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Chapter 4

ผู้เขียน: Dawn Trueman
When I woke up, I was wearing an oxygen mask.

Every rise and fall of my chest sent a wave of excruciating pain through my body. The back of my head throbbed as if it had been struck repeatedly with a heavy blunt object.

The room door burst open without warning.

Cole strode into the hospital room, with Zoey trailing right behind him completely unharmed.

When he saw my ghost-white face, his footsteps paused for a fraction of a second.

Zoey tugged softly at his sleeve, and Cole immediately stepped forward, slapping a stack of paperwork onto my bed.

The loose pages scattered across the mattress, one sharp edge grazing my cheek.

"Where the hell were you yesterday?" He demanded, his voice laced with annoyance. "Your phone was completely off, and you skipped work without calling in. Since when did you learn to disappear just to force my hand?"

I tilted my head, catching sight of the giant bold text at the top of the form: Stem Cell Matching Consent and Authorization Form.

"Zoey’s younger brother is critically ill and needs a bone marrow match," Cole said, jamming a pen directly into my hand, "Go get your blood drawn. If you’re a match, consider it your apology for throwing this two-day temper tantrum."

Zoey stood behind him, her eyes red and puffy. "Kelsey, I know this is a huge favor to ask, but he’s only nine years old. You’re so sweet and kind, you wouldn't just watch a child die, right?"

My fingertips tightened around the bedsheet, pulling the fabric taut.

"My grandmother died," I said.

The hospital room went dead silent.

Cole’s face drained of color. "What?"

"Yesterday. While you dumped me on the side of the highway in the middle of a torrential storm."

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, his gaze briefly dropping to my oxygen tube. A second later, he shifted his eyes away.

"I didn't know it was that severe," he muttered, "About your grandmother... I'll take care of all the funeral arrangements for you."

He pushed the pen back toward me.

"But her brother can't wait either. Sign the form first, and we can deal with everything else later."

Zoey spoke up in a fragile, hushed voice, "Cole, maybe we should just forget it. Kelsey clearly doesn't want to, and I don't want to force her..."

"She's just throwing a fit," Cole interrupted.

He reached out and unclipped my oxygen mask.

The sudden influx of room air hit my raw throat, sending me into a violent fit of coughing.

Cole pinned my shoulders down, his voice dropping into the same gentle, coaxing tone he used whenever he persuaded me to take medicine years ago.

"It's just a simple blood test, Kelsey. It won't hurt your body. I'll stay right beside you the whole time."

I stared up at him.

His tenderness had never truly vanished. It was just that every single time it was directed at me, it came wrapped in a price tag for Zoey.

Without hesitation, I ripped the IV needle right out from the back of my hand, and blood immediately dripped down my wrist.

While Cole was caught off guard, I swung my arm and landed a vicious slap straight across his face.

The crisp, sharp sound echoed through the sterile room.

Zoey gasped dramatically, shrinking back toward the corner.

Cole’s head was turned sideways, completely frozen for several seconds.

"Get out," I rasped, pointing a trembling finger toward the doorway, "As of today, we’re over. Take her and get the hell out of my life."

He slowly turned his head back to face me, a bright red handprint rising on his cheek.

"Kelsey, have you lost your mind?"

"Yeah, I must be completely out of my mind!" I pushed myself up against the headboard, my chest shaking with raw pain. "Because only a lunatic would treat someone who doesn't even know I have asthma—or that I’m severely allergic to aloe vera—as family!"

Cole’s pupils constricted sharply. "You went through my phone?"

"The hospital system showed me everything," I spat, "You transferred my dependent medical coverage to Zoey."

His eyes briefly dodged mine. "She just moved to the city, and she's your best friend. I only did it temporarily..."

I slammed my palm down on the call button by the bed.

"Get out!"

"You're signing this first!"

He grabbed my shoulders, aggressively trying to haul me up off the mattress. "Once the blood draw is done, I'll personally hire someone to help you handle your grandmother's affairs!"

"Let go of me!"

I shoved him away with all my strength.

The last thread of Cole’s composure snapped completely. He tightened his grip with brute force, yanking me toward the door.

"You're signing this whether you like it or not!" he snarled, "You don't get to endanger a human life just because you're throwing a childish tantrum at me!"

My stitches tore open, and a wave of blackness surged over my vision.

The next second, he violently threw my hands off.

Without any balance or support, my body fell backward, and the back of my head slammed hard against the sharp metal edge of a medical monitor.

The blinding agony lasted for only a fraction of a second.

Warm liquid flowed down the back of my neck, soaking into the collar of my hospital gown.

Zoey’s high-pitched shrieks seemed to fade far into the distance.

A squad of nurses and doctors burst into the room, lifting my limp body onto a gurney.

As the stretcher was wheeled at a frantic pace out of the room, the bright corridor lights flashed overhead in a blurred sequence.

An anesthesiologist grabbed my medical chart and rushed up to Cole, grabbing him by the front of his shirt.

"The patient has a massive intracranial hemorrhage! We need to perform an emergency tracheostomy right now!

"What are her drug allergies? What’s her blood type? Speak up!"

Cole’s lips turned completely white.

"She... She doesn't have any allergies. She’s type O, and she doesn't have a history of asthma..."

The doctor slammed the hard plastic chart folder against his chest with furious force.

"Her chart clearly states severe asthma and an extreme allergy to penicillin-based drugs!" the doctor roared, "Are you actually her family or not?!"

Suddenly, the heavy double doors of the emergency surgical suite were shoved open from the outside.

Dr. Theo Sterling strode forward, wearing scrubs he hadn't even had time to change out of, dark red bloodstains splattered across his sleeves.

He cast a quick, sharp glance at the vitals on the monitor, then forcefully shoved Cole out of the way.

"Get this useless bystander out of my hallway right now," Dr. Sterling ordered, his voice cold as ice.

He glared down at Cole.

"For the rest of your life, you’ll never be allowed to sign your name on her surgical consent forms again."

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  • My Best Friend Stole My Wedding   Chapter 10

    Six months later, the court cases finally reached their conclusion.Cole took full criminal and civil responsibility for the injuries he inflicted on me in the hospital, while Zoey was formally held accountable for her deliberate act with the allergen.The consequences they faced couldn't bring my grandmother back, nor could they automatically erase the deep physical and emotional scars I carried.At the very least, it meant that the harm they caused was no longer dismissed as a simple "misunderstanding."I decided to stay up north.After completing my physical therapy, I took a job at a non-profit foundation, where my role was to organize and process aid applications.My life wasn't flashy or extraordinary, but for the very first time, every single part of it was completely under my own control.Barnaby moved even slower these days.Every evening, I pushed him in a pet stroller down to the riverbank.Whenever we reached a warm, sunlit path, he would insist on hopping out to w

  • My Best Friend Stole My Wedding   Chapter 9

    Once the legal proceedings officially began, I traveled back to my old city one last time.The damage caused by my traumatic injuries at the hospital couldn't be erased by a single signed settlement.Cole didn't beg for a private out-of-court settlement, nor did he ask his family to step in and pressure me.He submitted a complete, sworn statement, accepted an administrative suspension from his firm pending investigation, and covered every penny of my medical and rehabilitation expenses.Zoey was charged separately in a parallel criminal case for intentionally planting the allergen in the car and concealing the facts.In the mediation room, Cole sat directly across from me.The final asset division agreement lay flat on the conference table.Since we were never officially married, our joint assets were minimal.He had meticulously itemized every single piece of property that rightfully belonged to me."The lease on our old apartment expires next month. I won't be renewing it,"

  • My Best Friend Stole My Wedding   Chapter 8

    The North was even colder than I had imagined.I rented a small apartment near the rehabilitation center. It wasn't big, but it had a bright, south-facing window.Every day, Barnaby curled up in the warm sunlight, his breathing gradually smoothing out and becoming steady.A month later, Cole showed up.He didn't block my doorstep or corner me. He simply waited downstairs on the curb.When I came downstairs, he handed me a heavy folder.Inside were the corrected hospital proxy records, an official public cancellation statement for the engagement party, and a signed statement of liability he had drafted himself.In it, he formally admitted to abandoning me during a severe asthma attack on the highway and acknowledged full responsibility for the injuries I suffered in the hospital."I've turned over every piece of evidence regarding Zoey planting the freshener to the police," he said, his voice far rasper than it used to be, "Her family came looking for me, but I refused to retrac

  • My Best Friend Stole My Wedding   Chapter 7

    After the service, I stayed in my grandmother's house for seven days.On the eighth day, the owner of the print shop contacted me, explaining that the police were auditing the invitation records and needed me to confirm the original proof.In the document history he forwarded to me, the bride's name had originally been listed as Kelsey Cooper.Two hours after Zoey took over the layout design, the name was manually altered to Zoey Collins.It wasn't a copy-paste error.That evening, Zoey showed up outside my grandmother’s house.She wore a thin cardigan, standing shivering outside the gate. The heirloom bracelet was no longer on her wrist."Kelsey, I just want to talk," she said.I didn't invite her inside."Say whatever you have to say right here."Zoey stared down at her shoes."I changed the name on the invitations," she admitted quietly, "I didn't actually intend to take your place. I just wanted to see if Cole would change it back once he noticed.""He didn't."Her eye

  • My Best Friend Stole My Wedding   Chapter 6

    Two weeks later, I was cleared for discharge.Theo strongly urged me to stay in the hospital for further observation, but I refused.My grandmother was still waiting for me at the funeral home.First, I went back to Cole’s parents' house to pick up Barnaby.The poor dog had caught a severe chill from being locked out in the storm, resulting in a lung infection. He moved much slower now, his back legs stiff with pain.Cole’s mother stood by the front door holding a velvet box."I took the heirloom bracelet back from Zoey," she said, her voice laced with careful diplomacy, "Kelsey, that night was completely blown out of proportion. Zoey was a guest after all, so we couldn't just embarrass her in front of everyone."I took Barnaby’s leash from her hand, making no attempt to reach for the box."Then you should keep it for her," I said evenly.Cole’s mother tried to smooth things over again. "You and Cole are about to get engaged. Don't throw away a future over a few minor misunder

  • My Best Friend Stole My Wedding   Chapter 5

    Before my consciousness completely submerged into darkness, I heard Theo call out my full name.Ten years ago, the first time I was admitted to the hospital for a severe asthma attack, he was just a young resident rotating through the emergency department. My grandmother had followed right behind him with my chart, repeating every single medication I was allergic to three times over to make sure he remembered.Later, Theo was transferred to a hospital out of state, and we only kept in touch occasionally whenever my grandmother needed a follow-up consultation.I never expected that after all these years, he would still remember every detail.When I finally opened my eyes again, three days had already passed.Heavy layers of gauze were wrapped tightly around my head, and since my breathing tube had just been removed, I was temporarily unable to form a complete sentence.Theo placed a tablet on the table in front of my bed.Displayed on the screen was a Power of Attorney and Medi

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