Chapter 1
My husband, Alexander Parker, secretly handed the kidney I had spent five years waiting for to his first love's brother.
The department director fought to change his mind. "What about Rosalie? She's rare Rh-negative. If she loses this matched kidney, a complication could take her life at any moment."
Alexander fell silent for a long time before answering softly, "You don't understand. If it weren't for me, Charlotte's parents wouldn't have died in that accident. I owe her a family. Jack is Charlotte's only family member, and he's still young. He needs this kidney more than Rosalie does."
The director still couldn't bring himself to agree. "But Rosalie is already in end-stage heart failure. You know better than anyone what happens when there's no kidney donor. If she crashes, there won't be a doctor, a miracle, or a prayer in the world that can bring her back."
Alexander didn't waver. "Jack's condition is more urgent! Keep Rosalie going on dialysis for now. She's always been the understanding one."
I lowered my eyes to the organ donor consent form I had just signed, a strange sense of unreality washing over me.
Once, Alexander had been the man who was terrified of losing me, crossing the country to find a kidney for me. Now, for Charlotte Lynn's brother, he was the same man who had quietly taken away the kidney that could have saved my life.
The words "Do Not Resuscitate" stared back at me, cold and merciless, like the cruelest punchline.
I turned away, walked to the nurses' station, and pulled out my dialysis line.
Fine. Alexander wanted me to hang on through dialysis, so I would stop fighting. I wasn't going to cling to this life anymore, and I wasn't going to cling to him either.
The nurse's face changed the moment she saw me rip the IV needle from the back of my hand. "Ms. Laurent, what are you doing? Have you lost your mind?"
I ignored her. I folded the organ donation form carefully and slipped it into my pocket. My swollen legs felt like they were made of lead, each step heavier than the last.
For five years, I had tried to warm a heart made of stone. I thought patience and love could change it. But I was wrong. It wasn't a stone at all. It was ice, frozen so deeply that even a lifetime of warmth could never melt it.
When I returned to the house Alexander and I shared, I hadn't even made it through the doorway before Charlotte's soft, sugary laughter drifted from inside.
The moment I stepped in, I saw them on the couch. Alexander, Charlotte, and her younger brother Jack Lynn looked like a happy little family, sitting together and enjoying the warmth of a home that was supposed to be mine.
The second Alexander noticed me, his expression tightened.
He spoke with the casual confidence of someone making a decision that cost him nothing. "Rosalie, you're back at the right time. Jack is still getting used to everything here. Let him stay in the sterile room in the master bedroom for a few days."
I stared at him, suddenly feeling like I didn't recognize the man standing in front of me.
That sterile room was something he'd personally designed and renovated because he was terrified that dialysis infections would put my life at risk. He had spent $30,000 on it. Every machine and piece of equipment inside had one purpose, keeping me alive.
"Why?" I asked, my voice cold.
Charlotte's eyes instantly filled with tears. She grabbed Jack's arm and said softly, "Alexander, this is all because of me. We should leave. We shouldn't interrupt Rosalie's recovery."
She played the understanding and selfless woman perfectly. And just as expected, Alexander's heart softened.
He turned to me, his eyes filled with disappointment and accusation. "Rosalie, why are you still so cold and selfish? Charlotte only wants to stay for a few days. Do you really have to make this difficult? Jack is about to have surgery. Can't you be a little more considerate?"
I was so furious that I almost laughed. I'd spent years being the understanding one, and somehow, that had turned me into the biggest fool in the room.
Before I could say anything else, Alexander walked straight into the sterile room. The next second, he grabbed my backup emergency oxygen machine and tossed it outside without a second thought.
The delicate valve snapped the moment it hit the ground, destroying the machine completely. And something inside my heart shattered right along with it.
Alexander walked back over and reached out, trying to pat my head like he always did when he thought I was being unreasonable. His voice softened, carrying that familiar coaxing tone. "Alright, stop being upset. Once Jack's surgery is over, I'll buy you the newest designer bag to make it up to you."
I stepped back and avoided his hand. Looking at the broken machine scattered across the floor, the last trace of warmth in my eyes disappeared.
I didn't say a word. I turned around, walked into the guest bedroom, and locked the door behind me.
Then I opened the bathroom cabinet and threw every single one of his toiletries into the trash. Not one item was left behind.
