Chapter 2

My original self had dragged his injured body all the way to the lab to clone me.

…

Five hours left to live. My wounds had finally healed, and my organs had regenerated.

I had to finish what my original self had asked me to do before I ran out of time.

But Sophie blocked my path, her face cold and expressionless. "You're not going anywhere. I still need to harvest your organs for Adrian's daughter later."

I refused her outright. "I can't help you anymore. If you take any more organs from me now, I'll die."

I only had these final hours, and there were things I had to do. I couldn't die before accomplishing them.

Sophie's eyes grew distant. "Marcus, do you hate me that much? Is that why you won't help me anymore?"

Adrian wheeled himself out of the hospital room, his face pale. "Listen, I know Sophie and I... we were drunk. Nothing really happened between us. Please, I'm begging you—save my daughter. She's been sickly since birth. She needs healthy, strong organs."

Sophie grabbed my hand desperately. "You're not going anywhere. You have to atone for what you did to Adrian. That's not negotiable."

She had me locked in the basement of her private hospital.

My chest tightened with pain—the same ache my original self must have felt, the one he'd never truly given up on Sophie. Why did he still hurt over someone he'd stopped loving?

I escaped from Sophie's hospital.

At the wedding dress shop, I picked up the dress and suit my original self had personally designed. He'd embroidered both their names on it, along with the date they first met. Before he died, he'd made me promise: I had to marry Sophie in these clothes.

Sophie had always stalled when he asked about marriage. I'd never had a chance to come pick them up because she kept me locked up.

I brought the wedding dress and suit back home.

I also prepared six months' worth of meals for Sophie—homemade dishes and restaurant orders from her favorite places. My original self had insisted I do this before I left. He knew she wouldn't eat properly after he was gone. He wanted to give her time to adjust.

As I was finishing up, Sophie and Adrian came home.

Sophie's face went cold the moment she saw me. "You escaped!"

She spotted the clothes bag in my hands. "What's that?"

I quickly pulled it back. "It's none of your business."

Adrian, still in his wheelchair, suddenly spoke. "Marcus, now that you're here, I have something to tell you. Sophie accidentally found out she's pregnant—with my child. You don't mind, right?"

Sophie's eyes flashed with panic.

"The pregnancy wasn't planned, but the doctor says my body isn't healthy enough for an abortion. Marcus, don't worry—the child can call you Dad."

My chest suddenly ached so badly I nearly stumbled. I didn't understand how my original self could have loved a woman like this.

I forced a smile. "Sure."

But Sophie's expression shifted immediately. "Why are you talking like that? Like you're upset with me?

"I didn't plan to get pregnant. But we've both been unfair to Adrian, so I want to make it up to him. We'll have to postpone our wedding. Once I have the baby, we can get married then."

Seven years. My original self had waited seven years for marriage. Every time he'd brought it up, she'd always found an excuse.

I laughed coldly. "You never actually wanted to marry me, did you? Not really. You still have feelings for Adrian."

Sophie's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? What happened between Adrian and I... it was just an accident."

I didn't respond. Instead, I grabbed the wedding dress and walked out, dumping it straight into the garbage.

It wasn't fair to my original self.

A woman like this didn't deserve him.

Sophie followed me outside.

"What did you just throw away?" She grabbed my arm. "Don't be mad. I just feel like we both owe Adrian an apology, so I want to make things right for him."

Disgust twisted through me, followed by another sharp pain in my chest.

I pulled my arm away. I was about to say something when Adrian came outside, holding his stomach.

"Sophie... my stomach hurts so much."

Sophie immediately turned back to him. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know... my organs feel like they're in agony. Did something go wrong with the transplant?"

I immediately saw through his act. Over the years, he'd used this exact trick to slander both my original self and me countless times.