Chapter 3

JENNIFER'S POV

My eyes felt heavy as I slowly tried to open them. The bright white ceiling came into view, followed by the familiar smell of disinfectant.

I was lying on a hospital bed.

Slowly, I pushed myself up against the headboard, only for a dull ache to spread through my entire body, especially my abdomen. I instinctively wrapped an arm around it, remembering everything that had happened before I lost consciousness.

Before I could gather my thoughts, the door to my hospital room was pushed open with force.

Bang!

My mother, Amanda, stormed inside. The moment our eyes met, she strode toward me without saying a single word.

Slap!

A sharp sting exploded across my cheek as my head snapped to the side. Before I could even react, she glared at me with undisguised disgust.

"Have you finally had enough of your little performance?" she spat angrily. "Jennifer, how long are you planning to keep pretending?"

I slowly turned back to look at her, my cheek burning from the slap.

"Mum..." My voice came out weak.

"Don't call me that!" she snapped immediately. "You don't deserve to."

She pointed a finger at me, her face filled with anger.

"It was just a few bags of blood!" she shouted. "Instead of coming to donate like you always do, you pretended to faint, made up some ridiculous diagnosis, and scared everyone for nothing."

I stared at her in disbelief.

"I wasn't pretending..." I tried to explain to her before I could finish, she cut me off.

"Enough!" she barked. "Do you really think anyone would believe such an obvious lie? Cancer? Three months to live?" She let out a mocking laugh. "Jennifer, you've become quite good at making up stories."

My fingers slowly tightened around the blanket.

"I have the medical report..." I whispered.

"What report?" she scoffed. "Anyone can fake a piece of paper."

She took another step closer, looking down at me as though I were nothing more than an inconvenience.

"If anything happens to Vivian because of your little stunt today, you wouldn't be able to repay her even if you gave up your life." Her words made my heart ache.

Then she said the sentence that shattered what little warmth I still had left.

"The only reason I even care whether you're alive..." she said coldly, "...is because Vivian still needs your blood."

For a moment, the entire room fell silent. I looked at the woman who had raised me for more than twenty years.

Not once had she asked if I was alright or wondered whether I was really sick.

To her my life has never been worth anything more than the blood running through my veins. A bitter smile slowly appeared on my lips, maybe this was all I had ever been to them.

A blood bank with a heartbeat.

I grew up in a house where all I ever received was coldness, while all the warmth and happiness were reserved for Vivian. As a child, I never understood why they treated us so differently. No matter what I did, I was never enough. It wasn't until one day, when I accidentally overheard my father talking on the phone, that I learned the truth.

I wasn't their daughter.

I had been adopted for one reason only.

To be Vivian's blood donor.

From that day on, I spent years secretly planning the day I could finally leave that house and find out who I really was... and who my real family was. But then Damian appeared in my life, and I foolishly gave up that dream, believing I had finally found a place where I belonged. Instead, I walked into another life where I was expected to keep sacrificing myself.

Before I could say another word, the door opened once again.

Damian walked inside.

The moment she saw him, the anger on her face disappeared instantly, replaced by the image of a worried and caring mother.

She sighed helplessly before looking at me.

"I was just trying to explain to Jennifer that a good sister should support her younger sister," she said in a gentle voice. "But she refuses to listen. She's being so uncooperative."

Damian's gaze shifted toward me, his expression remained as cold as ever.

"Vivian is still waiting for the transfusion," he said flatly. "Don't waste everyone's time."

I looked at him quietly, even after everything he still hadn't asked how I was.

"I went for some tests today," I said softly, forcing myself to meet his eyes. "The doctor diagnosed me with late-stage retroperitoneal sarcoma."

She frowned.

"What kind of disease is that?" she scoffed before waving her hand dismissively. "I've never even heard of something like that."

She looked at Damian as if expecting him to agree.

He didn't even hesitate.

A few minutes ago...

There had still been one tiny thread of hope left inside me. Hope that if I explained everything calmly. He would finally believe me.

Damian shattered that hope himself. He looked at me with disappointment instead of concern.

"So you're still insisting on this?" he asked, his voice calm but cold. "Jennifer, when did you become someone who could lie so effortlessly?"

I clenched the blanket beneath my fingers once again that it started hurting my fingers.

"I'm not lying." 

He let out a faint, humorless laugh.

"You've lived a comfortable life all these years," he said, taking a slow step closer. "You've never known what real hardship looks like."

His eyes hardened.

"Vivian was born sick. She's been fighting her illness her entire life." His voice became colder with every word. "And now we're asking you to help one last time. Just one final transfusion but instead of doing that, you suddenly come up with a story about having terminal cancer."

He stared directly into my eyes.

"Jennifer... do you really think I'd believe something like that?"

Each word pierced deeper than the last. I opened my mouth, wanting to explain, wanting to show him the report but he didn't even give me the chance.

"This was always a transaction," he continued. "You agreed to it three years ago."

His tone was firm.

"You made the choice yourself, so fulfill your end of the agreement." He paused before adding, "Stay in your lane and don't use these kinds of tactics to pressure me because they won't work."

Something inside me quietly broke just then, there was another knock on the door.

A doctor walked inside with a small smile.

"Mr. Sterling," she said politely. "Miss Vivian's condition has stabilized."

"Really, doctor?" Amanda immediately stepped forward.

The doctor nodded.

"Yes. She only needs one final transfusion today. After this, her recovery should be stable enough that she won't need frequent blood donations anymore."

"Thank goodness." Relief instantly spread across Amanda's face.

She quickly looked at Damian.

"I'll go tell Vivian the good news." With that, she hurried out of the room, silence filled the room once again only Damian and I remained.

I looked at him for a long moment, the man I had loved since childhood, the man I had given up everything for.

My dream, future, even my own blood and life.

I slowly lowered my eyes before speaking.

"I'll do it." My voice was calm.

"I'll do the last transfusion."

Damian's expression eased ever so slightly but before he could say anything, I looked back at him.

"But after this..."

I took a slow, steady breath.

"I want a divorce."