Her Other Life

"Honestly, Josephine. You've been married to him for seven years, and now you're calling him your brother? I can't even imagine the look on his face once he regains his memory."

A commotion rustled outside the door. Though the voices were hushed, I still heard the conversation. Josephine didn't argue with her friends. She said nonchalantly, "At least Henry and I won't have to keep hiding anymore."

"So when's the divorce? Your kid can't be illegitimate."

That made Josephine fall silent for a moment. I could feel her gaze through the glass window. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. "Not yet. He still has his uses."

I stared at the ceiling, my mind somewhere else, and my eyes glistened with tears. When I decided to fake my amnesia, I ran a lot of possible scenes in my head. One thing I had never imagined was her having a five-year affair.

The footsteps outside broke my train of thought. Josephine came back to the room, but she only gave me a glance before looking away. Behind her stood a man I had never seen before.

"This is your brother-in-law, Henry Giles," she said stiffly. Even her expression tightened when she called Henry my brother-in-law.

I stared at the man. He was younger and more handsome than me.

She took my silence as acceptance and spoke again. "There's something I'd like to say." She put an organ donation form right in front of me. I was the donor, while the recipient was her mother.

This was not a discussion. She never intended to give me a choice. There was already a signature on the papers. "Mom has late stage uremia. Your kidney is a match for her. She raised you like a son, so it's time you repay her."

I stared at her in disbelief. "What?" With a trembling finger, I pointed at Henry. "Why me? What about him?"

She slid between me and that man, blocking him from my sight. "He can't," she said adamantly, and my heart sank.

Henry peeked out from behind her and smiled. "I'm a candidate, but she wouldn't let me do it. Leslie's born with a genetic disease and is still under treatment. I need to stay healthy and watch over him. That leaves only you. You won't refuse, will you?"

There was smug satisfaction in his eyes as he said that. He raised his hand almost leisurely, and the ring on his finger gleamed under the sunlight. Josephine wore the exact same one.

Something bitter lodged in my throat, and I clenched the papers in my hand. "What if I refuse?"