Chapter 1 The Passenger Seat

Emilia's POV

By the time George Matthews and Kayley Greene finally came downstairs, I was in so much pain I was almost numb.

The passenger door suddenly opened. "Same as usual. Kayley gets carsick. Give her the seat."

I bit down on my lip hard. Sweat poured down my face. "George, I can't hold on anymore."

But he did not budge at all. I practically crawled to the backseat.

Kayley's voice was hoarse from crying. She looked at me guiltily. "It's my fault for taking your seat. I'll heat the seat for you. You'll feel better."

She then began adjusting the buttons skillfully.

George had bought this car with the first real money he ever earned. Back then, he said I would never have to squeeze onto the subway again. But ever since Kayley started getting carsick, she was always given priority for the front seat. Even when I was there.

I slumped weakly in the back seat, unable to utter a single word.

We arrived at the hospital early in the morning. There was only one doctor on duty in the ER.

"Help her first. It'll be quick."

George stopped me as I was taking a step forward and almost fell.

The doctor gave me a sympathetic look at George's insistence and quickly bandaged Kayley up.

I sat on the freezing chair for over 30 minutes before finally getting an IV drop.

"Emilia, I'm just so afraid of blood. That's why it took a while."

George came to us with two cups of hot milk and handed us one each.

I pushed it away expressionlessly. "George, I'm lactose intolerant. You forgot again."

In his to-do list, there was a note on Kayley's allergies.

But I had mentioned my lactose intolerance more times than I could count. And still, he never remembered.

George paused, then a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes. "Then don't drink it. I'm not forcing you to."

Just then, the doctor came over with the lab results and suggested I remove my appendix to prevent any recurrence.

I was about to say yes when George interrupted, "Not now. A plumber is coming to Kayley's place tomorrow. I need to watch him. Otherwise, it's not safe for her. Postpone the surgery."

A long-suppressed grievance welled up in my eyes. Even my health had to take a backseat to Kayley's water pipe.

I let out a bitter smile. "Doctor, I can take care of myself. Let's do it now."

And so, under George's gloomy and bewildered gaze, I was wheeled into the operating room.

The moment the anesthesia was administered, faint laughter and chatter drifted in from outside.

Kayley teased, "I bet she'll come out crying. She's afraid of surgeries the most."

George was competitive and said, "Yeah, right. I bet 500 bucks she won't cry, so we won't laugh at her."

The laughter outside continued unabated. I forced back the tears streaming down my face.

I was last on his to-do list and the source of his jokes to make Kayley laugh.

I was never his priority.

Then from now on, I would stop treating him as my whole world.