Chapter 1

Cold sweat broke out across my skin in waves. My legs gave out and I slid down the wall outside the room.

During the three years Serena had been "in a coma," I came to her room every single day after work without fail, talked to her, stayed at her bedside for two hours straight.

Even my own mother, hospitalized in the same building, never got that kind of attention from me.

At first, Julian was angry, upset that I was giving all my time to her.

But gradually, he became even more devoted to her than I was.

He started canceling work to stay overnight at her bedside, buying pastries from her favorite bakery and keeping them on her nightstand year-round.

He even signed up for a virtual couple's app and created a dedicated album for Serena, where two little cartoon avatars bearing their names embraced in front of Sigiriya Rock in Sri Lanka.

In another, the two avatars watched dolphins leap from the sea at sunset in Bali.

But every one of those places was somewhere Serena and I had promised to visit together.

All of it had crossed the line long ago.

But he would hold me tight, sounding even more aggrieved than I felt. "Mia, if she hadn't taken that hit for you, you'd be the one lying in that bed. I'm doing all these nice things for her just to repay the debt on your behalf."

Because of those weighty words, "repay the debt on your behalf," I swallowed my unease and forced myself to bear it.

It turned out all the signs had been there all along. I was just the fool who missed them.

I didn't even realize tears were streaming down my face until they started dripping onto my phone.

Inside the room, their conversation continued. Julian's voice was as gentle as ever.

"It's okay, I'll figure out how to balance everything. Just bear with me a little longer. The wedding with her is just a ceremony, no legal registration. It won't be legally binding."

"After the wedding, I'll have a death certificate made saying you've passed away. Then I'll send you to Nice, and I'll come visit you whenever I can."

If hearing Serena's voice had been a blow to the head, then Julian's words ripped my heart clean open. The pain was so intense that even my breathing shook.

It wasn't just the past three years I had lost. Even the future I had been looking forward to was nothing more than a stepping stone for the two of them.

Footsteps approached from inside the room. I scrambled to wipe my tears.

Julian saw my ashen face and rushed over to steady me, his expression full of concern. "Babe, why are you crying?"

Serena had already lain back down in bed.

I looked up at Julian and said coolly, "I'm fine. The doctor just said Serena's numbers look good. I'm happy for her."

Julian stroked my hair and said softly, "Babe, you're so kind."

I was about to say something when Julian's phone rang. He slipped away to the emergency stairwell to take the call.

I followed him quietly.

"Get that death certificate sorted as soon as possible. Let me know whatever you need..."

"I have no choice. I promised that if she ever woke up, I'd give her a home."

"The two of them grew up together. If Serena died because she saved Mia, Mia wouldn't survive it."

"No. I can give Serena everything she wants, but Mrs. Ashford can only be Mia!"

"She loves me. A little sweet talk and she'll come around. I'm only taking care of her best friend because I care about her. She'll understand."

I stood in the dim stairwell, cold to the bone.

The sheer absurdity of it made me sick.

I turned around and found a nurse, holding myself together by sheer will.

"The patient in Room 711. I'd like to apply for a hospital transfer."

The nurse pulled up the medical records and frowned slightly. "Your mother's heart failure has only just started to stabilize. Are you sure you want to transfer her now? Didn't Mr. Ashford say he was going to arrange the best cardiac surgeon here to do the operation?"

"...I'm not waiting anymore. I'm taking her somewhere better."

The truth was, I had already received an offer from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where a world-class cardiac surgery team could treat my mother.

Years ago, I had given up that opportunity to stay behind and take care of Serena.

Now it was time to take back the life that belonged to me.

The nurse looked over the paperwork. "Since you have the acceptance letter, we'll certainly cooperate. But the transfer process is quite involved, and with the discharge paperwork and billing, it'll take ten days."

Ten days was also exactly how long remained until Julian's meticulously planned "grand wedding."

Julian, instead of going through all that trouble to stage a fake marriage, wouldn't it be much simpler if I just left?