on his lap as he dabbed me with a wet cloth to cool my fever down, but as soon as his phone rang, he lifted my head up recklessly. ‘’Hello?’’ Stress lines quickly formed on Nathan’s forehead as he listened to the call. His countenance quickly dropped as he listened to the caller. From my sick bed, I could hear Julie’s voice from the other end of the phone line as she said; ‘’Nathan, my crisis, it’s happening again. Please, where’s Julie. Blood! I need blood.’’ Julie hung up as soon as she was sure she had cursed a scare for Nathan. Instantly, my ill health didn’t matter to Nathan anymore. ‘’Jennifer, get dressed and follow me to the hospital. Julie needs blood.’’ Without a care in the world, Nathan instructed me. Shivering, I shook my head and started to beg Nathan. ‘’Please, I can’t give my blood now. Let me get better first. I have no single energy.’’ Tears formed in my eyes as I hoped Nathan would understand. Instead, Nathan glared at me as if I was out of my mind. ‘’Do you want Julie to die? Remember that her life depends on you. You swore to keep her alive. Well? How about you do your part as agreed?’’ Nathan shoved me out of the bed. ‘’Get dressed, I’m waiting.’’ And just like that, I was in the hospital ward listening to Nathan and Dr. Pat deliberating over me. ‘’Mr. Cane, I highly recommend that your wife does not give out blood now. She barely even has any. Have you seen her eyes?’’ Dr. Pat was on the edge. After watching Nathan drain my blood for Julie for so long, he started to feel bad for me. Besides, my cancer had become potent. ‘’So, what will happen to Julie then? Should we leave her to die? You said it yourself Dr. Pat, that Julie is at risk and urgently needs blood.’’ My heart was sinking, with every word that Nathan spoke, my gut was wrenching, and my system was dropping. I listened in agony as Nathan and Dr. Pat argued is I was as important as Julie, enough for them to allow me to live with my own blood. Then came the final call; ’’roll her into the theater, it’s going to be a long one.’’ Of course, I knew that Dr. Pat would eventually give in, he didn’t have a choice. I looked up at Nathan as he walked behind the stretcher, worry on his face for Julie, and not the slightest care in the world for me. ‘’Save Julie.’’ Nathan begged the doctor before I disappeared into the theater, looking at him, hoping his eyes would linger on me even for one second as I was going to drain myself for him. In between the transfusion, I passed out and came back alive so many times. Until the final time when I opened my eyes, I saw two people intertwined with each other. They were blurry at first, then they gradually became clear. Nathan and Julie. Nathan was kissing Julie passionately in the same ward where I lay unconscious after giving her my blood. ‘’You have stretched her this time, Nathan. I think she will divorce you.’’ Julie squinted at me, kissing Nathan as they talked derogatorily about me. ‘’Divorce me? Not in this lifetime. She has nobody to run to. Her life will end if she leaves me.’’ Returning Julie’s kisses, Nathan replied. As if they were excited about my ordeal, they took their romance a notch higher, and I soon heard Julie moaning under Nathan’s thuds. ‘’When I am sure that your blood level is back to normal and no more dangerously low, I will divorce her. By then we must have used her to our fill.’’ ‘’Yes. Since she was desperate to join the Cane family, let her serve you well. It is rewarding for her. She should consider herself lucky.’’ Nathan and Julie spoke as I listened and watched them betray me right in front of me as if I were already a corpse.