Chapter 4

Elaine was surprised. "What did you just say?"

"Everyone's so eager to see those bed pictures, huh? Well, no need for you to bother. I'll share them myself." I whipped out my phone, fired up a live stream, and started peeling off layers for the camera.

"Hey, folks, I'm Yara. Lately, I've been hassled by this woman, Elaine, who's been blackmailing me with some intimate shots of her best friend and me."

"Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Is she doing all this because she's got a crush on her friend?" I rattled off as I stripped off my down jacket, coat, and sweater in a flash.

When I was down to my thermals, a black coat suddenly wrapped around me. Lance was fuming, his face dark with rage. "Yara, are you out of your mind? Talking like that is asking for trouble!"

His face? Grim. The whole room was in shock, and Elaine's face turned pale, too.

I flashed Lance a defiant grin. "Yeah, I'm dying for that."

He was dumbstruck. "What?"

Before he could catch up, I bolted to the window and hoisted my leg up. The room inhaled sharply.

Lance exploded, "Yara, what the heck are you doing?! Get down from there!"

"Lance," I called out to him, "after being with you for so long, I've got something I need to say."

He looked at me, all nervous.

"You're a total moron!" I blurted.

With that, I took the plunge.

Lance's shout was way louder than Eric's ever was.

…

Bummer–I did not kick the bucket.

When I came to, I was staring at the sterile white ceiling of the hospital I knew all too well.

Lance explained that as I took my leap, a garbage truck broke my fall, so all I did was bust a leg.

Just a busted leg?

I glanced at my leg, fighting back the tears.

'Gah! I wouldn't have jumped if I had known!' I screamed internally.

Lance caught my almost-crying face and thought I was devastated. He cleared his throat.

"I get why you did this today."

I looked up at him, and I could feel my heart skip a beat: affection level up to 60%.

"You've been mad because I've always had my friends' backs over yours, right? Don't worry, I've deleted your video, and I've told Elaine to cut out the jokes from now on.

"You get what I'm saying, don't you?"

I just stared, totally lost.

To my surprise, he was blushing. "Yara, I'm officially giving you permission to court me."

He said it with his head held high, smirking like he had won the lottery.

Like he was expecting me to jump into his arms.

I almost blurted, "Who in the world would want to chase you?"

Right then, Lance's phone buzzed.

It was Elaine calling.

"Hey, did you sort out the hospital stuff? You promised to play with us today. Bail on us, and you're toast," she said, loud enough for me to hear.

Lance gave me that awkward look.

I just said, "Go on."

He wavered for a second, then stood up. "I'll just play for a bit and come back. Elaine's got a ranking match today, and she won't stop nagging if I don't help out."

With that, Lance took off.

Me? I still felt like dying.

Limping with my injured leg, I went out and bought a knife.

Once I had it, I planned to head back to the hospital to settle my bills.

I was on my last leg, literally. I did not want to leave owing them money.

However, as fate would have it, in the hospital lobby, I ran into Ron, the second CEO in my life.

He was there with Mabel Jones, his girl-next-door, getting her checked out.

He did a double-take when he saw me, then scowled. "Yara, are you following me?"

I opened my mouth to clear the confusion.

However, he cut me off, getting all worked up, "Perfect timing. You're here for a check-up, too. Mabel's kidney is failing, and you're going to give her yours in a few days."

He said it like he owned the place.

I could not help but laugh, though I was seething inside.

"Oh, you want a kidney?" I whipped out the knife I had hidden up my sleeve and jabbed it toward my side, "Why wait a few days? I'll do it right now!

"I'm not just giving up my kidney. I'm done with life itself!"

I pictured it like in the movies: the knife sliding in, blood spurting.

However, before I could even feel the knife, it was caught by a firm hand.

I looked up straight into Ron's eyes. When I saw his hand clenching the knife, blood oozing out, I freaked and dropped the knife.

It hit the floor with a loud clang.

Everyone around us sucked in a breath of cold air.

Surprisingly, Mabel was the quickest to snap out of it, screaming for a doctor.

Ron, meanwhile, tightened his grip on my hand, his face ghostly white, "Yara, is this some kind of new stunt? You think this will make me back off? Keep dreaming!"

I yanked my hand away. "Stunt? I'm giving you one last shot here. If you don't want this kidney now, forget about ever getting it."

I bent to pick up the knife and turned to walk away.

Ron's voice trembled, "Yara, what are you doing? Put the knife down!"

I pulled away. "Whatever I'm doing, it's got nothing to do with you. Let go."

Ron's brow furrowed. "Is this about the kidney donation? Look, I'm a doctor. You can live just fine with one kidney. I'll make sure of it. And..." He paused, his cheeks flushing. "Mabel mentioned that if you go through with it, she'll talk to my mom. You could be part of our family."

I scoffed. "Oh, please. If it's no big deal, why don't you donate?"

I bit down on his hand hard enough to draw blood, but he did not flinch or let go.

Exhausted, I finally softened my tone. "Okay, Ron. You got me. I just wanted your attention. Now let go. You've called my bluff, and I'm not going to die over it."

He released me then, and I took a deep breath, ready to end the charade.

Before he could say another word, I grabbed a knife and drew it across my throat. Blood sprayed, covering Ron's face in red.

As I collapsed, three distinct shouts pierced the air.

"Yara!"

As my vision dimmed, I saw two familiar figures pushing through the crowd, racing toward me.