Chapter 2: The Price of Love

Eva Cooper had known Bradley for most of her life. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could still see their younger faces — that first night they spent together back in college.

The air had been quiet, filled only with the sound of their heartbeat. “Brad, I’ll always love you,” she had whispered with all sincerity. Bradley had smiled, brushed her cheek, and said the same words, “Eva, I’ll always love you.”

They sealed it with a kiss, one that made her believe love was forever.

But forever, she would later learn, had an expiry date.

Many years ago, when she was just a little girl of about five, she was found lying helplessly by the roadside, soaked in her own blood after an accident. Mason Cooper, Bradley’s father, had been driving home that night when he saw her.

Without thinking twice, he rushed her to the hospital. The doctors said she was lucky to even be breathing. But when she woke up days later, she could not remember her name, her parents, or where she came from.

Mason Cooper had tried everything to trace her family, but no one came forward. The only clue to her past was a small silver pendant around her neck with the inscription — Eva.

So, he called her Eva and raised her as his own daughter.

Bradley grew up seeing her as a sister, but over time, their bond deepened into something neither could deny.

Mason never opposed their love; he wanted his son happy, and Eva was the one who made Bradley’s eyes light up.

Their love, however, faced its first real test on that unforgettable afternoon. Eva had seen Bradley across the road and shouted his name with excitement.

He turned, waved back, his smile bright as always. She ran towards him, but before she could cross fully, a loud horn pierced the air.

A car was speeding straight at her. Bradley’s eyes widened. “Eva!” he screamed. In a split second, he ran and pushed her away. The car hit him instead.

She fell on the pavement, screaming his name, watching in horror as he lay unconscious, blood pooling under him.

Moments later, she was pacing before the ICU doors, trembling. When the doctor finally came out, she rushed to him. “Are you a relative to the patient?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” she said quickly, still panting.

“Mr. Bradley Cooper needs a kidney transplant immediately,” the doctor explained. “We’ve not found a suitable donor yet.”

“I’ll do it!” Eva cried. “Please, test me. I’m his girlfriend. I’ll give him my kidney.”

The doctor looked at her, surprised by her urgency. He had seen love in many forms, but this was different. This was desperate, raw, and pure. “Are you sure?” he asked quietly.

“Yes,” she said, tears rolling down her face. “Just hurry, please.”

The tests were done. She was a match. The transplant was successful.

When she woke up from the surgery, her body felt weak, her abdomen sore, but her heart was full knowing that Bradley would live. She stood at the door of his room, watching him sleep peacefully.

A small smile formed on her lips. “You’ll be fine now,” she whispered.

But before she could take another step, she felt an odd heaviness in her chest. She coughed once, twice, covering her mouth with her hand. Then her eyes widened in utter shock as all she could see in her hand was blood.

The nurse rushed to her side. Within hours, the doctors ran new tests. The result broke her completely.

“You’re diagnosed with leukemia,” the doctor said quietly. “The transplant has caused severe organ damage.”

She stared at him blankly, unable to speak. Those words hit harder than a physical blow. She sat there numb, listening to the sound of her heartbeat fading under the doctor’s voice.

The hospital recommended her to a hospital abroad for better treatment. She knew it was her only chance to live.

The day she was leaving, Bradley woke up in his room, weak but conscious. When he turned his head, he saw her walking away with a small bag. Panic shot through him. “Eva… Eva!” he called.

She stopped briefly, turned around, her eyes glistening with tears. She couldn’t let him stop her. If she did, she might never go. So, she gave him one last look — soft, filled with love and pain, and then walked away.

Bradley tried to stand but collapsed. He crawled after her, calling her name repeatedly. “Eva! Don’t leave me!” His voice cracked as nurses ran to restrain him.

They lifted him back onto the bed, but he kept shouting, “Eva! Come back!”

She didn’t look back again. Her tears fell freely as the elevator doors closed between them. She knew she had no choice.

To live, she had to leave.

“Please, Mr. Cooper,” Amira Finley’s voice came softly from the corner of his hospital room a few days later. She was the late Mason Cooper’s secretary, now assisting Bradley with his company’s affairs. “Eva bought a ticket to travel abroad. I’m sure she’s running away with some rich man and abandoning you.”

Bradley froze. Her words sliced through his heart like a blade. “What did you say?”

Amira pretended to look pained. She held her abdomen and whimpered. “I donated my kidney to you because I care, Bradley. Yet she’s leaving you without a word. Doesn’t that show what kind of person she truly is?” Her eyes glistened with false tears.

Bradley clenched his fists, his jaw tightening as anger boiled in him. He turned his face away, trying to breathe through the bitterness that suddenly consumed him.

Two years later, Eva returned, stronger, healthier, but not the same girl who had left. Her face was more mature, her eyes quieter.

The doctors had saved her, but she carried the scars of the journey.

When Bradley saw her again, he was already the new CEO of Cooper Holdings. The company’s board had admired his leadership, and with Mason’s death, all power rested in his hands.

He insisted on marrying Eva immediately.

She was overjoyed. She believed their love had survived everything. The wedding was simple but beautiful, attended by close friends and business partners.

Eva smiled the entire time, her heart full. She thought this was a new beginning. She didn’t know it was the start of her pain.

That evening, when she returned home in her wedding gown, Bradley walked in with Amira beside him.

Eva froze where she stood. “Brad…” she whispered, disbelief washing over her. “What are you doing?”

He didn’t look at her. He brushed off her hand when she tried to hold him. “Don’t act too emotional,” he said coldly. “I hate it.”

Her breath caught. “Bradley, what’s wrong?”

He finally turned, his eyes sharp with resentment. “I took you as my everything, Eva. I would have died for you. And yet, when I needed you most, you abandoned me.”

“That’s not true,” she cried. “I left because—”

“Enough!” he shouted, his voice echoing in the room. “You left me to suffer, and now you think you can come back like nothing happened?”

Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head. “Bradley, please—”

He stepped closer, his voice low and cold. “Mark my words. You will suffer for everything you’ve done to me for the rest of your life.”

Then he shoved her aside and walked away. Amira clung to his arm, glancing back with a smug smile.

Eva fell to the floor, her white gown pooling around her. Her tears came freely as she watched her husband leave with another woman, on the same night they had just wedded.

Now, four years into their marriage, Eva lay in her hospital bed, her eyes blank as she stared at the wall.

It turned out that the surgery she travelled abroad for, four years ago, wasn’t properly done.

Her breathing was shallow, her face pale, but her mind was clear.

“Bradley,” she whispered, her voice weak but steady. “You saved me once, and I returned the favour with my kidney and four years of suffering.” She paused, her lips trembling. “Is this what I deserve for loving you?”